Sit Up Straight, Lose Weight

Posted: Oct 02 in Weight Loss Blog by Staff

If you’ve sought the weight loss help of bariatric surgery, you may be ready to make the big lifestyle changes required to lose weight for good. As your weight loss surgeon will tell you, changing your diet and exercise habits will be crucial to slimming down—but there are many minor changes that can help with weight loss as well.

There’s a good chance that your mother or a well-meaning teacher used to nag you to sit up straight. Though you may have written this advice off at the time, posture is one thing that most adults can stand to improve. A straight back is a relatively easy goal to accomplish and may just give you a little help after weight loss surgery.

Be Mindful of Your Posture and Lose Weight

Your weight loss surgery will help you lose weight, and adhering to your weight loss surgeon’s diet and exercise guidelines will help you keep it off. However, other lifestyle habits can impede weight loss for some people, even if healthy diets and daily exercise routines are followed. Technological advances have made lives easier, but they have also impacted the human body adversely in various ways.

Hunching over a computer isn’t good for anyone’s weight loss goals. Poor posture can lead to back pain, neck pain, headaches, gastrointestinal issues and even damage to your heart and lungs, all of which can potentially derail your plans to lead a healthy lifestyle.

Improved Posture

As more people are reliant on computers, smartphones and tablets for everyday tasks, it becomes less common to see someone actually sitting up straight. Instead, most people spend their days sitting with necks slouched and shoulders hunched while typing, reading or playing a game.

One way to gain a leaner physique is to be mindful of your posture while sitting. Your stomach should be pulled in and your shoulders pushed back. Also, it is important to prevent your chin from sticking out towards the screen, as this adds pressure to your neck.

But because it can be easier to think about good posture than to embody it, the best way to improve your posture is to strengthen the muscles that keep your body straight. Working out your abdominal and oblique muscles, which make up your body’s core, can contribute to an erect and perfect posture. What’s more, these muscles will burn calories even when at rest, helping you tone your physique as you continue to lose weight.

Of course, this doesn’t mean you need to entirely rededicate your daily workout sessions to sit-ups. These two simple exercises can give you weight loss help by improving your posture and core stability in just a few minutes each day:

• Take ab breaks. Sitting down for long periods of time can slow your metabolism and weaken your muscles. All the slouching of a sedentary lifestyle may be particularly hard on your abs. During long periods of sitting, it is important to stand up occasionally and contract the abdominal muscles. Try to stand up and give a quick stretch at least once an hour while you are at work.
• Stretch it out. At the end of the day, it is important to stretch the entire length of your body in order to relax your limbs and work the muscles. Standing tall and contracting the abdominal muscles and glutes can help to elongate the body and keep your posture perfect.

Has improved posture been a weight loss help for you? Share your tips and experiences with us in the comments below!