15 Easy Ways to Lose Weight at Work

Reviewed by Chris Leitch

Illustration of a woman exercising with a dumbbell in her office

If you work in an office, you’ll know about the struggle that comes with trying to lose weight. With so many temptations like birthday treats, take-outs and vending machines, it’s easy to fall into the slippery slope of bingeing while you’re on the job.

So, if you’re at the point where you want to make a change and follow a healthier lifestyle, you’ve come to the right place. Here we will list 15 easy-to-follow steps that won’t feel like a sacrifice and can be easily implemented into your daily routine.

Here are 15 ways to lose weight at work.

1. Park further away from the office

If your office doesn’t have its own parking lot, it’s a good idea to park further away and get a 10-minute walk in as you go to and from the office. With the goal of getting to work and back to your car in your mind, you won’t even acknowledge that you’re getting some much-needed exercise in.

2. Take the stairs

While taking the lift is tempting, always opt for the stairs at work. By taking the stairs, you can boost your metabolism by increasing your heart rate and promoting fat burning. So, if your office has lots of floors, consider popping to the bathroom on another floor, which will force you to walk up and down the stairs a few times throughout the day.

3. Eat a big breakfast

Eating a big breakfast will set you up for the day, help you stay focused and ensure that you don’t grab for a quick and unhealthy meal on your way to work. Writing for Healthline, Julia Ries says: ‘New research has found that people who eat a big breakfast burn twice as many calories compared with those who eat a larger dinner. They also have fewer hunger pangs and cravings, especially for sweets, throughout the day.’

4. Keep healthy snacks in your desk drawer

Having healthy snacks in your desk drawer will prevent you from taking a trip to the vending machine or picking at the treat table. So, next time you have office doughnuts, snack on some dried fruit or nuts instead. It’ll soften the blow of not being able to indulge in daily treats.

5. Have active meetings

Instead of moving from chair to chair, opt for active meetings instead. You could go on a power walk with a colleague while you discuss your next big project, or if there’s a large group of you, have a standing meeting instead where you can at least stretch your legs a little.

6. Prepare your meals from the night before

Instead of using the excuse that you’re hungry to indulge in your favourite takeaway, prepare your meals from the night before. By doing so, you’ll know what ingredients are in your food and how it’s been cooked, and you can ensure you’ll be eating a nutritional meal when lunchtime rolls around.

7. Move around every 30 minutes

A lot of us fall into the trap of sitting down for hours on end without even wiggling our feet, but to help activate weight loss, you should move around every five minutes. Now, I’m not telling you to slack off, but rather to get up from your desk and take a trip to the water dispenser or walk to your colleague’s desk instead of sending them an instant message.

8. Get some fresh air on your lunch break

Most of us skip our lunch break and end up eating out of a lunch box at our desk. However, to advance your weight loss, you need to be more active throughout the day. To help you meet this requirement, take a break during your lunch hour and walk to the local park or even around the building.

9. Drink lots of water

If you’re dehydrated, you can end up feeling hungry and will start snacking on calories that you don’t need. While you’re at work, have a large bottle of water on your desk and ensure you’re drinking at least two to three litres per day. By doing so, you’ll avoid snacking, feel more alert, as well as fight fatigue and any computer headaches that can tend to happen from staring at your computer screen for a long period of time.

10. Take advantage of work incentives

Many companies offer work incentives such as discounted gym memberships or yoga in the office, or even have a workout area in the same building. If you’re lucky enough to have this perk, be sure to take advantage of it – while you’re working out, you might even make a new friend, too!

11. Find an exercising buddy

If your workplace doesn’t offer an incentive, don’t let it stop you from working out and mingling with your colleagues; chances are someone else is in the same boat and struggling to get in shape. Find a local exercising facility that is close to the office and see if any of your colleagues would like to join you. You’ll be more motivated to go and less likely to slack off if you have another person relying on you.

12. Chew gum

Chewing gum is generally not advised as it can cause unnecessary bloating, but for the sake of losing weight, it actually offers more benefits than just giving you fresh breath. Besides reducing stress and anxiety, chewing gum also decreases salivary cortisol – a stress hormone that promotes fat cells, leading to increased fat retention, especially around the belly area.

13. Swap your desk chair for a stability ball

If you’re strapped for time, you should consider swapping your desk chair for a stability ball. While it might seem odd at first, there are so many health benefits of sitting on an exercising ball once you get the hang of it. By sitting on the sports ball, you’ll be forced to use your core strength to stay upright and will end up burning an extra 100 calories a day – just for sitting down!

14. Drink green tea

Swap your morning coffee with a cup of green tea for a healthy alternative that provides the caffeine boost that you need with extra fat-burning properties. Besides caffeine, green tea contains a flavonoid called catechin, which is an antioxidant. Research conducted by Maastricht University in the Netherlands concludes that ‘these functional ingredients have the potential to produce significant effects on metabolic targets such as thermogenesis and fat oxidation.’

15. Eat every four hours

To avoid getting over-hungry and wanting to compensate with a heavy meal, you should aim to eat every three to four hours. By eating smaller and more frequent meals, you can speed up your metabolism, which will help you burn more fat. To ensure that you have enough food to keep you fuelled throughout the day, you’re going to need to work on your meal prep so that everything is planned out and organised in advance.

With these simple yet effective tips, you can be on the road to weight loss success in no time. You just need to put a bit more effort into making a few lifestyle changes that will allow you to lose weight without being too restrictive.

Do you have any great weight loss tips that we haven’t mentioned? If so, share them with us in the comments section below!