How to lose weight for a woman who has a sedentary job. Features of nutrition during sedentary work

Instead of sandwiches at work, it is better to eat fruits or vegetables (photo: evehealth.ru)

When faced with the problem of how to lose weight with a sedentary lifestyle, you should first of all pay attention to controlling the calorie content of the food you eat. It is better to reduce the number of calories not through portion size, but by choosing lower-calorie foods. This way you won’t feel like you’re not eating enough and the number of calories will be under control. For example, sandwiches can be replaced with vegetables or fruits, and instead of sweets, you can eat dried fruits or yogurt.

Diet principles for sedentary work:

do not skip breakfast (in the morning you need to eat in such a way as to provide the body with energy for the next three hours. Foods should contain slow carbohydrates and fiber, for example, buckwheat, oatmeal in water with vegetables;
avoid fast foods and fast food establishments (their menu mainly contains high-calorie foods with harmful flavoring additives);
have dinner no later than three hours before bedtime (the food should be light, for example, boiled lean meat with fresh vegetables);
There should be healthy snacks between main meals;
in the morning, 30 minutes before breakfast, drink a glass of water;
Drink 1.5-2 liters of water during the day;
You can supplement your fluid intake with unsweetened natural juices, green or herbal tea, and kefir;
when you are sitting at work, you should not look up to others and eat with company every time;
do not overuse buns, cookies, chips, crackers, coffee with cream, cappuccino and other high-calorie foods that are so popular at work;
eat often, but in small portions; the break between meals should not be more than two hours.

Sedentary work and movement

Most women who dream of losing excess weight, after a whole day spent at work in the same position, have absolutely no energy left for fitness. It seems to them that the question of how to lose weight while working sedentarily is rhetorical. But they are deeply mistaken. In any job you can find an opportunity to move.

How to lose weight for a man with a sedentary job. 10 ways to lose weight even at a sedentary job

“I have a sedentary job” - this is exactly the excuse of 30% of people suffering from excess weight. However, this is only a reason, and every person can lose weight, even if he spends 8 hours a day at the computer in the office or at home. These 10 ways will help you get rid of excess weight even for those who have a sedentary job.

Drink more water

It's very easy to do. All you have to do is put a glass of water on the table in front of you and drink constantly. A person needs to drink at least two liters of water per day. This is very important for the quality of the body, skin, hair, nails. Moreover, the more a person drinks, the less he eats.

Count your calories

To lose weight, you need to know how many calories a person spends per day. Using various formulas, you can find out what caloric content a person should have in their diet to maintain weight. If you subtract 15-20%, you get the calorie content that is needed for weight loss. Only in this way can you understand how much a person should eat per day.

Eat 4-5 times a day

Fractional meals are the best option for losing weight. Frequent meals speed up metabolism, which allows you to lose weight regardless of a person's activity level. It is important to find time in your work schedule for these meals so as not to overeat after work at night.

Clean eating

In addition to the frequency of meals, what exactly a person eats is equally important. To lose weight while working in an office job, clean eating is extremely important. Nutritionists strongly advise giving up sugar, fatty, fried foods, and preference should be given to stewed, baked, and boiled foods.

Activity

For a person with a sedentary lifestyle, any physical activity is extremely important. Of course, you often don’t have the energy to go to the gym, but you can skip the elevator and don’t neglect household chores, which are also great for burning calories.

Refusing lunch with colleagues

Lunch with colleagues almost always means going to a cafe, where all the dishes bear little resemblance to dietary ones. That is why it is best to refuse to share lunches, and it is most convenient to eat homemade food from containers, where a person knows exactly the calorie content of the finished dish. By the way, you can also save money this way, because after losing weight you will need to update your wardrobe.

Exercise during lunch break

You can also do a short 15-minute exercise during your lunch break. This seems to be ineffective. In 15 minutes you can burn up to 200 calories, and in the fight against excess weight this is not so little.

Breathing exercises

If you master breathing exercises, you can work and lose weight at the same time. For example, the “vacuum” exercise can be done while sitting, it will not be noticeable to a stranger, but such a sport perfectly strengthens the muscles of the back and abdomen.

Walk to work

Walking is a great activity option for weight loss, so it's best to walk to and from work. You can also use a bicycle, which can save a person from 120-150 calories in 15 minutes.

Skip tea with colleagues

Tea with colleagues almost always means cookies, cakes and sweets - everything that a person who is losing weight should not eat. Don't want to break away from the team? Bring a smoothie to work - an excellent fruit replacement for tea and coffee!

