8 Office Habits That Pack on Pounds
A day in the life of an office worker can be filled with multiple challenges. Getting to work on time, meeting deadlines and cramming 15 hours of work into an eight-hour day is the norm for the American office worker. Amongst the day-to-day stress of our actual job, we tend to start neglecting the even more important job of managing our body and our health and, unfortunately, the office setting can be one of the worst environments. Here are eight habits to avoid both inside and outside the office walls.
1. You Love Your Chair
A day in the life of many Americans usually involves nothing but sitting. A typical day for many living outside major cities includes: sitting in the driver's seat for the morning commute to work, sitting at a desk all day, sitting in meetings, sitting at lunch, sitting in the car again, sitting at dinner, and then sitting on the couch to watch television. That's a whole lot of sitting, especially when the pattern is repeated day after day, week after week and year after year. The sitting disease is becoming more prevalent, and it not only increases risk of weight gain, but also has been shown to increase risk of heart disease, diabetes and cancer. A 2010 study found that the time spent sitting each day is independently associated with total mortality, regardless of whether you exercise after work.
The key is to incorporate physical activity into your day as much as possible, in addition to engaging in exercise when you're off the clock. Track your steps with a pedometer, and aim for walking at least 10,000 steps a day. Also stop normalizing sitting all day, and look for opportunities to stand whenever possible, whether it's at your desk, on conference calls or at a high table at lunch. Get a standing desk, schedule 10-minute walk breaks -- whatever it takes to move more and sit less.
[Read: Are Treadmill Desks the Cure for America's Sitting Epidemic? ]
2. You Count Your Calories Religiously -- But Never Look at Ingredients
Many people make the mistake of only worrying about the caloric content of various food items, forgetting that the number and type of calories are both important. According to the basic physiology of human beings, when caloric intake exceeds caloric output, the human body will accumulate excessive body fat overtime. Maintaining calorie balance should be an overarching goal in your weight-loss journey -- however, it shouldn't be the only consideration.
The key: Pay attention to the quality of the ingredients in your food. Choose foods with few ingredients on the Nutrition Facts label, and stay away from partially hydrogenated oils, added sugars and syrups, and white or enriched flour.
[Read: 'Healthy' Foods You Shouldn't Be Eating .]
3. You Don't Eat Enough
Whether you don't eat enough throughout the day because you're extremely busy and stressed, or because you're intentionally trying to lose weight, under-consuming calories can actually lead to weight gain. When people don't consume enough calories, the body naturally adjusts by lowering your metabolism. Additionally, your body is unaware of whether you're living in the city or living in the forest with little access to food. Under-consuming calories leads the body to believe that it may be a long time before you have access to food again -- and therefore it goes into survival mode, holding onto every last calorie that enters the body.
The key: Stop starving and start eating! Start the day with a healthy breakfast that's high in fiber and protein. Continue through the day with small yet frequent meals that keep your metabolism lit. Bring a cooler if you need to, in order to store healthy snacks.
[Read: 13 Habits of Fit and Lean People.]
4. You Eat Most of your Meals From a Menu
Eating out everyday for lunch isn't only a way to socialize with coworkers or clients -- it's convenient, too. The short-term benefit of convenience typically outweighs the long-term consequences of weight gain and heart disease associated with dining out. One study from 2012 found that women who go out to lunch at least once a week lost five pounds less than women who ate out frequently. Another study found that regular fast-food consumption can damage arteries, increasing risk of heart disease.
The key to dropping a jean size and living longer: Consume at least 90 percent of meals from your home. Make large portions for dinner and pack half for lunch the next day. If you have to go out to lunch daily for business reasons, focus on restaurants that you know are predicable with healthy options.
[Read: Best Heart-Healthy Diets.]
5. Your Emotions Dictate your Diet
Often times the office can be a stressful environment -- one that is conducive to unhealthy food choices that are used as an outlet to feel more calm, get more energy or feel happier. Studies show that stress-induced eating may be one explanation for the increased risk of weight gain associated with stress. Neurotransmitters are chemicals in the brain that affect our moods and emotional responses. These neurotransmitters, such as serotonin, norepinephrine and dopamine, can be affected by food, which leads us to believe that we need salt, fat and sugar.
