Dr Michael Mosley is always on hand with weight loss tips and revealed there is one action people can be doing to aid their progress. He explained that standing up feet for a few minutes per hour can have a positive impact on blood sugar, metabolism, your mood and even your bones.
According to the dietician, by simply standing on the feet, a person can burn several calories and slim down effectively.
In his BBC podcast Just One Thing, Dr Mosley explained how strenuous workouts can be replaced with easier alternatives to shed pounds.
“One of the most effective tricks is to simply stand instead of sitting for hours to lower blood sugar and boost metabolism for weight loss,” he said.
The nutrition expert, who brought the 5:2 diet plan to fame, explained how this simple trick to burn a plethora of calories could be as effective as running 10 marathons.
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“The constant gravitational pull from sitting has a negative impact on bone density and it can lower the benefits of workouts when they stand up.”
And that’s not where the risk stories associated with sitting too much come to an end – the same activity is also linked to a high risk of type-2 diabetes, heart disease, and even early death risk.
But people don’t need to be standing up even five minutes in order to boost weight loss.
Instead, doing so every one hour for two to three minutes can improve cognitive health and trim the waistline at the same time.
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“Doing so just for a week can have significant benefits for overall health,” he said.
“This can be practiced while taking phone calls or investing in standing desks – standing for some time can flush out excess sugar from your body.”
He advised that this simple, equipment-free exercise, standing up can raise heart rate over a year and burn the same amount of calories that running 10 marathons can.
And he recommended doing the trick to lose weight.
He did however highlight that it is important to not keep standing for too long as it can increase the risk of developing flat feet in the long run.
Anyone who wants to lose weight without completely altering their lifestyle might find this the perfect method for them.
Dr Mosley stated: “It’s one of the best things you can do for your health.”