The term metabolism has been thrown around a lot over the past few years, and chances are you have heard a thing or two about it. However, we need to understand what it is and what it means for office workers. Simply put, metabolism refers to the chemical process by which your body breaks down ingested food to produce energy. The process never stops, even at rest, and the energy produced from this is then used to fuel the different functions of your body. However, the metabolic rate can show variety across people because of various factors, including several genetic disorders such as hypothyroidism or Cushing's syndrome, which are hereditary. Other factors that can affect the rate of your metabolism include your muscle mass, your age, whether or not your smoke, your sexual orientation, and even the amount of physical activity your body gets.
Regarding office workers, the latter is a particularly pressing cause for concern as most of us who spend most of our days sitting behind a desk risk altering our metabolic rates for the worse. It perhaps doesn't come as a surprise due to the sheer number of health concerns linked to sitting in your office chair all day. While the connection between sitting all day at work and low metabolic rates may seem evident initially, recent studies suggest a more profound intricacy in the relationship.
The research involving a set of volunteers yielded that persistent sitting stimulates a state whereby your body becomes resistant to the effect of physical exercise. Essentially, simply hoping that a one-hour bout of exercise will counter the metabolic effects of constant sitting is ill-advised becomes your body will develop resistance. It also means that those who sit the most at work benefit the least from workout sessions. So, instead of remaining glued to your seat every day and hoping that hitting the gym over the weekend will counter the effects, try to incorporate ways of managing your metabolism while working so that when you do work out, it will matter.
So how exactly do you manage to boost your metabolism during your workday?
Try standing more while working.
What's the best way to reduce the metabolic effects of sitting at work too much? Try standing more! If your work typically revolves in an office, you are likely to sit at your desk toiling away at your computer with only 30-minute lunch breaks and 15-minute regular breaks to show for physical activity. That is by no means a dangerous routine for your health and one you should look break free from as fast as possible. While some jobs may be more hectic than others and thus make it hard to walk away from your computer regularly, you should find ways to stretch your legs from time to time for a better metabolic rate. One such tactic would be incorporating ergonomic equipment, such as a standing desk, into your setup. A standing desk is a form of office desk that allows you to easily switch between sitting and standing while working to reap the benefits of a non-sedentary office lifestyle without compromising work time.
Flexispot, an industry leader in the field, has you covered with its top-of-the-range line of standing desks which deliver on the promise of a healthier office lifestyle. For instance, the Proplus E7 standing desk is made with precision and innovation so that you can easily stand at your workstation and continue working. Its mechanics' system ensures the shift between sitting and standing is smooth and quiet, while its anti-collision feature lets you work without worrying you'll crash into an item beneath it. Visit their website now for a chance to transform your lifestyle at work.
Incorporate some physical exercise into your work routine.
If your schedule is less rigid, or better yet, you work from home, you can add a little more physical exercise into your lifestyle at work through several innovative ways. One of the best among them is using another ergonomic work equipment called a desk bike which is essentially a work desk merged with a convenient cycling mechanism that lets you do so while working. While standing desks are great for letting us stand at work, desk bikes go a bit further by allowing you to get more physical activity in the form of gentle cycling. Merged with your desk, the cycling mechanism enables you to do more work while remaining seated and working on your project.
The Flexispot Deskcise Pro V9, for instance, has a pneumatic adjustment lever that lets you quickly change the seat's height to any preference meaning it accommodates people of most sizes. It also has 8 levels of resistance which can be easily set using its integrated display for a workout at your preferred pace. If you choose to use it in the company of others, Flexispot has ensured the cycling mechanism is as quiet as a whisper so that you don't distract them. So, if the nature of your work can let you incorporate moderate exercise, consider getting a desk bike because it will boost your metabolism even further while still allowing you to work.
Try walking more.
Aren't elevators a convenient piece of invention? They might be when we traverse multiple floors, but what about when the distance is just across two? We might benefit more from resisting the urge to use an elevator to move across floors and instead walking there via the stairs. If time allows, you should prioritize the latter because it lets you incorporate a little physical activity into your office routine. Especially if your work involves little to no movement and lots of sitting at your desk, using the stairs should be your go-to solution for moving across floors relatively close to each other.
Aside from the stairs, it would help if you also considered walking over to your colleague whenever you have to communicate something non-urgent instead of simply ringing them up from your desk. While this does not mean wasting valuable work time loitering from one office booth to the other, you should consider walking over to someone if whatever you need to communicate is not time-sensitive and if the rules and situation allow. You can also walk more at your office by visiting the water dispenser and not eating lunch at your desk, which works against a sedentary office lifestyle by adding a few more steps. Walking is an excellent way of adding physical activity to your routine if the ergonomic equipment mentioned above is out of reach.
Eat several small meals throughout the day.
Aside from physical exercise, there are other ways in which you can boost your metabolism while working, such as spacing out your meals. Most of us are accustomed to eating three meals daily, and we typically strive to stick to the routine. However, eating several small meals distributed throughout the day may be a better routine, as new findings suggest. The research states that eating three meals daily may take in more calories than your body can metabolize. For office workers, the effects are even more severe as the sedentary lifestyle means there is often very little physical activity to boost the metabolic rate.
So, when we eat three huge meals daily, our bodies cannot boost the rate of metabolism to a sufficient level. As such, scheduling multiple small meals throughout the day might be better for a routine that frequently stimulates the metabolic rate to handle food portions. When the metabolic rate is insufficient for the amount of food you eat, your body stores the excess in the form of fat which can also lower the rate. Instead, schedule sizable portions at intervals of 2 to 3 hours for a more balanced metabolic rate, increasing your body's muscle mass and boosting metabolism.
Don't skip meals, and hydrate more.
As mentioned earlier, eating only three meals daily could decrease metabolic rate. However, skipping meals could do your body even more damage, as revealed by new research into metabolism. When you eat, your body raises its metabolic rate to break down the calories being ingested, which conversely means that when you don't, it lowers it to conserve the existing fat reserves. So, when you skip a meal, your body's metabolic rate remains reduced for extended periods, which can be detrimental for office workers. It sounds ironic as you might expect your body to break down more fat if you skip meals, but it might be storing more of it instead. Thus, ensure you do not skip meals while working for a more boosted metabolic rate.
In addition, you should also ensure you remain hydrated because water is essential to the chemical process of metabolism. Without water, your metabolic rate is likely to be depleted, causing less fat to be broken down and instead stored. In addition, drinking water often raises your metabolic rate almost instantaneously, meaning staying hydrated can boost the speed of your body's metabolism while working. So, eat all your meals and drink enough water to watch as your metabolic rate gets a nice bump!
