In the United States, both childhood and adult obesity prevalence have skyrocketed. Compared to someone at a healthier weight, people who have obesity are more susceptible to various life-threatening illnesses. These include higher rates of cancer, heart disease, stroke, and type 2 diabetes, to name a few examples.
A healthy diet alongside a physically active lifestyle are the best preventative measures to becoming overweight or obese. For those living incredibly busy lifestyles, it can be difficult to find time in a jam-packed schedule to eat, let alone go to a gym.
For others, they may have extra time in the week to go to the gym or exercise but are often too exhausted from life to find the motivation or energy to get active.
One solution to the obesity problem is to find downtimes in your workday to get a quick workout in – like your lunch break. We have compiled three exercises for you to do during your lunch break to help you begin your fitness journey and inspire you to find new ways to lose weight on less time.
1. Fitness Snacking
Unfortunately, fitness snacking does not involve actual snacks, but it has been proven to be effective for weight loss. “Fitness snacking” refers to taking short exercise breaks throughout the workday that can replace a dedicated workout later in the day. For example, if you were planning on exercising for 1 hour after work, you can break that 1 hour into 6, 10-minute workouts throughout the workday.
Essentially, you would work out whenever you have a spare moment in your schedule and each mini session would equal out to a full workout. Usually, you would want each workout period to be intense to reap the max benefit. Sprinting for weight loss, otherwise known as sprint snacking and sprint interval training, is where you use sprint intervals as your workout and are great examples of high-intensity exercises.
In fact, recent studies have shown that those who participate in either HIIT (high-intensity interval training) or SIT (sprint interval training) have higher metabolic rates and reduced midline circumferences, making them very effective exercises for weight loss.
2. Walking Lunches
If fitness snacking isn’t your cup of tea, then you can always take walking lunches. Walking lunches are exactly as their name suggests – you take a walk during your lunch break. The USDA and CDC recommend a person to get 150 minutes of moderate-intense exercise per week. Surprising enough, walking at a brisk pace does meet the standards of moderate exercise.
Usually, a person can walk anywhere from 1.5-2 miles on a 30-minute lunch break, at a brisk pace. A 2-mile fast walk can burn up to 200 calories and has the benefits of increasing mood and energy levels along with decreasing feelings of stress and anxiety.
Remember to leave enough time in on your walking lunch to properly cool down before you go back to work. A good rule of thumb is to walk briskly for 10-25 minutes, leaving time for a 3-5-minute cool down at an easy pace.
3. Meditation
The final spot on our list goes to meditation, which promotes weight loss from a different perspective. The act of meditation, where you sit down comfortably and simply breathe, has amazing benefits including lowering stress, anxiety, and inflammation levels. Taking time to yourself can help you lose weight through curving your stress-induced cravings and regaining the energy you lack to work out later.