How to lose weight in the office

Many people who have sedentary jobs face the problem of excess weight. Gradually, the extra pounds begin to arrive.

As a rule, this occurs due to poor nutrition, eating food with a large amount of “light” carbohydrates (sweets, cookies, buns, pies, pizza, chocolate, chips, etc.) and decreased physical activity on the muscles.

Important! To stay at your weight, you need to spend exactly as many calories per day as you take in. To lose weight, you need to burn more calories than you take in. Unfortunately, the weight loss scheme doesn’t work any other way.

How to lose weight while working sedentarily, especially if the next deadline requires “doping” for the brain in the form of a chocolate bar, cake or a slice of pizza?

7 tips on how to lose weight in the office

1. Calculate the number of calories

that your body needs per day.
Without excess, so that fat is not stored in reserve. Slimming formula: 1 kcal per 1 hour per 1 kg of body weight. For example, if you weigh 65 kg, then you should get about 1500 calories per day (1 kcal x 24 hours x 65 kg). Do you want to lose weight? Then you need to reduce the number of calories
. For example, instead of a cup of cappuccino and a bun during a snack, eat an orange or an apple - and already have 450 fewer calories.

2. Proteins, fats and carbohydrates. Every day your body should receive a certain amount of proteins, fats and carbohydrates, and in the correct ratio. Proteins – 0.8 g per 1 kg of weight (in a 1:1 ratio of animal and vegetable proteins). Fats – 30-45 g, of which 30% should be vegetable oil. Carbohydrates – 350-400 g, sweets should account for no more than 10%.

If you want to lose weight

, reduce
the number of calories
you eat per day, not its volume. For example, instead of 2-3 cookies, eat a portion of buckwheat and a vegetable salad; instead of a slice of pizza, eat soup and a slice of cheese. It will be satisfying and safe for your figure.

3. What should be in your diet if you want to lose weight. You can create your own diet menu. What foods can you lose weight: fresh vegetables and fruits (except bananas and grapes), seasonal berries, lean meat, low-fat cheese, low-fat dairy products (cottage cheese, kefir, yogurt, milk), nuts and legumes, fish, cereals and healthy carbohydrates - wholemeal bread, durum pasta, unpolished rice.

4. Drink at least 2 liters of fluid per day. It should be still water or herbal tea without sugar. Please note: coffee, hot chocolate, cappuccino, packaged juices and sweet carbonated drinks are not considered healthy liquids, since they contribute to excess weight gain, the appearance of cellulite and acne.

5. What can you replace chocolate and sweets with? During intense mental work, a piece of chocolate is a real salvation. Thanks to it, you get a “second wind” and strength to work, and your mood improves. If you want to lose weight

, chocolate dope will have to be replaced with healthier sweets. These are dates, dried apricots, raisins, figs, prunes and other dried fruits. They perfectly stimulate brain function, but are safe for your figure (of course, if you use them in moderation).

6. Office holidays. To lose weight, you will have to give up cakes, sweets and other sweets that birthday colleagues so often treat. In order not to offend your colleague, you can treat yourself to candy, but do not rush to unwrap it and put it in your mouth. Alternatively, put it in your table or purse, and if the opportunity arises, treat it to someone, for example, a girlfriend or husband after work. It’s more difficult at collective feasts, but you can also “lose weight.” Instead of sandwiches and cakes, treat yourself to fruit, olives, and a piece of cheese.

7. Avoid snacking and social shopping. If everyone eats chebureks or pizza from the nearest one, you don’t have to support your colleagues at all. Perhaps they have long forgotten about their slim figure, unlike you. Take a full lunch with you or order lunch to the office. The ideal option if lunch is hot is the first or second course, plus a vegetable salad. Also take healthy snacks from home - fresh fruits, dairy products, dried fruits. They will help you resist the temptation to snack on a candy bar or cookie.

Take note! A good alternative to chocolate is Hematogen (this bar is sold at the pharmacy), tea with a spoonful of honey or a little apple butter or jam. If you absolutely cannot live without chocolate, allow yourself 2-3 cubes of dark chocolate, but no more than once a week.

Sedentary work exercises. A set of exercises for sedentary work at a computer

Correct positioning of the body when working is the key to optimal blood flow, but over time, blood and fluid in the tissues still stagnate. Exercises for sedentary work at a computer are a mandatory procedure that must be performed at regular intervals to restore blood flow. The exercises are designed for use in the office and can be used anywhere.

