Most bodies use more energy digesting smaller meals every few hours than if we were to eat the same number of calories in two or three sittings only. Davenport says to shoot for five small meals a day: breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, and dinner. "By eating frequently, we don't kick our bodies into starvation mode, which means our metabolism slows down and our body wants to store extra calories as fat," she says. "We also don't get super hungry and then overindulge when we finally do eat." Also, keep carbs earlier in the day as your morning snack, and make the remaining meals focused on protein and fiber. "By doing this, we can burn those carbs throughout the day while we're moving around, even at our desks, and not turn it into fat as we would if we ate them before bed."
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Take That Coffee Break
While caffeine can be used for a metabolic boost, not all wake-up drinks are created equal, says Ross. A lot of energy boosting beverages and flavored coffees, for instance, are packed with sugar — and if weight loss is your goal, she suggests keeping the sweet stuff under 15 grams per day. "The best caffeinated choices would be green tea, black tea, or straight black coffee — all unsweetened," she says, suggesting you stick with two 10 to 12 ounce glasses a day, and not after 3 p.m., which could impair sleep.
Too much caffeine can have also negative effects on the body, says Ashley Koff, RD, a dietician and co-author of "Mom Energy." "Chronic caffeine use can cause burnout, and if you're not well-hydrated, caffeine can slow your metabolism." For weight loss, Koff likes oolong tea for its fat-burning/energy boosting capabilities. If your goal is to lose weight but also stay awake longer, Koff says tea is a better choice than coffee, since it also has nutrients that slow the caffeine's absorption, so you don't spike and crash.
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Stay Hydrated
Proper hydration lets all the body's functions work at more optimal levels. And research shows you should drink your water warm. Kennedy says you'll burn more cals if H20 is warmed to the body's core temp. In one German study, drinking warm water throughout the day caused metabolic rates to increase by about 30 percent.
Potassium is also helpful for hydration, since it brings water into the cells, says Koff. Eating potassium-rich foods like avocado and banana, and drinking coconut water, can help your body stay hydrated, too.
So how much water does the trick? Kennedy says to drink until you're urinating once an hour, and after that's met, you can enjoy herbal or non-caffeinated teas and fresh juices when you're thirsty. Ross says to drink half your body weight in ounces each day (so if you're 150 pounds, drink 75 ounces of water), and to check the color of your urine as a fail-safe test to see if you're getting enough — a clear or very pale yellow is ideal.
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How to Burn Calories While Sitting
Use this cheat sheet to increase your burn and boost your metabolism while you sit.
1. Work your abs while you sit. Lean back and lift your feet off the floor with straight legs at a 45 degree angle, then bend your knees toward your chest and shoot them back out to the starting position; do 3 sets of 20 reps to burn 75 calories.
2. Squeeze your stomach muscles as tightly as possible and hold for 8 seconds. Two sets of 8 will burn 100 calories.
3. Laugh a lot to burn energy. Ten to 15 minutes of laughter a day will burn 40 calories.
4. Fidget as much as possible: Tap your feet. Wiggle in your seat. Jiggle your leg. People who fidget endlessly burn an extra 300 calories a day.
5. Trade your chair for a stability ball. Or if you're not at the office, use a rocking chair, which burns 150 calories an hour.
6. Turn down the thermostat. Your body burns more calories trying to keep warm. So take off that sweater and turn down the heat.
7. Listen to upbeat music to boost your mood, decrease cravings and get you moving. A desk dance party can burn up to 130 calories.
8. Snack on high-fiber foods that are harder for the body to digest. You'll burn more calories (and consume fewer) than if you're eating sugary, high-carb snacks.
9. Sip caffeine responsibily. Caffeine will boost the metabolism -- unless you're dehydrated. Oolong tea helps burn fat and won't give you the jitters.
10. Stay hydrated. Drink water throughout the day to give your metabolism a boost.
No matter what you consider your daily grind — sitting behind a computer, running errands for your family, keeping up with your favorite TV shows — most of us spend way too much time on our expanding derrieres.
Studies say that too much sitting puts us at greater risk for diabetes and cancer, increased inflammation and insulin levels, and slower metabolism, among other issues. And sloths aren't the only ones who suffer. People who hit the gym and watch their diets are also having an increasingly hard time staying trim with the longer hours we spend on our booties. We're busier than ever, yet when our hectic schedules are over, we crave nothing more than — you guessed it — collapsing onto our backsides. What can we do when our lives revolve around sitting for work and relaxation?
Beat our sedentary lifestyle at its own game, of course. That's why we asked experts how to boost metabolism and burn calories while seated. We don't want you to replace exercise, eating well, and living a healthy lifestyle with these butt-blasting suggestions — just add them to your existing routine to maximize your calorie burning potential. So what are you waiting for? As you read this, you're probably already in the starting position anyway.
