What is the best way to lose weight sitting at a desk for 8 hours?

Chained to a keyboard and no time to workout?

If you're looking to get fit, but can't escape the glow of your monitor, I'll show you how to lose weight -- even if you're stuck sitting at a desk for 8 hours.

And, I'll show you why you can stop worrying about hitting 10,000 steps a day. 

Speaking of that...

I just checked my phone and I've only taken 783 steps. So don't let the pedometer or fitness magazines fool you into thinking your diet is doomed. You don't have to burn up the sidewalk or clock in hours at the gym. 

If you're looking to slim down and fit into those jeans hanging in the closet...Then all you need are three things. 

(We'll get to those soon.)

Now, I could start by saying, "You can't sit all day. You've got to get up and get moving." (And that's what a lot of people do say.)

And I could launch into 100+ tips "backed by science." But I'm sure you've read those all before.

You know the ones I'm talking about, they go something like this:

1. Skip the elevator and turn the stairs into your gym.

Because who doesn't love crowding in a tiny conference room with that person drenched in sweat.

2. Get up, take a walk, and breathe in the fresh air.

You know, with all that free time you have. If you could get out of the office for 30 minutes, you wouldn't be reading this.

3. Don't just sit at your desk, stand. 

I have a standing desk. A really nice one too. And it's been locked into the down position since April.

4. Swap your chair for a stability ball.

Sure, your stabilizer muscles get a solid workout. But trying not to face plant into the floor doesn't really up your productivity. 

But, on the other hand, who doesn't love talking to someone bouncing behind their desk?

5. Squeeze in a few air squats every time you get up.

Well, at least on those days you're not wearing a dress and heels or a pair of pants with iffy seams. (I don't want to be responsible for that.)

6. Guzzle H2O. 

To be fair, downing bottles of water will get you up and moving every 30 minutes.

And while you're making all those trips to the restroom, why not...

7. Do walking lunges all the way there. 

Oh, don't worry, no one will think you're crazy.

We could keep going. And between you and me, we could easily list 21 Insanely Simple Ways To Sneak Exercise In At Work. 

(In fact, that's a great headline for an article, isn't it?)

But even if we listed a thousand tips, it really wouldn't answer the question, "What is the best way to lose weight when you're sitting at a desk for 8 hours?"

Tips, tricks, tactics, and hacks rarely work. But what does help is knowing...

You don't have to exercise to lose weight. And this is important because the mindset -- If I can't get out of the chair or office, then there's no sense trying. -- keeps so many people from starting.

But guess what? 

80% of weight loss is diet. 

Personal trainers HATE when I say that. They'll give me the "why don't you be quiet" glare.

(If you're a parent too, you know what I'm talking about.)

Intuitively, I think we all know exercise doesn't = weight loss.

You see those people working their butts off in the gym for hours and hours. And you see them two months later and they still look the same.

Why is that?

Because you can't out-run, out-spin, out-yoga, or out-walk a lousy diet. You just can't do it.

Everyone out there "sweating it up" on a terrible diet isn't getting any closer to their weight loss goal.

So if they're working out day after day and not losing any weight, it only makes sense that they're missing something -- something big. 

*Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not saying you shouldn't exercise, or you shouldn't do any of the 7 tips we listed above. Those are all great ideas. 

If you have time to work out, you should. And if you sneak in 10 to 20 micro-workouts a day, just imagine how much that'll pay off over a month.

• If you're looking to build muscle, exercise is the way to go. 

• If you want a quick, reliable way to destress from hour-long meetings (especially the ones that could've been handled in an email), exercise is the best way to do it.

• And if you want to feel better, boost your energy, improve sleep quality, reduce anxiety, feel more confident, and put some spark in your sex life (that's right, I said it) then exercise.

I'm not bashing exercise, the point I'm making is: If your hands are tied to the keyboard, you can still lose weight. 

I've worked with hundreds and hundreds of clients that could not physically exercise, and we helped every one of them lose weight. And they didn't do it by jumping on the elliptical. 

So when someone asks, "How do you lose weight when you sit at a desk all day?" 

Here's what I say…

1. Losing weight isn't just about moving more. It's about...

Changing what, why, and how you eat. And working on those three is far more important than any hour-long sweat session.

If you want to lose weight, then:

1.) Learn the difference between emotional and physical hunger,

2.) Recognize those moments when you're not hungry for food, but you're hungry for something else, and

3.) Address the emotional reasons driving you to eat.

When you do, you'll find that eating healthy and losing weight isn't as hard as you thought it'd be.

2. Plan your meals ahead of time. 

Here's why:

When you're at work -- and you're tired, stressed, anxious, or you just need a break -- it's easy to turn to food. 

And when those moments come (Oh, and they will), you ARE NOT thinking about ordering baked chicken and broccoli. No way. 

You want something quick. Something that'll make you feel better -- Now! But when you have your meals planned and prepped, you're far more likely to follow-through on your diet.

You've tried not planning and prepping. And you know where that leads? Yep, straight to the snack machine.

If you want different results, do something different.

3. Get accountability in your life.

We all know what we're "supposed" to do to lose weight, it's actually doing it that's so hard.

Listen. I could give you 1,000 tips to help you exercise and eat healthier, but if no one's there keeping you to the plan, tips won't work.

Because without accountability, it's too easy to: 

1.) Forget what you said you were going to do.

I understand. We all have 9 billion thoughts running through our heads, and it's easy to forget. 

• You said you were going to prep and pack lunch, but you forgot.

• You said you were going to walk, but didn't.

That's where MyBodyTutor comes in. We're there every day, keeping you on track and helping you get to where you really want to be. 

2.) Convince yourself that you won't do it now, but tomorrow you will.

This is what we call "The Tomorrow Trap." And it's a sneaky one. 

Today leads to tomorrow. Tomorrow leads to next month. Next month leads to next year.

How do you escape the illusion of tomorrow? With accountability.  

3.) Quit when things get hard. 

If you make a promise to yourself, but break it, who knows? I'd say--for 99% of people--the answer is no one. 

MyBodyTutor keeps you to your promises. And it's why coaching and accountability is the superpower you've been missing.

Don't go another day without someone keeping you on track.

-- This is a quick aside, but I'll give you a peek behind the curtains. -- 

Do you know the No. 1 reason why people don't sign up for MyBodyTutor? It's because they convince themselves they can do it on their own.

*This is important because no one in health & fitness will be this straight with you. And I hope you don't take this the wrong way… 

But if you could do it on your own, wouldn't you have done it by now?

At some point, you have to be honest with yourself and say, "Okay. I need some help." 

And what's wrong with that? Really. Think about it. Why do so many people turn away help when they know they need it? 

Maybe it's the same reason I tried to lug a 100-pound dresser up the stairs instead of calling a friend for help. 

…Maybe I didn't want to feel like I was being a bother.

…Maybe it was a point of pride, and I didn't want to seem needy or feel like I couldn't do it on my own.

So what happened? 

I struggled and struggled and sweated and cursed until I hit the point where I was like, "Okay, that's it! I'm calling someone." 

But I could've just started off calling a friend and saved myself a world of frustration.

And do you know what's funny? My friend was glad to help. He was over in 10 minutes and we had a great time together. 

So here's my question to you:

What are you waiting for? Stop struggling, stop blaming yourself for not having any willpower, just send me a text. I'm here to help.

Here's my cell number: 516-456-6248

BTW, if you call or text, you won't get an operator or a call center. That's my personal number. I carry it with me all the time, and you're not bothering anyone. This is what I live for.