Many women will tell you that their cravings and mindless eating is worse during their workday. Others struggle with bingeing at night, snacking in front of the TV, and blowing their healthy eating plan in the evening hours. It turns out that sitting and inactivity might be having a negative effect on your weight loss or healthy eating goals.
In a recent study, participants who sat and were inactive (watching videos and spending time on the computer) for a 12 hour period reported being hungrier, less satisfied, and said that they could consume more food than a group that was kept active with mundane, non-exercise related tasks such as filing, picking up, and folding laundry over the same 12 hours.
The low-level activity in the non-sitting group appeared to reduce appetite and increase levels of satisfaction.
This was a small and very preliminary study, but the results are worth noting. When you feel the munchies coming on, when you’re feeling hungry even though you know you aren’t, when you can’t stop thinking about the cookies in the kitchen, try getting up and moving around. Empty the trash, move some files, stand up while you make a phone call or take a short walk around your office. See if it helps.
