Hleap Nutrition's Favorite Finds for Office Wellness

1. Walking Treadmill

Using a treadmill under my standing desk has been an absolute game changer. I was on the fence about this purchase for months. I was concerned there would be no way for me to walk, talk, and type without toppling over. Eventually I decided it was worth a shot and took the plunge. I was honestly surprised with how easy it was to adjust to multitasking.

Anyone who's worked with me knows I am a fan of getting results as easily as possible and without budgeting more of your time to get it done, since we're all living busy lives. Being able to walk while working has helped me increase my average steps by a few thousand every day, which has the ability to impact calorie expenditure, posture, GI health/digestion, and blood sugar regulation. For anyone at a sedentary work-from-home job, this is absolutely worth looking into!

The specific treadmill I have linked HERE has been nice and quiet while I'm walking in appointments. It was easy to set up, works seamlessly, and is the right size for me (5'3" as reference). If you are much taller and have a larger gait and if you're planning to run and take longer strides, this might not be the right choice for you.

Studies have shown breaking up prolonged periods of sitting with low intensity walking is beneficial for postprandial cardiovascular and blood sugar responses. Prolonged sedentary time is associated with an increased risk of diabetes, cardiovascular disease and cardiovascular and all-cause mortality.

2. Adjustable Standing Desk

As previously mentioned, I use my treadmill under a standing desk. The standing desk I use was very affordable, since it is an adjustable standing desk. This means it can collapse onto my desk, raising the surface of my desk a few inches. When I want to stand and/or walk on the treadmill, I raise a lever that brings the desk up about 1.5 feet so that it's in the perfect position for standing and working. This lives on my desk, so as long as your desk does not sit very low and you are not particularly tall, this can be the perfect budget-friendly standing desk for you.

Even if you're not interested in a standing treadmill it can make a big difference to get standing breaks throughout the day. As a stationary desk worker, it can be challenging to avoid sitting for a large majority of your day.

References

1. Bailey DP, Locke CD. Breaking up prolonged sitting with light-intensity walking improves postprandial glycemia, but breaking up sitting with standing does not. J Sci Med Sport. 2015 May;18(3):294-8. doi: 10.1016/j.jsams.2014.03.008. Epub 2014 Mar 20. PMID: 24704421. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24704421/

2. Dunstan, D.W. ∙ Thorp, A.A. ∙ Healy, G.N. Prolonged sitting: is it a distinct coronary heart disease risk factor? Curr Opin Cardiol. 2011; 26:412-419. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21785350/

3. Dunstan DW, Kingwell BA, Larsen R, Healy GN, Cerin E, Hamilton MT, Shaw JE, Bertovic DA, Zimmet PZ, Salmon J, Owen N. Breaking up prolonged sitting reduces postprandial glucose and insulin responses. Diabetes Care. 2012 May;35(5):976-83. doi: 10.2337/dc11-1931. Epub 2012 Feb 28. PMID: 22374636; PMCID: PMC3329818. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22374636/

4. Healy GN, Dunstan DW, Salmon J, Cerin E, Shaw JE, Zimmet PZ, Owen N. Breaks in sedentary time: beneficial associations with metabolic risk. Diabetes Care. 2008 Apr;31(4):661-6. doi: 10.2337/dc07-2046. Epub 2008 Feb 5. PMID: 18252901. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18252901/

5. Wilmot EG, Edwardson CL, Achana FA, Davies MJ, Gorely T, Gray LJ, Khunti K, Yates T, Biddle SJ. Sedentary time in adults and the association with diabetes, cardiovascular disease and death: systematic review and meta-analysis. Diabetologia. 2012 Nov;55(11):2895-905. doi: 10.1007/s00125-012-2677-z. Epub 2012 Aug 14. Erratum in: Diabetologia. 2013 Apr;56(4):942-3. PMID: 22890825. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22890825/

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