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  • Writer's pictureBrittany Kalinowski

How to Burn Calories at Your Desk

Updated: Aug 3, 2023



If you are working a desk job, you have definitely signed up for an unhealthy lifestyle. For most people, an unhealthy lifestyle starts with bad eating habits or a passive lifestyle, but with desk jobs, you get all these things in one go. You will be shocked at how much it can impact your metabolism and can cause some major illnesses. If you look at desk jobs as a whole, you will notice that they are considered the benchmark of success. Generally, desk jobs involve extensive sitting periods will be little to no involvement in walking. In fact, companies have invested a lot of money to make sure that employee has to walk as less as possible. This starts from the use of smart chairs and smart furniture to the use of lifts and elevators. From the company's perspective, they are helping the employee spend fewer calories and energy on daily physical work so that when they sit on the workstation, and they do not feel drained. However, this extensive sitting time and no involvement in physical activity is making things worse for the workers.


Why Desk Jobs Are Not Good For Health?

According to a recent study conducted by the health department in the US, the leading cause of illness or terminal issues can be attached to obesity. Obesity is generally caused by extra eating and not exerting the consumed calories properly. Just a few years ago, obesity was considered to be an adult issue, but it is now seen in youngsters as well. Blame it on the unhealthy food consumed by the young adults or the passive lifestyle, things are becoming severe, and they are pushing adults towards gaining and eventually death in a very early stage of life. A recent study concluded that just sitting 4 hours without a break will increase your chance of terminal illness by almost 50-60%. These numbers are quite alarming, and they have pushed people to seek serious answers regarding these desk jobs. This has also raised awareness in the people and companies, so they are also taking serious actions to help people live a better life.

With the help of this article, we will look at some of the viable actions taken by companies offering desk jobs. We will then look at some of the ways you can burn calories and live a healthy lifestyle if your company is not offering you the same perks.


How Companies Are Helping Workers to Live a Healthy Lifestyle

Big tech companies with good budgets are helping their employees enjoy a good lifestyle by incorporating healthy activities and healthy food items into their daily lifestyles. These changes can range from offering more vegetable and healthy food items to offering gym membership for all the employees. Here are some of the main ways big tech companies are helping their employees enjoy a good and healthy lifestyle:

· Most companies offer full health insurance that includes all kinds of health facilities, especially gym membership.

· Companies offer gym and health investment program which allows the employees to buy health-related products, and the company pays for them.

· The company offers nap pods and mental health breaks so people can take time off to feel better.

· Companies offer well-balanced food menus so people get to enjoy healthy food rather than junk food.

· Companies use positive shelving methods to sort things, this helps in keeping healthy food items in reach of the employees while keeping unhealthy food items away.

· Companies are using subliminal messaging to tell their employee about healthy lifestyles.


How Can You Burn Calories While Working A Desk Job?

Burning calories while sitting means you have to choose a workout that can be easily performed on the desk. Most people think that working and taking care of your health do not go hand in hand, but with the right workouts, you can easily keep your body engaged while making sure that you are able to complete your work on time. If you are working from home, the very first thing you can do is invest in good furniture. You will find standing desks, adjustable desks, along with walking desks that will allow you to change posture and even run while you are working out.

  • Start your day with dynamic stretching that can be done on your desk. There are so many simple stretching tenancies that can be completed while you are sitting at your desk. These techniques are not only simple but they will help you relax your muscles and get you ready for the extensive and hard day to come. Most people use simple yoga moves for the desk workout and this helps them relax as well.

  • Using simple workouts like chair lunges or just shifting your workout routine is also very important. Try getting involved in your work physically because this will help you prep for your body and burn calories.

  • Most people consider fighting, moving legs or just bouncing the body as a bad sign. However, with the help of fighting you can keep your muscle moving and your blood circulation will improve as well. Apart from this, you will be able to burn a lot of calories as well.

  • For daily work, stop using smart machines, lift, and elevator. Try to get involved in your work physically. If you have to fetch a file from another table, get it on your own. Similarly, if you have to go anywhere, try taking the stairs.

  • For the food, try choosing good and healthy options that will help you churn up the extra fat. A good option is to use green tea and drink more warm water as compared to regular cold water. Also, make sure that you are choosing detox food items with a lot of water so the body is able to get rid of all the extra fat faster.

  • Investing in a good chair can help you boost your health significantly. If you are looking for ways to burn calories while sitting, get a ball chair. Ball chairs have medicine balls in them so you will enjoy sitting. Apart from this, you can move these chairs around while bouncing so this will help you burn a lot of calories as well.


Bottom Line

To sum it all up, it all comes down to marinating a planning a healthy lifestyle. Most people just go for exercise or think about getting a gym membership without thinking about how they are Going to work out. Generally, people come home with full-day exhaustion, which only makes things worse for them. It is recommended that they should go for a morning workout as compared to an evening workout however, for most people waking up early might not be easy so they end up questioning the sustainability in both cases. Experts believe that a good lifestyle is a mix of diet as well as workout, so unless you do not plan things and work on both diet and exercise, you will not get your desired results. With the help of the above-mentioned tips, you can easily choose a good and sustainable lifestyle even if your company is not offering you a healthy lifestyle. Written by Joseph Akoni with Elite Sports

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