How to knock off stubborn office fat

Eating on the go, being chained to the desk while fighting deadlines, bingeing as well as travel among others can stealthily pile on the kilos to modern office goers, says wellness writer Namita Jain.Namita, a certified trainer and fitness consultant offers handy tips to guide a working person towards knocking off stubborn office fat, look great and perform better in her just launched book "9 to 5 Fit" brought out by Penguin India."If you have been working for a few years, you will be familiar with stress, anxiety, pressure, and deadlines. And if you travel on work, you know what it means to have skewed schedules, disrupted sleep patterns and a hectic and extreme lifestyle. It's hard to stay fit with a nine to five job," says Namita.The author targets a specific audience of corporates and office goers "who as they make their way up the corporate rung end up making a wreck of their bodies.""Offices are minefields of bad diets... In the 20 years of working as a weight management and fitness specialist I have seen people going from a size small to extra large," says Namita, who conducts sessions on exercise, lifestyle and
weight management.The author, who practises at Bombay Hospital says it is never too late to make simple yet effective lifestyle changes, alter food habits and thinking.
"If you are overweight, reducing your weight by  5 to 10 per cent is proven to decrease your chance of developing a heart disease," says Namita who had successfully battled the weight monster herself.Eating well and working within a diet plan is how Namita plans to help readers bounce back to their slimmer and healthier selves. Unlike her previous bestseller "The Four Week Countdown Diet" Namita in her latest guide has focused on specifics like how to tackle food while flying and what to do if you are addicted to eating out."Frequent flying, especially overseas, has a telling effect on your weight and digestive system. It's to do with eating and doing nothing but sitting for anywhere between seven and 20 hours," says the author who says airline food is
usually high in fat, salt and sugar. Food and accompaniments served on flights, especially alcohol should be avoided and instead flyers should go for the fruits or baked savouries."Eat only if you are hungry and it's a good idea to keep sipping zero-calorie green tea or water instead. If you have indulged, make the next meal you eat lighter and walk up and down the aisle to keep your body from stiffening up and move your joints," says Namita.Talking about weekend beingeing, the author says it has become quite common and it's more an "everybody-does-it" act."But one has to knw that recurrent bingeing will only lead to more and more weight gain. I have studied people who come to me for solutions and observed that many a time bingeing amongst office goers seem to be a way of dealing with stress."Tackling stress by getting to the root of the problem and resolving it with exercise, maintaining a food diary and learning to say no and forming a group to talk, can help to stay off the extra calories, advices Namita."One rule of the thumb to follow is to indulge in what you like but cut it by half or share it with someone. Another top tip is to tank up on water, which will fill the body and and ensure that the body functions effectively," says the author.Obesity, heaviness, acidity, hypertension, diabetes among other problems can be warded off with a combination of clever eating and exercise. "This is my ninth book and over years of repeated trial and error exercises and reinventing of techniques I fully understand how the human body responds to diet and exercise," says Namita.Namita has also created health plans that work around an office schedule which focus on simple, easy-to-follow diets and exercises that can be done at one's desk. Namita tackles various problems like anxiety, beer belly, low metabolism, heart risk and how to make offices fitness friendly in separate chapters of the book.