Page 30 - BusinessWest April 3, 2023

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Under-desk Bike ($50-$200)
A very similar concept to the desk treadmill, an under-desk bike features a small set of pedals that can slide under your desk so that you can pedal while sitting. The small machines can be altered to have more resistance, which makes it harder or easier to pedal. This type of aerobic exercise is good for staying fit and can help strengthen your legs and joints. Stud- ies estimate that pedaling while seated can burn up to 10 calories per minute, depending on the intensity, which means you could burn up to 600 calories per hour. However, the average gentle pedaling will most likely burn 100 to 300 calories per hour.
Resistance Bands ($15-$40)
Resistance bands are an affordable option to help train your body and get fitter, by helping you build muscle and burn calories (180 to 250 per hour) while seated at your desk. You can perform plenty of pas- sive resistance-band workouts even when you’re doing something at your desk, and in between typing and during brainstorming sessions, your body can keep active alongside your mind. Exercises could include bicep curls, overhead tricep extensions, and shoulder raises. However, there are many variations and other exercises that can be done with resistance bands. A study published in 2022 showed that resistance-band
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training lowers body fat in people who are overweight better than other forms of training, including free weights and body-weight exercises.
Seven-minute Workout
Searching ‘seven-minute workout’ on an app store will reveal an app that will guide you through various workouts you can do in your own home, which take just seven minutes at a time. The best thing about
the seven-minute workout app is that its programs are designed especially for people who are doing the workouts at home, and who have no special equip- ment. The brief nature of these workouts allows peo- ple with busy schedules to fit in exercise and can help break up your workday, which can increase productiv- ity while burning 20 to 50 calories per session. While there are some in-app purchases available, you can use the app completely free, so there’s nothing stop- ping you from getting started.
Diet
Exercise and living an active lifestyle are obviously important in staying fit and healthy; however, diet is a key contributor to overall health and fitness. People with few distractions at home may find they are more aware of hunger than they would be at the workplace, which can lead to more snacking and possibly an unhealthier diet. By focusing on eating healthy foods
tised are through their quick-fix timestamp, like “lose 30 pounds in 90 days” or “30-day get-ripped plan.”
Excess body fat accumulates over many years, and no one goes to bed lean and then wakes up fat. Likewise, achieving your body goal could take many months, or even years. To achieve a significant result in just a few weeks, any diet must be very restrictive, and, therefore, it may be unsustainable, as your body will soon put the weight back on that it dramatically lost. Before considering any diet, ask yourself, “can I follow it for the next six to 12 months?”
What’s the Science?
Some diets are based on very flawed science or may not be based on any science at all. One example of this is calorie-burning or negative-calorie foods, such as celery. No food burns more calories than it contains, and these claims are very misleading.
Effective diets work by manipulating your calorie balance. Consume fewer calories, and your body will make up the shortfall by using stored body fat for
and healthy snacks, people who work from home can ensure they are staying fit and keeping their bodies healthy. Studies show that both the overall composi- tion of the human diet and specific dietary compo- nents have been shown to have an impact on brain function, which means diet isn’t only going to keep you fit, but it’s going to improve cognitive function, and thus the quality of work produced.
Why It’s Important
A spokesperson from Total Shape noted that “roughly two in three people in the U.S. are over- weight, and with many aspects of life becoming more sedentary, it’s important that people try to find new ways to keep fit and healthy. Life has become busy and more expensive, meaning that it’s harder to find the time and money to attend gyms or activities that help us to remain fit. This guide provides a plethora of choices for people on various budgets and with spe- cific preferences to ensure we are keeping ourselves healthy.” BW
Total Shape is a fitness resource site providing information about workouts, supplements, and fitness to help people reach your goals. Total Shape does not provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.
energy. No deficit means no fat burning. There are no shortcuts around this law of thermodynamics.
Bottom Line
As a rule, if a diet promises something that sounds too good to be true, it probably is, so don’t fall for it.
“Fortunately, healthy eating doesn’t have to be complicated or unpleasant, and weight management doesn’t have to take over your life,” Fitness Volt’s expert said. “You don’t even have to give up your favorite foods. However, you will need to quit looking for short- term fixes and adopt healthier, long-term habits.” BW
Fitness Volt is a comprehensive online resource dedicated to strength sports. Its mission is to empower readers with tried and tested knowledge and practices surrounding the latest fitness and nutritional information.
Diets
just give up after a while.
Food-combing diets are a perfect example of this.
Some may say things like “you can’t eat fat and carbs in the same meal,” which looks OK on paper, but makes meal prep far more complicated than it needs to be. Ultimately, for any diet to work, it needs to be simple enough to follow every day.
Perfection or Failure
Diets can often be very prescriptive and allow no variation. However, in everyday life, any diet can be difficult to stick to. Perhaps you have a friend’s birth- day or an off day, and you decide to indulge in some- thing sweet.
The reality is that your diet doesn’t have to be perfect; it just needs to pretty good most of the time, which is more than enough to reach weight-loss goals.
Ignoring the Long Term
Putting a timeframe on any diet sets you up for fail- ure. Some of the most common ways diets are adver-
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