It is recommended to carry out exercises in the form of a complex on all areas that suffer most from sedentary work. They help improve concentration, eliminate headaches, increase blood flow, and prevent the formation of blood clots.

Back exercises for sedentary work

Back exercises during sedentary work will help prevent osteochondrosis, pain, curvature of the spine and a number of other pathologies.

girl stretches while sitting at the table

Several effective exercises:

The man sits on a chair and clasps his hands behind the back of his head, making a lock. The shoulder blades are brought together, and the arms are spread out, forming an obtuse angle. The exercise is carried out with a straight back. The arms are straightened and bends are made in the back area so that the stomach moves forward. Exercise improves blood circulation in the back area.
The arms are joined in front, forming a lock, and extended in front of you. The gaze and head are directed downward, the stomach is pulled in a little. When exhaling, you need to stretch forward as much as possible, and at the same time there is a bend in your back. This exercise helps to stretch your back.
Sitting on a chair, you need to spread your legs quite wide, and place your hands on your hips. Next, the body is rotated, first in one direction, then in the opposite direction, fixing the body in the position of maximum rotation for 1–2 seconds. This exercise allows you to stretch the muscles in the middle back.

There are no restrictions on the duration of actions. Exercises for sedentary work allow you to feel how the muscles will relax and a slight tingling sensation will appear (a pleasant sensation). When the person feels relief, the procedure can be completed.

workers in the office doing exercises

Neck exercises for sedentary work

All warm-up techniques can be used both sitting and standing. Neck exercises for sedentary work:

The head is lowered so that the chin touches the chest. This position alternates with throwing the head back, as if the person is trying to look behind him. Proper breathing will help enhance the effect of the procedure - inhale when bending, exhale when stretching. Perform from 5 repetitions.
The person turns his head to the side and fixes it; after a few seconds, a rotational movement is performed in the opposite direction. It is worth repeating 5-10 times.
You need to imagine that the nose is a brush and use it to draw various symbols or the alphabet. You can write some words. Most of the movement should be on the neck. You need to draw 5-10 aerial figures.
Rotate the head 2–4 times in the direction of the clock, then the direction changes and the movement is repeated. It serves as an excellent and effective neck workout and allows you to warm up the spinal discs. This exercise is very useful when working with a computer.
girl doing exercises sitting at the table
Hands are folded and thrown behind the head. Hands apply pressure to the neck, and apply resistance with it. This allows you to develop your neck muscles.
The head is lowered, you need to relax your muscles and shrug your shoulders. First, the shoulders are raised as much as possible, and a 2-second delay is performed at the peak point. The exercise perfectly develops the trapezius muscles, which strengthen the neck, and ensures blood flow.

Where to start losing weight when working sedentarily. The right diet

Proper nutrition is not only a guarantee of health, but also a guarantee of a slim figure, so you should start with developing a suitable diet, which largely depends on your lifestyle and activity level.

When creating a menu, adhere to several basic principles:

As a rule, people whose professions involve mental work lead a sedentary lifestyle. And for the smooth functioning of the brain, glucose is required, which allows you to support all mental processes and is used as the main source of energy. And therefore, the menu must include carbohydrate foods, and in sufficient quantities.
Only the “right” carbohydrates! And these are the so-called slow ones, which are not absorbed immediately, but gradually, due to which they help produce energy and do not go “in reserve.” First of all, such carbohydrates are found in cereals, so feel free to eat muesli, cereal porridge, and whole grain rye bread. In addition, you can allow yourself nuts, which also provide energy and, if consumed in moderation, will not be stored as extra pounds.
Less fat. Their consumption should be reduced to a minimum, so avoid fatty meats, lard, bacon, and high-fat dairy products. And yet, it is absolutely impossible to exclude these food components, since they take part in the synthesis of certain hormones.
We count calories. To start losing weight, the body must burn more calories than it comes from food. Therefore, it is worth reducing the daily intake to approximately 1200-1500 kcal.
Follow your diet. Don't skip meals, it's bad for your digestion and health. It is best to stick to fractional meals: eat more often (at least four to five times a day), but in small portions. Breakfast should be nutritious, but for dinner it is best to eat protein foods with vegetables. An excellent second breakfast or afternoon snack would be fruit or yogurt. The last meal should be taken no later than 6-7 pm or at least four hours before bedtime.
Proper preparation. It is best to choose boiling, steaming, baking or stewing as methods of heat treatment of foods.