Shocker: Do you have a desk-bound job?

Any idea how many calories you burn whilst sat at your desk? If I was to tell you that it wasn’t enough to use the energy generated from consuming a Chicken Caesar Wrap for lunch without anything else – would I get your attention? Our sitting metabolic rate is less than 100kcal an hour and the older you are, the lower the number. Let’s put this into prospective, a Tesco Meal Deal is 1,131 kcal, a Greggs small sausage roll is 327kcal, 3 pieces of deep-fried chicken and chips is round 900kcal, a Big Mac Meal without coke, 990kcal. Understanding calories, where your calorie intake is coming from and what our body needs to function is key to a healthier lifestyle.

Calories are a way of measuring energy. The energy our body needs to perform all the chemical reactions that happen every minute of every day and it is also a way of calculating the energy that a piece of food will give us. Therefore, what we take in needs to match what we use throughout the day. Too much of one will need balancing out with the other. If you have a predominantly sedentary job (8hrs a day sat at a desk) you require less calories than you would imagine to sustain you. Being aware of your body’s actual needs is the first step to understanding if you are consuming too much or not enough and gives you an opportunity to do something about it! For a personal diet and lifestyle insight assessment which will help you understand where your calorie intake can be tweaked or changed, or for alternative suggestions for lunch, get in touch!