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Is Your Job Making You Fat?

Yes, it does. Too much sitting down. Only my fingers and a bit of my arms are moving… who wouldn’t get fat with that, huh?

While your job can’t be blamed directly for your putting on the pounds, the potent combination of too much work stress, too little sleep, and not enough physical activity can lead to weight gain.

The best offense against work-related flab, experts say, is the often-repeated mantra of exercising regularly and eating right. Start by understanding why you’re at risk of gaining weight on the job, so you can take steps to avoid it.

The Stress Connection

Too much stress causes your body to produce more of a hormone called cortisol, which not only triggers your appetite but cues your body to store fat cells and produce less testosterone, which results in less muscle mass, according to Shawn M. Talbott, a nutritional biochemist, author and consultant.

“It’s just as important to get the stress under control as the exercise and diet,” says Talbott, author of “The Cortisol Connection — Why Stress Makes You Fat and Ruins Your Health.” He adds, “If people do each of those three, they get a lot better results than if they have one of the three.”

A Practical Diet

The size of your hand can serve as a practical guide to how much you should eat, according to Talbott.

For each 500-calorie meal, your fist represents the desired amount of carbs and your palm is the amount of protein, while your hand opened up is the portion of fruits and veggies and the circle you make with the OK sign between thumb and forefinger is how much added fat you should take in.

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