"Thirty minutes of physical activity everyday!"- Most health experts make this recommendation at every weight loss consultation, and before you even think of where to begin, you lose the motivation listening to the time you have to spend on this activity. What if I told you that you could spread this time across the entire day? Does it seem doable? Here is a little piece of idea you could use through the day to keep yourself active and burn calories at work!
Stand up whenever you can! You burn a few more calories when you stand as compared to sitting. So whenever you get a chance, stand and work. It could be standing and talking to someone or having a conversation with someone on the phone.
Get off the chair: Make sure you get off your chair every hour. You could sound an alarm to remind you if you are too busy at work. You could take a small walk to your colleague's desk or go up to the dispenser for a glass of water or green tea!
Walk while you talk: Whenever your phone rings, get off your chair and take a walk. You could pace the corridor or halls of your office. This way, you will burn more calories.
Take the stairs: Ditch the elevator. If your workplace has stairs, make it a point to use them every day. Climbing up the stairs requires more effort and energy and this will help you burn more calories. Want to build some muscles in your calf? Walk up the stairs tip toed. You could build stronger calves!
Snack right, snack often: Eating the right snack in between your meals can keep your metabolism high and prevent you from snacking on unhealthy food. Nuts, fruits, a bowl of salad or skimmed yogurt, or even a cup of green tea with some boiled pulses can give you that dose of good fiber to mobilize fat stores from your body!
A cup of green tea anyone? If you are addicted to coffee or tea and are trying hard to get off it, get yourself a smaller cup. Sip into your cuppa slowly and you will eventually be drinking lesser! What about alternating it with a cup of green tea? Green tea has properties that help you burn fat. These simple ways can definitely cut down your calorie intake over a period of time.
Let's say you spend at least about 7 to 10 minutes doing the first three activities through the day. Without even realizing, you would have already done about 30 minutes of physical activity for the day!! Sure, it may not be as vigorous as taking a brisk walk or a jog, but you surely have burnt more calories for the day compared to your colleague sitting on his chair all day! With these small changes and a conscious effort to watch your snack and portion size, you could start burning more calories.