How To Avoid Being Overweight If You Work From Home

In recent years, working from home has become increasingly common. And although it has many advantages, it also presents us with challenges, especially for mental and physical health.

Being at home most of the time makes us more likely to become sedentary, and this is a key factor in becoming overweight.

That is why in the following article, we will learn a little more about this problem and how to avoid it. 

The consequences of a sedentary lifestyle on health

If there is one thing that characterizes today’s lifestyle, it is that the demands in the workplace and personal life have become much more demanding.

This has resulted in a large part of the world’s population focusing their efforts on the constant search for higher incomes to cover the cost of living.

Inevitably, this results in people being exposed to enormous physical and emotional exhaustion. And if we add to this the many facilities that technology offers, it is difficult for us not to end up neglecting ourselves.

Lack of activity and procrastination, two attitudes typical of a sedentary lifestyle, are two elements that can cause a person to become overweight .

But beyond the fact that modern life encourages us to fall fully into this trend, another important factor has recently been added to the equation.

Lately, we have become accustomed to spending more time confined at home, and this makes it more difficult to find the motivation to stay active. Not to mention that among the most common symptoms of cabin fever are anxiety and depression.

It is during these types of situations that it is most important to try to maintain a positive mindset and make creativity and ingenuity work in our favor.

We must try to let the impulse come from within ourselves and increase our motivation to start a much healthier lifestyle.

Overweight: The side effects of working from home

In recent years, working from home has become a good way to develop our productive life in a comfortable way that is adapted to modernity.

However, this phenomenon has also resulted in a considerable increase in overweight, especially in more developed countries, where access to junk and unhealthy food is easier.

Something natural in the work dynamic is that the worker is usually exposed to a certain level of stress.

Regardless of whether the work is done in an office or at home, deadlines must be met and certain responsibilities must be assumed.

One of the great advantages of teleworking is that people have the possibility of managing the hours they dedicate to their work. However, this could also represent a problem in the medium and long term.

It is common for many people who work remotely to sacrifice hours of sleep to complete the assigned work.

As this becomes a recurring occurrence, health begins to suffer, because a person who does not sleep properly tends to get stressed more easily.

Based on this, a dependency on certain things or stimuli that generate pleasure ends up being created.

When we talk about the excesses that people who suffer from stress tend to incur, those related to food are among the most common.

By turning to food as a refuge to escape their state of anxiety, the person will inevitably soon give in to unhealthy habits. For example, eating without portion control.

As if this were not enough, working from home can also become an activity that leads a person to fall into a sedentary lifestyle.

It is important for those who work from home to be able to design and stick to a schedule. Otherwise, they will end up creating an unhealthy dependency on work and will waste a lot of energy that could be focused on other activities.

We cannot ignore that there is the other side of the coin, those for whom work is the perfect excuse not to move from where they are.

Having other responsibilities is one of the most common excuses people use to avoid spending time in their day on healthier activities. For example, spending time with other people, preparing meals with less oil, or spending time exercising.

The health risks of being overweight

Being overweight is a condition that will have a very negative effect on a patient’s health and lifestyle over time.

It has been scientifically proven that for an individual to enjoy a fuller and more prosperous life, he or she should maintain a stable and healthy weight.

To calculate overweight, the Body Mass Index (BMI) is used, a system that calculates a person’s ideal weight based on their age and height.

A body that supports a lot of weight is an organism whose functions must work to the limit to keep the person alive.

The joints and the cardiovascular system are some of the parts of our body that succumb most easily to a significant increase in body mass.

Statistically, it has been proven that heart disease is one of the most common causes of death among overweight people. Joint disorders such as osteoarthritis are also extremely common in these patients, all as a result of excessive weight.

But without a doubt, one of the medical conditions to which overweight people are most vulnerable is diabetes.

Many studies have shown that excess body mass causes a hormonal imbalance in the body, which prevents the proper use of insulin. This is the main symptom that people with type 2 diabetes, the most common variant of this disease, show.

Tips to avoid being overweight

Overweight is one of those disorders for which, unfortunately, modern science has not yet managed to find a definitive cure.

But this does not mean that we should resign ourselves to this condition.

