2 Ways How Being a Workaholic is Making You Gain Weight
There’s just so much a workaholic feels like handling at work that things like, being health conscious, meeting friends or spending time with family, all become optional for them. There’s never a good time for all of these unless it is hammered hard on their head with some sort of warning.
They do not realize that they are losing out on their relationships, not having much fun in life, and worse – compromising on their health by doing nothing more than staring into the computer screen all day long.
The most common epidemic that hits workaholics who do not give a damn about their health taking a back seat for them is – obesity. Most of them have a habit of turning a blind eye to it initially and still binge on fast foods or potato chips for a quick fix to their hunger pangs, until one day some unwelcomed remark from a close friend or a look at their pictures from 2-3 years back jolts them out of their period of hibernation.
They finally recognize that they don’t look that great anymore. They begin to trace back the times when they could wear those sexy dresses or simply had that coveted beach body that used to make people green with envy. Trust me, many of these workaholics do resolve to get back in shape and shed off those unsightly love handles but 3 days, 4 days…or may be a week or two maximum, and they’re back to being their workaholic selves who are too busy to do anything else other than work.
Sounds familiar? Is someone you know guilty of this? Well, if you’ve read this until here, you or any of your loved ones sure are. So next time when your determination to lose weight seems to be going frail, given below are a few points that all workaholics should recall in mind about how their sedentary work life is making them a “fatso” and a hoard of many other diseases, like poor cardiac health and others that comes handy for overweight people. Not to mention how hard it gets to find a suitable match and cope with low self esteem issues that are common problems with portly frames.
2 Less-Thought-About Reasons How Workaholics are Putting On Weight
Stress – Yeah…there’s no word that sounds more familiar to a workaholic as “stress.” Many of them carry it 24*7 (okay, not literally! But still, to a great extent). Yes, they keep on thinking about work almost all the time, even when they are not working. These people really are the ones who need to force themselves to relax. They forget to live in the moment. Most of them have a tendency of worrying about their career and a fear of getting fired maybe, even when they are doing pretty well at work.
Their nervous energies make them hesitate in delegating work to other people in the organization due to fear of not getting the desirable quality of work that they expect, which makes them put in the extra working hours willingly and burn out the midnight oil in office on a regular basis.
As a result, they end up thinking that they are always too busy and do not have sufficient time to hit the gym, or even jog around every day on a regular basis. Putting on calories come naturally to them and many of them are too busy to even notice it before it’s too late.
Solution – You can start taking 10-minute brisk walks every 2 hours in between your work time, suggests this article published on the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention website. Avoid all work-related thoughts at this time or what tasks lay ahead of you at work when you get back. Simply relax and live in the moment. This also applies to your lunch time.
Although there are products like flex belt that are now being made for people with sedentary lifestyle but if these products actually work or not is still a controversial issue. Flex belt is one of the most popular names in this regard. But does flex belt work? Well, some say it does, some completely choose to reject it as another passing fad.
Just one thing that you should keep in mind is, if you’re interested in trying any of these products, be sure to rely on the reviews by members in various weight loss forums rather than the reviews that are displayed on websites, as many of them are biased paid reviews that don’t intend to give you the right picture.
If you’re always running around in office, you can even take time out and practice some slow breathing. Don’t think about anything and just do nothing at all. Simply concentrate on your breathing and relax. For some, chatting around for a few minutes over the phone with a close friend can also do wonders and help them avoid excessive stress. Find out what works for you and stick to it!
Insufficient Sleep – Because your mind is working all the time, it becomes difficult for workaholics to keep their thoughts at bay when they want to go to sleep. Stress, of any kind, can make you an insomniac. This makes most people to reach out for some late-night snacks that increase their calorie intake.
What’s worse? Sleep deprivation can also cause hormonal changes that increase your appetite, making you feel not too full when you’ve just finished your meal and also slows down your metabolism. It is also common to opt for higher-fat or convenient foods or take on to drinking at the end of the day in order to relax.
Solution – Of course, having a proper sleeping schedule helps. Don’t take work to bed. Go out for long leisure walks with your friends or family before going to bed, if possible. Create an ambience for good sleep with dim to zero lights.
Finally, don’t forgo the basics. Keep some healthy snacks handy with you in your work desk or in your car, like nuts, dried fruit, apples, and others. You can opt for any popular food delivery service that focuses mainly on cooking special food for their calorie-conscious consumers. This is definitely better than eating junk food at nearby food chains all the time. Here’s a site that briefs you about one such service.
But eating right before you go to sleep is a big NO. Your metabolism reduces when you’re sleeping, so you end up packing more pounds. Last but not least, never skip your breakfast. It kick starts your metabolism for the day and keeps you all healthy and energized throughout the day.
B. Lyttle is a redeemed workaholic and has lost 100 lbs in 3 months and still going strong. The primary changes made by her in her lifestyle is, the use of the flex belt for around half an hour when she’s at work and switching to a healthy food delivery service instead of gorging on junk food. She’s a contributor to Mom Does Reviews, a site that provides reviews of useful products and informative articles that relate to moms of today. In her free time (if she ever gets any, that is!), she loves reading novels and lazing around her house doing nothing.
