Desk Job and Weight Gain

DesignatedGinger

Hello there! I am 24 years old and recently lost about 25 pounds (currently around 129 lbs). I keep really good track of my calories and make sure to exercise at least three times a week for an hour (half an hour cardio and half an hour resistance training). I just recently got a new job that will require me to sit for long periods of time, completely opposite of what my job was previously. I have accounted for the change in terms of calories and intend to keep my work-out schedule. So I have a few questions/concerns:

I noticed within the first few days of my job that my weight has gone up a few pounds. Is it fairly normal for the body to adjust to caloric/activity changes in this way?

I am also in general very concerned about gaining all the weight I have lost back because of this job. Aside from working out and continuing to watch my calories (also the type of calories I'm consuming), what else can I do to help stem weight gain?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

tigersword

Fluctuations are normal.

Continue to work out and count calories. That's all there is to it.

gothchiq

You are probably somewhat water bloated. I get like that on car trips and such where I am super sedentary. Make sure you work out enough to compensate enough for that desk job.

phyllb

Good luck. I ha e a desk Jon and it is tough. I try to use stairs as much as possible and deliberately walk every 2hours just to keep from getting stiff

DesignatedGinger

Thank-you for your comments! I also intend on drinking more water (which will also give me a reason to stand and walk around). I am on the second floor of my building, so I do plan on using the stairs.

segacs

It's very likely that when you adjusted your calories for your new job, you didn't adjust them downward enough. Sitting all day at a desk is the worst possible thing for our health. (I have a desk job too, so I'm speaking from experience.) You may need to further reduce your calories until your weight stabilizes.

Also, look for other ways where you can "cheat" and add more activity into your day. Will your workplace spring for an exercise ball or standing desk that you can use for part of the day? What about your commute, how do you currently get to and from work? Can you switch to a more active commuting method like walking or cycling, or at least park further away?

Have you considered an activity tracker? I am not big on expensive gadgets and gizmos, but it sounds like your challenge might be in motivating yourself to get up from your desk for walks and such and in getting enough daily activity.

999tigger

fluctuations 2-5lbs are normal- which they said.
Walk more, take the stairs and be more active.
Do more exercise or increase intensity and duration.

beautifulciera

I purchased the vivofit fitness band through Garmin. The band tracks your calories burned and daily steps (for instance, according to my band so far today I have burned 2038 calories, but 222 of those calories were through exercise, and I've taken 6,538 steps today......yeah I've been pretty lazy. But one thing about having a desk job is that you don't realize how lazy you are. So with the vivofit fitness band - there's a red bar that comes up on the display screen when you've been sitting for too long...I call it the lazy bar. It really does help - sometimes you just need to be reminded to go for a small walk. Just keeping your body active goes a long way. Sitting for 6 hours straight can really slow down your metabolism, which is definitely cause weight gain.

monbot

beautifulciera wrote: »

I purchased the vivofit fitness band through Garmin. The band tracks your calories burned and daily steps (for instance, according to my band so far today I have burned 2038 calories, but 222 of those calories were through exercise, and I've taken 6,538 steps today......yeah I've been pretty lazy. But one thing about having a desk job is that you don't realize how lazy you are. So with the vivofit fitness band - there's a red bar that comes up on the display screen when you've been sitting for too long...I call it the lazy bar. It really does help - sometimes you just need to be reminded to go for a small walk. Just keeping your body active goes a long way. Sitting for 6 hours straight can really slow down your metabolism, which is definitely cause weight gain.

I have the same thing in my Garmin Forerunner 15. I bought it for the GPS mapping on my runs, but it also tracks steps and beeps at me if I haven't moved for an hour, so I wear it at my desk job.

nxd10

I also have a desk job.

I have a fitbit that helps me add in calories by walking stairs, parking far from where I'm going and walking whenever possible. I walk at lunch and at break.

I get up every hour and walk SOMEWHERE - bathroom, water, copier - to keep my metabolism from thinking I'm asleep. Read in the NYTimes that it helps.

I have a Pilates ball chair. I don't know if it helps my calories but it does excellent things for my core muscles and posture. I attribute a 3" loss at my waist to the chair alone.

I also have a standing desk. That does burn calories that I don't log as exercise (how?) but does seem to help.

I've been maintaining for a couple years now at a desk job with no problem. Don't snack at work. Really.

DesignatedGinger

Wow! Again, thank-you for all the fantastic feedback!

For reference, with my old job I ate about 1700 calories a day (without exercise) and adjusted my intake to about 1500 (again, without exercise).

Walking/biking to work unfortunately isn't an option as my commute by car is about forty minutes. I can definitely park further away, take the stairs and walk around during breaks. I've been trying to walk laps around my building complex at my lunch break. I've also been thinking about using their gym in the mornings before my shift for extra work-outs outside of what I normally do.

I'm not sure about the fitness ball for sitting, but I'll look into it. I work for a medical group/health care organization so they may not be opposed to the idea since it is related to improving wellness.

I've never really considered something like a fitbit, but because my situation is different than before. I'll also have to look into it.

laineybz

I also have a desk job. Have been maintaining roughly for a year and a half. I make sure i get up every hour at least and go to the bathroom or offer to make my colleagues a drink (win win situation! lol).

