Working at a desk and losing weight

MamaSteg

My desk job is so busy I barely have time to go to the bathroom

snowflake930

I work in an office at a desk job. I am 63 years old and have lost over 1/2 of my current body weight on MFP (-160#). I have a 45 minute commute one way and work minimum of 10 hours/day, many days closer to 12, 5 days a week and sometimes weekends. Excuses are just that, and believe me, I had plenty of them to justify being sedentary for decades. When you want it bad enough, you do what you have to do to make the time to move more. I have had a fit bit for a little over 2 years now, and for the past 18 months I have averaged around 20,000 steps/day. I go to the gym every morning before work and use the treadmill or elliptical, most days. I get up very early each morning, and it is worth it to me.

At the office, I have a desk that I can stand at. I make a conscious effort to get as many steps as possible. Go to the copier and fax machine farthest away from my desk, park as far as possible from the door, go up and down the steps each time I pass by. You would be surprised how steps during the day add up.

I have come to the conclusion that no one will do this for you, you have to make the time and effort for yourself. How much, or little, you want to put into it is entirely up to each of us. We are worth it.

jesseviexo

kshama2001 wrote: »

jesseviexo wrote: »

I work at a busy Healthcare revenue cycle service center.... I get 30 minutes for lunch. I am still adjusting the the lifestyle and my routine. It's only been a month hopefully I will be able to figure out what works for me soon!!

Can you eat at your desk and walk at lunch?

Yea I can probably do that !

ruby70

This is a hard one. I am still trying to get it figured out. My day is very busy & I don't get much time to leave my desk. I do try to get in some walking or lift weights at lunch. Does your job have a gym for employees? Everything helps, even if it is only 20 minutes. I bring my own lunch too & eat that at my desk since I use lunch to workout. 12 hours to work is tough in general, it does not leave much time for you.

missiontofitness

ninerbuff wrote: »

A friend of mine parks a mile away from his work to get in 2 miles a day walking. Rain or shine.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

Seconding this. Though I have to walk because I don't have the luxury of parking close to work. I can easily get a 15 minute round trip power walk multiple times per week. I also get up from my desk during down time to wander around the office, go get some water, ect. I try to move whenever I can, because sitting for 7-8 hours can be brutal. Fit in exercise when and where you can!

sistrsprkl

Can you cycle to work?

Kst76

Merkavar wrote: »

SezxyStef wrote: »

I have a desk job...I have lost 56lbs...yesterday was my rest day and I still got 12k steps in...without any exercise and I worked all day.

You don't have to be "chained" to your desk...bathroom breaks..water, lunch, breaks...I get my steps in easily.

But just eat less.

12000 steps in a rest day with out exercise at a desk job. Can you explain that to me?

Do we have a different definition of desk job?

How long is your lunch break? 2 hours where you just walk?

Just boggles the mind. If I was getting to 12000 steps I wouldn't need a desk because I would be walking around too much.

How many miles is 12000 steps? I live in the city and I walk everywhere. I must get in around 5 miles minimum a day just walking from point A to point B. By default I get in 3 miles a day just by taking my son to school..lol .I love living in an Urban environment

Kst76

sistrsprkl wrote: »

Can you cycle to work?

Are you British?

JoRumbles

2 years ago I went back to work after having a baby, I weighed 66kg (I weighed 98kg before I gave birth, so had loads). Slowly, over a year of sitting on my *kitten* at a desk, my weight crept up to 76kg.

Sedentary lifestyle is a killer. I realized this year that if I wanted to loose weight and sit on my bum all day I could eat very little, 1,200cals a day only gives me a pound loss a week. So I have to be rigid about what I eat during the week. A typical lunch is one small fillet of mackerel, salad, no dressing, a small apple. When I get home from work after dinner I do a 30min fitness DVD, it is all I have time for. I get in 2x 22mins walk some days when my childcare arangements allow me to walk to the train station.

I now weigh 68kg. If I want to maintain at this weight I have to realise that my sedentary job means I only need about 1,600cals a day. Sigh

NoIdea101NoIdea

I am also a 'desk' worker for the most part. To get my exercise in I walk to work (45 minutes), go to the gym in my lunch break (or at least go for a walk) and then walk home from work (another 45).

I try to get up to do weights before work, but that doesn't happen as often as I would like as I need to get up early enough as it is to walk to work (I could get the bus and save me some extra time, but I am very conscious of the whole being-at-my-desk-all-day thing). Even if it is absolutely p****ng it down outside, I will still choose the walk!

salman1108

get up and walk around every 30 minutes and while I'm sitting I do a lot of stretches
I've also started marinating chicken breasts and grilling them along with asparagus, potatoes, carrots, and cauliflower. Chicken caesar wraps and tuna lettuce wraps are my go to when I am running late or wasn't able to meal prep for the week further use the detail video tinyurl.com/worldbest-weightlose-biknibody

fearnsey71

The other thing to consider is that it appears you're living to work rather than working to live. 11-12 hour days are simply not sustainable and in the long term your health (both physical and mental) will suffer. You have to ask yourself - Is this the right role for me? If it's a short term solution to money problems, I get it, (been there, done that) but if this is the outlook for the next 5 years you have got to ask yourself if it's worth it.

hollyrayburn

fearnsey71 wrote: »

The other thing to consider is that it appears you're living to work rather than working to live. 11-12 hour days are simply not sustainable and in the long term your health (both physical and mental) will suffer. You have to ask yourself - Is this the right role for me? If it's a short term solution to money problems, I get it, (been there, done that) but if this is the outlook for the next 5 years you have got to ask yourself if it's worth it.

Lots of jobs require 12 hour shifts. God bless the nurses, and those medics that tend to do 24 hour shifts!

Anywho, get up minutes earlier, and go to the gym before work.

You said yourself you are becoming lazy. Correct it. And good luck!

smotheredincheese

I work in an office and spend the whole day sat at my desk. I do technically get a lunch break but am expected to stay at my desk and work through it so rarely get the opportunity to go for a walk on lunch. I'm trying to move more around the office though, our kitchen and stock room are down a flight of stairs so I'm constantly offering to make people drinks to get some steps in. I actually eat healthier on days when I'm at work because I can take a big tub of salad in with me and have to eat it because I can't easily get anything else.

thebuz

Try doing incline push-ups every time you go to the washroom. I use the counter and do a set of 25 every time I visit the bathroom. I can get up to 200 push ups in just with my regular trips to the loo. We also have a group that walk at lunch every day and between the two it really makes a difference from a sedentary day to an active one. You can do this!

lconly3

I have a desk job I started in October but I've still managed to lose 50 lbs since I started and its now June so its been 8 months. I only drink water, carbonated flavored water and crystal light at work...no coffee unless I really need it and then only black with cinnamon BC cinnomon lowers your glycemic index. I have hand weights that I do repas on through out the day between calls, at my desk when typing or on call I do leg lifts, everyhour I get up and stretch or stretch in my seat, on both my breaks I walk laps around the office floor, I eat a light lunch of only fruits and veggies or chicken breast or a few boiled eggs, or soup, after work I hit gym for a quick one hr aerobics class, then head home