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3 Ways to Burn Calories at Work

If you’re reading this article, you are probably worried about your weight, how many calories you consume on a daily basis, how this calorie intake is affecting your health, and possible ways you can curb this health challenge while maintaining a healthy work lifestyle. If this description suits you, then this article is for you. It is important to note that calories are not entirely bad for the body– they are healthy and unhealthy calories – and your concerns are quite common, so seeking for practical solutions to curb excess calories as a full-time worker is a first towards healthy living. 

In this article, you will discover what calories truly are, why you should burn calories, how you can burn calories, and, most importantly, ways to burn calories at your workplace(s). Lifespanfitness.com is a great place to learn and invest in balancing work and working out.

Understanding Calories: An Overview 

While living and staying healthy is essential, it is vital that we mind the energy we consume in our daily intake of food because everything we consume– either food or drinks, is responsible for how our bodies function and these foods contain a certain amount of calories.

Our bodies utilize energy gotten from the food we consume daily, and this is parallel to how a mule needs hay, straw, and enough water to be able to function appropriately on farmland.  

What matters is that you ensure you consume the proper amount of calories your body needs. It is crucial that you look up the content of the food your purchase at the mall, market, etc.; this is because some foods contain more calories than others, and this cannot be deduced from merely looking at the sizes or the weight of these food packs.

What are Calories?

A calorie is a unit of measurement of our energy intake. Calories are measured by the amount of energy we consume whenever we take in food or drink liquids such as juices, beverages, etc., and this energy comes in as macronutrients, including proteins, carbohydrates, and fats. However, it is worth noting that there are healthy and unhealthy calories. 

Calories are essential for the proper functioning of our bodies; this is why we must be sure of where we get the calories we consume because the quality and quantity of the calories we take in are vital. Not all calories are suitable for our body systems. Some foods we consume that contain poor calories include fast food, soda drinks, food with high sugar content, etc. In contrast, healthy calories are often found in foods that provides us with the needed micronutrient that our bodies require to function correctly. This includes fruits, vegetables, etc. While these fruits might contain the same amount of calories as your soda drink, one of the following will function to aid the metabolism of your body, providing vitamins that will nourish your body and fight against any form of deficiencies; the other will only provide energy and possibly compound problems for your body by amassing deficiencies. 

Why You Should Burn Calories

When you do not adequately utilize the energy you consume as food, it gets stored up in your body as fats, and this is unhealthy for you, as it will leave your body feeling lazy. In severe situations, you could develop health challenges that may become permanent if not adequately catered for. 

How to Burn Calories

To burn excessive calories, it is important that you understand the metabolism– how your body generates and uses energy from food–  of your body. 

Generally, calories are based on the following factors: your gender, age, the kind of activities you involve yourself in, and your body composition.

Exercising is essential. You may argue that you do not have adequate time to develop a healthy exercise routine, but going about your daily activities, including stretching, walking, climbing staircases, standing, etc., could pose as a means of exercising even at your workplace. The following are three significant ways you can burn calories while at work.

  • Walking
  • Get involved in business trips
  • Use the staircase 

1. Walking

As cheap as this may sound, walking is one of the important ways you can burn calories at work. Investing in a treadmill desk can allow you to walk and work at the same time. 

How do you achieve this?

  • Walk as You Discuss with Your Colleagues:

Whenever you find time to talk with your colleagues, rather than sit and chat, you can quickly go for a walk around the office premises. 

Walking about while discussing business gives you ample time to stretch your body, dispensing energy that may have amassed in your body and burning unhealthy calories.  You can also use this medium to strengthen yourself for the tasks ahead of you. Doing this will help you stay alert during your working hours. 

  • Go Out During Your Lunch Break:

During lunch break hours, you can steal a few minutes to walk briskly to your chosen restaurant or wherever you may be getting lunch from; walking briskly is a form of exercise that will help you quickly burn fats. You can also choose to jog, cycle or bike. You might even decide to walk as you eat your lunch; all these and more will help you dispense excess energy. 

  • Walk Quickly Around Your Office Space:

It is best to take advantage of every opening to move about your office space. Walking quickly to pick up a file, submit a document, grab a folder, or carry out one official duty of the other are some ways you can easily burn calories. 

2. Get Involved in Business Trips:

Whether you are the boss of your office or you work as an employee in a company where business trips are designed for workers, then you should hop on these trips. Traveling greatly influences our bodies that we may not know of. When you spend several hours sitting on a bus, in a cab, train, or even on a plane, in situations where you travel long distances, you will eventually burn some calories. This is because sitting for a long causes us to exert energy. 

Other business trips may require taking long walks, sightseeing, touring your new environment, etc. All these activities and more will help you burn fat effectively. You can also utilize this medium by traveling with exercise gadgets, or you can easily visit a gym during your business trip. 

You should also weigh your choices and consider the activities that you choose based on how much time you have at hand to enable you to achieve your body goals.  

3. Use the Staircase:

Another way you can burn excess calories is by using the staircase rather than the elevator. As earlier established, walking is a good form of exercise. So, if you are in the office and you do not have sufficient time on your hands to work out, then you should use the staircase. Twenty minutes on stairs each day will help you reduce fats and burn unnecessary calories. 

Whenever you have to run office errands, go to another department, go out for lunch, pick something up, etc., it would be best if you use the staircase. 

Any sweat you exert while using the staircase signifies that you are burning some calories at that time. 

Keeping Fit for Healthy Living

Burning calories is give and take. You have to make personal efforts to burn excess fats. If you are more focused on weight loss, a weight loss calculator can help you get started. Working in an office should never be an excuse for not taking good care of your body. It would be best to eat healthy during lunch breaks because what you munch on also matters, as you are what you eat. You should also follow the points above to achieve the perfect body for healthy living.