Your Job Could Be the Culprit Behind that Increasing Belly Fat

Statistically, we spend around a third of our lives at the office working. Of course, that means a lot of eating, and many indulge in unhealthy eating habits, such as chipping on potato chips. In a recent survey conducted by CareerBuilder, 44% of those surveyed responded in the affirmative that they had gained weight in their current role, while 25% of the total reported to have gained more than 10 pounds in their current role. However, the problem it’s not just unhealthy snacking. The real culprit behind the extra pounds might be a mix of habits you might be doing on a daily basis. Here are some of them:

Going Out for Lunch

Most people prefer sitting at a restaurant rather than spending the time to prepare their lunch in advance

It may seem like a casual choice, choosing to go out instead of eating in the office, but it might be the reason why you are gaining so much weight after assuming a new role. There are many reasons why you would prefer going out for lunch, such as not wanting to bring lunch to the office from home, or when dealing with clients.

According to a study published by Journal of Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, people who ate out more than those who chose to eat home-cooked food showed less progress in their weight loss endeavour. This is true because the food consumed outside usually has less nutritional value.

Try to bring more home-cooked food at your office. It may seem like a hassle, but all you need to do is come up with a system that works for you  such as making extra dinner that can become part of your lunch the next day.

Lengthy Commute

The desire for comfort food after a hectic day at work is further exacerbated with the lengthy and frustrating commute we all must make every day. Traditional comfort food is pizza, although fast food and other fattening food are at the top of the list as well. Plus, the more time you spend on commute, less time you have to actually exercise and lose that excess belly fat.

Exercise fights stress, and there lies the solution to your problem. You need to incorporate exercise within your commute. For example, if you take public modes of transport, get off at a stop which is ten-minutes’ walk away from your destination and walk there. If you have a car, try parking far away from the office which allows for some 10-15 minutes of walking. It is also recommended that you carry a healthy snack, such as a granola bar, with you while you commute back home as it would satiate some of that built-up hunger.

Going for healthy snacks when at the office may be the key to keep those extra pounds away

Working for Longer Hours

People who sleep less than the required 6-8 hours every day tend to have a greater craving for unhealthy snacks because of increased level of stress. A leading reason working people sleep less than necessary is because they spend extra hours at the workplace. Spending extra hours at the workplace also contributes to increased level of stress, because it can be physically and emotionally exhausting.

Of course, nobody likes to work more than necessary, and the reason why most people are overworked is because  right now the economy is more competitive than ever. The more you work, the more you succeed. The secret lies in what you consume while spending those extra hours and dealing with stress at the office. If you make an apple or peanut butter your go-to snack during office hours, or whenever you feel like stress-eating, you will end up being a much healthier person with much lower body fat percentage than before.

Sitting Down All Day Long

In most job positions that are performed in an office, there are the fingers of a person that get most, if not all, of the workout, whereas the body connected to the fingers stays stationary throughout the experience. Also known as sitting disease, such a work lifestyle can lead to conditions more serious than weight gain, such as cardiovascular diseases and diabetes.

It is highly recommended that you take a break from sitting after every 45 hours and move around for about five minutes. Take a 10-minute walk at the beginning or end of your lunch break with a colleague you enjoy having a good conversation with, as the walk would not only result in positive physiological health, but also de-clog your mind to take on the tasks for the rest of the day.

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