Overcome Your Sedentary Job
Do you sit at a desk all day, in front of a computer? The most movement you get all day is getting up to go to the restroom? Studies show that sedentary jobs lead to unhealthy snacking, and decreased physical activity. With these two factors alone your job is adding on the pounds.
Don’t let your job get in the way of leading a healthy life.
Here are some tips:
1. Don’t eat at your desk. If you are hungry eat in the break room. This prevents mindless eating!
2. Every hour take a lap around the office and get up and stretch.
3. If you are on a phone call make it mobile by using your blue tooth. Take a walk while talking with clients or making dinner plans for the night.
4. Keep healthy snacks in the lunchroom to avoid the doughnuts, cake, and vending machines.
5. Drink plenty of water. Avoid the high cal coffee/smoothie drinks and pop.
Besides just getting moving and not overeating at work you should workout either before or after work. Keep clothes and shoes packed everyday. Make a plan and commit to it. For example, if you have an appointment to see your trainer every Tuesday and Thursday before or after work, make it a point to stay consistant and do your cardio at that same time on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. This helps keep a routine, so it becomes like brushing your teeth. You do it everyday! So get moving and don’t let your job make you fat.
What’s the Deal with BMI?
What is BMI?
Body Mass Index (BMI) is a number calculated from a person’s weight and height. BMI is a fairly reliable indicator of body fatness for most people. BMI does not measure body fat directly, but research has shown that BMI correlates to direct measures of body fat, such as underwater weighing and dual energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA).1, 2 BMI can be considered an alternative for direct measures of body fat. Additionally, BMI is an inexpensive and easy-to-perform method of screening for weight categories that may lead to health problems.
How is BMI used?
BMI is used as a screening tool to identify possible weight problems for adults. However, BMI is not a diagnostic tool. For example, a person may have a high BMI. However, to determine if excess weight is a health risk, a healthcare provider would need to perform further assessments. These assessments might include skinfold thickness measurements, evaluations of diet, physical activity, family history, and other appropriate health screenings.
Why does CDC use BMI to measure overweight and obesity?
Calculating BMI is one of the best methods for population assessment of overweight and obesity. Because calculation requires only height and weight, it is inexpensive and easy to use for clinicians and for the general public. The use of BMI allows people to compare their own weight status to that of the general population.
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BMI
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Weight Status
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Below 18.5
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Underweight
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18.5 – 24.9
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Normal
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25.0 – 29.9
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Overweight
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30.0 and Above
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Obese
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Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis (BIA)
Water is a good conductor of electricity, and most body water is found in the lean mass. Fat, which has almost no water in it, is such a poor conductor of electricity that it actually impedes the electrical flow. BIA equipment comes in two basic forms. In one form, the subject lies down and the right wrist and right ankle are fitted with electrodes, which produce an electrical current that runs from the wrist to the ankle. In another form, the subject stands on a platform with bare feet, and an electrical current runs from the right foot, up the right leg, down the left leg, and out the left foot. Regardless of the BIA equipment used, the principle behind the technique is the same.
Although BIA has an excellent theoretical basis for making good body composition predictions, several important protocols must be followed for the results to be accurate and repeatable. Since the technique is dependent on electrical conductivity through the lean mass, the hydration state of the subject can alter the results. If someone having a BIA test is not well hydrated, the electrical current will not be conducted through the lean mass as well, so the subject will appear to have more fat mass than they actually do.
Dual-Energy X-Ray Absorptiometry (DEXA)
Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) is the latest, most accurate, and most expensive means of determining body composition, and it is generally considered the current gold standard for this purpose. The information you can derive from a full-body scan on an athlete is invaluable, including bone density; body fat percentage; lean body mass; fat mass; and the distribution of fat and lean tissue in the arms, trunk, and legs. DEXA output even provides the differences in lean mass and fat mass between the left and right sides.
DEXA works by passing two X-ray beams through the subject and measuring the amount of X ray absorbed by the tissue it has passed through. One beam is high intensity and one is low intensity, so the relative absorbance of each beam is an indication of the density of the tissue it has passed through. The higher the tissue density, the greater the reduction in X-ray intensity. If you can find a lab with DEXA, the usual cost for a full-body scan is somewhere between $100 and $250.
DEXA works by passing two X-ray beams through the subject and measuring the amount of X ray absorbed by the tissue it has passed through. One beam is high intensity and one is low intensity, so the relative absorbance of each beam is an indication of the density of the tissue it has passed through. The higher the tissue density, the greater the reduction in X-ray intensity. If you can find a lab with DEXA, the usual cost for a full-body scan is somewhere between $100 and $250.
How It Works
The BOD POD Express Body Composition Tracking System uses patented Air Displacement Plethysmography for determining percent fat and fat-free mass in adults and children. The simple, 5-minute test consists of measuring the subject’s mass (weight) using a very accurate electronic scale, and volume, which is determined by sitting inside the BOD POD chamber. From these two measurements, the subject’s body composition is calculated.
Skinfold methods
The skinfold estimation methods are based on a skinfold test, whereby a pinch of skin is precisely measured by calipers at several standardized points on the body to determine the subcutaneous fat layer thickness. These measurements are converted to an estimated body fat percentage by an equation. Some formulas require as few as three measurements, others as many as seven. The accuracy of these estimates is more dependent on a person’s unique body fat distribution than on the number of sites measured. As well, it is of utmost importance to test in a precise location with a fixed pressure. Although it may not give an accurate reading of real body fat percentage, it is a reliable measure of body composition change over a period of time, provided the test is carried out by the same person with the same technique.
