I work an office job. I either sit at my office desk when I work from home or I work from my bed in my bedroom. It is a working environment that works for me because I can limit the amount of distractions around me and focus on delivering the tasks that I am hired to do. (I work remotely.)
However, one of the big problems is that I am nowhere near as mobile as I should be. The average person will walk to their office and even walk around their office. Maybe even go up some stairs.
For me, I will walk from one room to the other. Given that the space is about 25m, it isn’t far to walk. And sitting or lying down working for long periods of time is very common.
I will typically start my working day around 7am. I will then finish around 6pm. And there is very little movement inbetween.
What happens is that my body gains fat because of the lack of mobility. Even if I am eating healthily, the lack of mobility is an issue.
If you find that you are struggling with your weight and fat loss, there are a couple of things that you can consider.
Commit to a certain amount of mobility each day.
You may need to dedicate 30-60 minutes worth of exercise or movement every day to supplement the loss in mobility. Especially if you work from home or in an office setup.
It would be ideal if you could participate in an activity that you enjoy. This could be team sports or joining a fitness class.
If the activity can help you to burn 300-500 calories in the session, it will help you with your calorie deficit.
You have pay extra attention to your nutrition.
I find that if I start to cheat in my diet slightly, the weight starts to come back on. Even if I am doing the workouts and the cardio exercise, the consumption of the wrong food and drinks will cause my body to add the weight and fat back on.
I personally find that I need to prioritise eating salads so that my body keeps on losing body fat. Should I consume anything starchy, my body takes it in and I start to increase my body weight.
I can calculate for cheat days and cheat meals. But to make sure my nutrition is helping me progress, I need to be aware of the food that I am putting into my body.
In the office, it is common for people to bring in food and snacks. Or even go for tea and coffee runs. I remember I used to drink a milky coffee with 2 sugars. And then I piled on the fat in my gut.
Thankfully, I’ve now switched to black coffee with no sugar.
No snacks like chocolate or biscuits, followed by an unhealthy lunch. All of my calories are tracked and my meals are planned.
It is also much easier to put on the fat then to lose it. I can tell you from my experience that sticking to a 1000 calorie deficit allowed me to lose up to 1kg per week. But eating the wrong kind of food with little to no mobility allowed me to add 2-3kg in a week. It isn’t worth it in my opinion.
I hope that you found this post helpful. Just be aware of what you are consuming, your mobility, and how it fits into the office lifestyle.
