Working World

Those of us who work in offices are often too sedentary, not necessarily by choice. But when fingers moving over the keyboard are the most active muscles exercised all day, it’s easy to let the "calories-in" exceed the "calories-burned."

Add a lengthy commute twice a day, just sitting on one’s bum, and the weight starts creeping up in no time. It takes a conscious effort to counteract this effect, but it is possible to incorporate some new habits into your day that will help a little.

A pound of body fat happens when approximately 3,500 calories are consumed and not burned off. In order to lose weight, you have to get a calorie deficit going: just burn more than you consume, and you will lose weight.

There are a number of tools online to help figure out how many calories are burned doing different activities. Check out:
www.caloriesperhour.com.

The numeric value of any activity is not an exact science and will depend too on the weight of the person acting. Nevertheless it can be helpful to know the relative values of different tasks to remind us to keep moving whenever possible.

The following examples are based on a 140-pound person working for 20 minutes. Your results may vary, but these illustrations show there is hope for those of us who want to avoid becoming a roly-poly slug whose solo poundage threatens to exceed the elevator’s legal limit.

• SIT UP STRAIGHT. It’s always better to sit up straight when you talk on the phone. Talking while in a upright position burns 32 calories per 20 minutes. Talking while reclining all the way back in your desk chair burns only 21 in the same length of time. The latter position, shoes up on the desk, also makes your boss wonder why you’re that relaxed and does not convey the industrious, hard-working image you might want to present. (Not to mention, the desk chair can slide out from under you if tilted too far, resulting in a loud crash, disturbing your coworkers, and injuring your dignity and possibly other parts).

• WALK THIS WAY. Since talking on the phone burns 32 calories per 20 minutes, and walking burns 70 (indoors, moderate speed, 3 mph), instead of calling or e-mailing, walk down the hall once in a while to talk to that colleague instead. (Walking to the lunchroom to check out the hi-cal vending machine offerings does not have the same effect.)

Running a mad dash to the mailroom to get that FedEx package there by deadline can be very beneficial for weight loss—339 calories burned (based on a 20-minute dash). But cutting it this close on a crucial package is beneficial to your career only if you get there before the truck drives away and you don’t knock anyone down as you sprint through the hall. (Bonus points for calorie-burning for chasing the truck down the street, although it does not make a good impression in front of the Chairman of the Board or visiting clients.)

• TAKE A FLIGHT. Standing and passively waiting for an elevator is not only a timewaster but also burns only 20 calories per 20 min. Taking the stairs will burn 64 calories going down and 169 going up. Walk briskly (3.5 mph) to a local lunch spot instead of driving and burn 80—and you won’t have to look for a parking space when you get there.

• FORCE TO DEAL WITH. Sitting or speaking quietly in a meeting uses only 32, while making forceful arguments in presenting your ideas will necessarily be more energetic and more aerobic. However, jumping up and down and waving one’s arms around madly to make a point rarely builds credibility, even if it does contribute to weight loss (calisthenics, 169 calories burned per 20 min.) Better, perhaps, to offer some extra help to your supervisor.

• TEACHER’S PET. Carry your boss’s briefcase to a meeting. Not only will it get you brownie points, it will burn 95 calories if he is moving along at a fast clip of 3.5 mph and you have to keep up (briefcase under 25 pounds). If, however, the boss’s briefcase is over 25 pounds and the two of you are bounding upstairs, you will be losing 169 calories and, after 20 minutes, possibly consciousness.

There are many other opportunities to give your supervisor extra help and get more exercise, but you don’t want to carry it too far. Washing their car (99 calories) or repainting their office (131 calories) might be seen as an extreme form of sucking up and create resentment on the part of your colleagues (and perhaps more than a little suspicion on the part of the boss about what you are up to).

So, while office work is never going to give us the opportunity to burn as many calories as, say, horse-grooming (126 per 20 min.) or firefighting (254 per 20 min.), there are ways to bump up the burn. While increasing your activity level at the office is generally good for staying in better shape, you do want to use good judgment. But with a little planning and effort, you can develop some active habits that, practiced consistently, will at least help manage any work-related weight problem.

Suzanne Ridgway is a regular columnist for Working World and Working Nurse magazines.