Skinfold-based body fat estimation is sensitive to the type of caliper used, and technique. This method also only measures one type of fat: subcutaneous adipose tissue (fat under the skin). Two individuals might have nearly identical measurements at all of the skin fold sites, yet differ greatly in their body fat levels due to differences in other body fat deposits such as visceral adipose tissue: fat in the abdominal cavity. Some models partially address this problem by including age as a variable in the statistics and the resulting formula. Older individuals are found to have a lower body density for the same skinfold measurements, which is assumed to signify a higher body fat percentage. However, older, highly athletic individuals might not fit this assumption, causing the formulas to underestimate their body density.
10 Ways to Stay on Track During the Holidays
- Focus on weight maintenance vs. weight loss during the holidays. If you are currently overweight and want to lose weight, this is not the time to do it. Maintenance of your present weight is a big enough challenge during the holiday season. Don’t set yourself up for failure by making unrealistic goals for yourself.
- Plan on NOT dieting after the New Year. Anticipation of food restriction sets you up for binge-type eating over the holidays (“after all, if I’m never going let myself eat this again after Jan. 1st, I might as well eat as much as possible now!”) Besides, restrictive diets don’t work in the long run. They increase your loss of lean body mass vs. fat, slow down your metabolism, increase anxiety, depression, food preoccupation, and binge eating, and make weight re-gain more likely.
- Be physically active every day. Often, students’ busy holiday schedules (or lack of structured schedules) bump them off their exercise routines. Physical activity, especially aerobic activities (like brisk walking, jogging, bicycling, roller blading, and swimming) can help relieve stress, regulate appetite, and burn up extra calories from holiday eating.
- Eat a light snack before going to holiday parties. It is not a good idea to arrive at a party famished. Not only are you more likely to overeat, but you are also less likely to resist the temptation of eating the higher fat and higher calorie foods. Try eating a piece of fruit, a small carton of yogurt, or a string cheese before you go.
- Make a plan. Think about where you will be, who you will be with, what foods will be available, what foods are really special to you (that you really want to eat) vs. those that you could probably do without, what are your personal triggers to overeat and how can you minimize them. Once you’ve thought about all of these things, make a plan of action. It’s much easier to deal with a difficult social eating situation if you’ve already planned for it.
- Take steps to avoid recreational eating. While some foods are more calorie-dense than others, no food will make you gain weight unless you eat too much of it. At parties and holiday dinners, we tend to eat (or keep eating) beyond our body’s physical hunger simply because food is there and eating is a “social thing.” To avoid recreational eating, consciously make one plate of the foods you really want. Eat it slowly–enjoying and savoring every tasty bite. Then, when you’re done, pop a mint or stick of gum in your mouth, get a tall glass of water and sip on it throughout the night, or position yourself away from the buffet table or food trays to keep yourself from overeating.
- Reduce the fat in holiday recipes. There are plenty of low fat and low calorie substitutes that are amazingly tasty. Try using applesauce in place of oil in your favorite holiday breads; use egg substitutes in place of whole eggs; try plain nonfat yogurt in place of sour cream. Magazines are full of reduced calorie and reduced fat holiday recipes. Give them a try, and share your cooking creations with friends and family.
- Choose your beverages wisely. Alcohol is high in calories. Liquors, sweet wines and sweet mixed drinks contain 150-450 calories per glass. By contrast, water and diet sodas are calorie-free. If you choose to drink, select light wines and beers, and use non-alcoholic mixers such as water and diet soda. Limit your intake to 1 or 2 alcoholic drinks per occasion. And, watch out for calories in soda, fruit punch, and eggnog as well.
- Enjoy good friends and family. Although food can be a big part of the season, it doesn’t have to be the focus. Holidays are a time to reunite with good friends and family, to share laughter and cheer, to celebrate and to give thanks. Focus more on these other holiday pleasures, in addition to the tastes of holiday foods. The important thing to remember is balance and moderation. It’s OK to eat too much once in a while. Just relax, enjoy the holidays, and remember what the season is all about.
- Maintain perspective: Overeating one day won’t make or break your eating plan. And it certainly won’t make you gain weight! It takes days and days of overeating to gain weight. If you over-indulge at a holiday meal, put it behind you. Return to your usual eating plan the next day without guilt or despair?
10 ways to stay on track during the holidays
Trimming the Calories of Holiday Foods
- Reduce the portion of all the holiday foods that you eat – try to have a small taste of everything rather than filling up on all foods. This will reduce the amount of calories you eat and it will prevent you from feeling uncomfortable around the waistline at the end of the meal, too!
- Limit yourself to one helping.Planning what you will eat before you sit down to a meal can help you resist the temptation to have a second helping.
- Trim the skin and excess fat from your serving of turkey.
- Try to avoid the foods that you don’t really care for – this way you can avoid consuming these calories and reduce your total intake. For example, if you don’t really like to have cranberry sauce with your turkey, don’t even put it on your plate.
- Avoid going to a holiday party hungry – this will help prevent you from making poor choices at the hors d’oeuvres or dinner table.
- Know your triggers. If you know that you cannot have just one piece of Lindt chocolate, avoid eating them as much as you can. If you decide to have one, make a deal with yourself that you will have one at a particular time of day (end of the day may be best for you if it is at the office, because then you are out of the office shortly afterward). Once you decide that you will have a candy, make it a deliberate event where your complete attention is on eating. This will allow you to savor the chocolate and prevent you from eating food while being distracted (while you work or watch TV), which often leads to eating more than you want or need.
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