By It’s so simple that anyone can do this
Most of us have office jobs that prohibit us from being active — which isn’t good news for our health and longevity.Finding small ways to increase your movement every day is a worthy goal because it’s so easy. Here are some small and sneaky ways I get away from my desk:
- Making tea often
- Using a smaller bottle of water that requires re-filling every hour
- That then makes me go to the bathroom often
- Walking to the kitchen to enjoy the beautiful view or chat with a friend
- Regularly escaping into a quiet room for a bit of silence
Although these are small, they help get those steps in without effort. But there is also another movement you should consider that helps you lose weight. That small yet forgotten part of our everyday life is standing up! A study was published in the European Journal of Preventative Cardiology regarding the fat-burning powers of standing. This paper went into detail to uncover if standing burns more calories than sitting on your backside. Researcher’s analysed 46 studies with 1,184 participants. Their age averaged near 33 years, and 60 per cent were men with an average weight of 64kg. Researchers found that standing burned 0.15 calories per minute more than sitting. You have to substitute standing for sitting for six hours a day; a 65 kg person could expend an extra 54 calories per day. With no food intake, 2.5 kg a year and 10kg in four years. Now I know what you are saying — standing for 6 hours a day is a bit hectic. Am I out of my mind for mentioning this? But, if you think about it logically, it’s not that much over 24 hours. Standing is just one thing, but what about walking and exercising? That hasn’t been considered in this study — I just wanted to highlight that everything helps.
Some examples of how you can keep standing are:
- Getting a standing desk and standing every second hour of work
- Walking to and from home, work.
- Walking during your lunch break
- Your exercise session for the day
Standing up not only burns more calories, but you also have the additional benefits of muscle activity, which lowers the risk of heart attacks, stroke and diabetes. So, standing up for more extended periods has more benefits than just weight loss. Keep in mind that when you naturally stand up for more extended periods, you shift from one foot to the other and takesmall steps forward and back. These movements naturally add to the caloric burn (but were not mentioned) again. It’s essential to try and avoid sitting for hours at a time and break it up with periods of movement — from walking to standing and shifting your body from side to side. Prompting those who are always sedentary to take up some form of movement is a step in the right direction — no matter their health and fitness level. Again, the 6-hour timeframe may shock some people — but perhaps you are closer than you think.
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