I bought a Fitbit last Christmas and like someone mentioned, i didn't realise how little steps i took daily. MFP says my maintenance cals are around 1450 but i eat around 1550 plus exercise calories.

cosmichvoyager

any kind of change in routine can also be challenging to weight control. If you were eating a certain way, certain times, etc and you change it up you might gain a bit. Look at your eating and meal planning since you got a desk job and decide if that is the culprit. For example: did you switch from eating a good breakfast to grabbing something on the go? How are you snacking? Are you drinking enough water? etc...

I hit a weight loss stall when I got laid off from a job due to not planning meals in advance anymore, my nutritionist asked me to examine what had changed in my life and we pinpointed my stall to the change in routine due to job loss. As soon as I went back to cooking ahead, planning meals and being mindful, I resumed losing weight pretty regularly.

segacs

DesignatedGinger wrote: »

For reference, with my old job I ate about 1700 calories a day (without exercise) and adjusted my intake to about 1500 (again, without exercise).

It could be that you were burning more than 200 calories/day at your old job. I don't know what you used to do, but if you were on your feet and fairly active all day, then that could've burned more than 200, easy.

Having said that, I wouldn't necessarily recommend dropping your calories any further without trying some of the other stuff mentioned on this thread first.

loribethrice

I've worked a desk job for a decade now and it is rough on weight. I just make sure to keep track of my calories, I bring food with me to work so I don't feel tempted to order out, and I make sure to work out 3-5 days a week after work. I have noticed on my rest day(s) that I gain a pound and then on the days I work out I drop back down again. It makes no sense and drives me insane and it's making it really hard to lose my last 9lbs to get down to 135. When I was at 204 I was eating pizza or pepperoni rolls every single night at work (I work 11p-7a) and also usually getting breadsticks. Once I stopped doing that and started packing my lunch to take to work it was a huge help. I also bring a 6 pack of bottled water with my nightly and drink as much of that as possible.

lewispwest

Yeah I have had a desk job for the last 8 years or so and thats when I put on most of my weight. Even though I go to the gym three times a week, I set my activity level as sedentary and let my fitbit work out any calories burned above sedentary for the day.

Dawmelvan

Change your activity level on MFP to sedentary and see what it calculates for how many cals you should eat to maintain.

klkarlen

I put on 15 pounds in 5 months when I started a new job last year - eating fast food lunches and vending machine snacks, and all the never ending food on the treat table.

I've lost 18 by counting calories, and moving more, got a stand up desk, take walks around the building, use the stairs, park far away from the building.

mitch16

Drinking lots of water is good. Black coffee and plain hot tea are also good for sipping. Now find the furthest bathroom from your desk that you can reasonably use--bonus if it's upstairs or downstairs--and use it always. Pre-log and pack your lunch to make sure what is in your lunchbag fits your calorie allocation. Resist the brownies, donuts, cookies, etc. that are bound to show up in the office--only eat what you truly like and what fits your calories.

court_alacarte

my first job out of college was as a receptionist and i automatically gained 10 extra pounds. the company was very hardcore and traditional and i wasn't allowed to get up from my desk unless it was for my two 10-minute breaks and/or hour-long lunch. and even if i had to get up for some other reason at any other time, i had to call someone to sit at the desk for me; such a freakin' pain. and i didn't really change my eating habits from college and unfortunately that eating mentality wasn't going to cut it as i wasn't moving around as much as i used to. plus office environments pose a lot of temptations automatically with breakfasts and treats laying around all the time.

i remember revving it up on my workouts and precise calorie-counting helped me shed a few pounds.

jmule24

I have had a desk job for 10+ years now and my weight gain slowly but surely started creeping up on me. I've always looked "slim and trim" but underneath the work clothes was a chubby/skinny guy with zero muscle!!! I was my heaviest at 172 @ over 25% BF and I said no more!

I'm now weighing in at 165 and maintaining that for 2 years now. 165 @ about 14-15% BF I've put on quite a bit of lean muscle mass. IMO, cardio is great for overall health but for me, doing compound lifting is the biggest bang for your buck.

Examples of compound exercises are: Squats (any variation), Deadlifts (any variation), Barbell Bench Press, Standing Overhead Press (Military Press) w/ Barbell, and finally barbell rows.

LivingtheLeanDream

I have a desk job, I do a 50 min workout every morning (running/circuits/strength) and then during the day I get up from my desk as often as I can: to go to another office, grab another glass or water/or flavoured tea, ...any excuse I can I get up and move I can easily clock up 3000 steps from just doing this...its amazing how any movement all adds up and makes a difference.
I've been maintaining my weight for around a year now

JoRocka

I drink an insane amount of water- so I have to getup frequently to pee.

I also have a big bouncy ball to sit on which keeps me from getting insanely stiff.

I don't eat at the cafe. I pack my own food- and I count ALL the snacks I eat. So I'm cautious about food.

Francl27

Well, what was your old job? It's impossible to say without any point of comparison.

But you didn't gain two pounds of fat in a few days. It will take a month or two. Just keep tracking your weight, and if you're still up in a month, eat less.

RhiannonBecks

I think its been said, but I always try to at least pre-pack my lunch and add those calories on for the next day, then I know what I am looking at for the next day. Avoid the breakroom if you can't resist goodies..someone is always going to bring something in that says "eat me" on it.... I switched from one desk job to another that is 100% electronic data..even that switch I noticed a big difference in lack of movement throughout the day, so I had to make sure I was choosing steps vs elevator (5th floor) on most days or walking on breaks etc. One last thing...dont snack aimlessly! You can do it!