The key: Choose foods that increase these "feel good" neurotransmitters but won't increase your risk of weight gain. Examples include spinach and lentils, omega-3 rich foods such as walnuts and salmon, 100-percent whole grains, lean protein like whey protein, and black tea.
[Read: Stop Emotional Eating With These 5 Tips .]
6. You Skip Breakfast
Most people can never find enough time in the morning. In order to make it to work on time, adults often give up on the idea of sitting down for breakfast. Though it may not seem like it, the body has to work hard to keep all your organs functioning while you're sleeping. When you wake up, one of the best things you can do to refuel is make time for a healthy breakfast. Skipping breakfast not only increases risk of weight gain, but also influences energy levels, mood and cognitive function. One study found that eating a healthy breakfast every morning is associated with a lower daily caloric intake, weight loss and a decreased risk of obesity-related disease, and may lead to more stable blood glucose levels.
The key: Find breakfast options that are quick and healthy. Pack a bag of trail mix and a banana for the car, add fresh berries and walnuts to plain Greek yogurt, or enjoy a quick bowl of oatmeal before you fly out the door. Your body will benefit in so many ways from taking those extra few minutes to refuel in the morning.
[Read: High-Protein Breakfast Ideas .]
7. You Skip Your Fruits and Veggies
Very few Americans meet the federal recommendation to eat five to nine servings of fruits and vegetables a day. Fruits and vegetables are often not even a consideration for most people when they're packing snacks for work. A diet void of fruits and vegetables substantially increases risk of weight gain, which is usually associated with an increased intake of empty calories. Fruits and vegetable provide high nutritional value for very few calories and are the secret to weight-loss success. One new study found that eating seven or more servings of fruits and vegetables a day decreased overall risk of all-cause death by 42 percent, compared to those eating less than one portion. Fresh vegetables had the strongest protective effect, with each daily portion reducing overall risk of death by 16 percent.
The key: Become more aware of the benefits of a diet rich in fruits and vegetables, and focus on increasing your consumption. Slowly increase your intake of fruits and vegetables -- pack them for lunch and for snacks -- and work toward seven servings a day.
[Read: 8 Ways to Stay Healthy at Work .]
8. You are Fooled by Organic Cookies
When your health-obsessed coworkers bring in cookies they promote as being "healthy," "guilt-free," "100-percent natural" and organic, you can't help but indulge. Adults across the country are cashing into the organic market, as evidenced by sales of natural and organic foods reaching $81.3 billion in 2012, a 13.5 percent jump from 2011. You and your coworkers aren't the only ones who believe eating organic cookies will somehow prevent weight gain. Researchers at Cornell University presented shoppers with two identical cookies but labeled one organic and the other regular. Even though the cookies were the exact same, the participants assumed the organic-labeled cookie was lower in calories and had a better nutritional value.
The key: Try to avoid cookies as much as possible, including regular, organic or even low-fat. Organic cookies are not any lower in calories and do not have a better nutritional value.
You have the opportunity to improve your diet every single day. The key to making improvements is becoming aware of your weight-gain habits and changing for the better. These small changes will add up to big results.
[Read: The Best Foods for Lowering Your Blood Pressure.]
Brigid Titgemeier, M.S., Nutritionist at the Cleveland Clinic Wellness Institute, contributed to this article.
Kristin Kirkpatrick, MS, RD, LD, is the manager of Wellness Nutrition Services at the Cleveland Clinic Wellness Institute. She is an experienced presenter, an award-winning dietitian, an author and a regular television guest on both local and national shows, as well a contributor to several national magazines and newspapers. The Huffington Post recently named Kristin "one of 25 diet and nutrition experts you need to follow on Twitter." Kirkpatrick's career began in Washington, D.C., lobbying for Medical Nutrition Therapy reform, and from there she went on to become the Regional Coordinator of the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute's Hearts N Parks program in Maryland. Follow her on Twitter at @KristinKirkpat.