Prevention, discipline, and strict control of what we eat are the best ways to deal with this disease. All this begins when we seriously decide to start making important changes in our routine and lifestyle.

When a person is truly committed to changing their bad habits, they will notice that the level of difficulty in achieving it decreases, or at least it no longer seems impossible or unattainable.

In the specific case of overweight, the individual must focus on making changes to their diet and setting aside time for physical activity.

For many, this may seem easier said than done. But the truth is that the most common mistake many people make is to associate exercise and healthy eating with sacrifice and abstinence.

Something that all overweight people have in common is that they overeat foods high in saturated fats and sugars .

And if we add to this the apathy towards exercise, which is characteristic of sedentary people, then we find ourselves before a person who will inevitably end up experiencing a considerable increase in their body mass levels.

Most of the habits that help us maintain our ideal weight are not as complicated as they might seem. Below, we share a list of specific changes that can be made to avoid being overweight.

Eat foods with a low glycemic index.

When we talk about the glycemic index, we refer to a scientific method that allows us to evaluate the amount of sugar in the bloodstream.

Flours, carbohydrates, and processed sugar top the list of foods with a high glycemic index. Therefore, it is important to consume them in moderation, in small quantities, and at specific times of the day.

One thing we can do at this point is to drastically reduce our consumption of carbonated drinks that are high in sugar and artificial flavors.

Eat fish, meat, and so.y

Fish, lean meats, and pure proteins that can be obtained from grains such as soy are the best allies in the fight against excess weight.

Not only do proteins provide fewer calories and are loaded with essential nutrients to complement our diet, but they are also digested slowly within the body. Therefore, they provide a feeling of fullness that allows us to better control hunger pangs.

Avoid empty calories

It is important to avoid as much as possible the recurrent consumption of foods full of sugar and saturated fats to maintain our ideal weight.

Ordering in may seem like a good alternative to cooking, but it’s the unhealthiest decision you can make. Most menus and fast food options are packed with dishes that are high in empty calories and oversaturated fats.

Fried foods, sweets, and desserts made from flour or milk are also on the list of foods with little or no nutritional value.

Do exercise

Staying active is essential to ensure the opportunity to enjoy a much longer and healthier life. But this doesn’t mean that we should join a gym or perform overly complex exercise routines.

Recent studies have shown that an average of at least 5 to 7 hours of physical activity per week is enough to stay healthy.

A good daily walk around the block and some stretching exercises are an excellent way to stay active every day.

Controlling stress

When we talk about bad eating habits and a sedentary lifestyle, stress cannot be ruled out as one of the main culprits.

In this regard, many health and personal care experts are insistent on the importance of keeping our stress under control, especially amid a global phenomenon with such negative repercussions for society as the case of a pandemic.

The best way to control our stress is to maintain good eating habits, exercise regularly, and get adequate rest.

Conclusion

Leading a healthier life does not mean abstinence, sacrifice, and changing everything we like. It is possible to achieve a balance with the things we must do for our good.

Becoming healthier is not about removing everything that harms us from our lives, but about learning to enjoy everything in moderation.

If we carefully analyze what we have stated above, we will soon realize that excesses are what can end up leading us to become overweight.

The effects of a sedentary lifestyle and lack of movement begin to manifest when the individual becomes accustomed to the idea of ​​not making a physical effort.

The increase in body mass and health problems associated with being overweight are noticeable in people who constantly resort to unhealthy foods.

A healthy life is a matter of discipline and learning to give each thing its proper time and place. Once we learn to master these two points, everything will become much easier.

Our bodies are designed to process sugar, but this is only up to a certain point. Once we exceed the limit, we start to gain weight and experience certain health problems.

We will not be overweight if once a week we take a break to sit in front of the TV eating fried food and a soda.

Weight-related problems start to appear when these types of activities become a constant in our daily lives.

It is at this point that moderation and discipline come to light as the best tools to enjoy a much healthier life.

Wanting to lead a much healthier lifestyle does not have to become a self-imposed sentence that forces us to lead a monotonous life.

The real secret is knowing how to enjoy things to the fullest with the necessary maturity and moderation.