I work in an office gaining weight help

Demonicmocha

Hi I'm Rachael I work in an office all day I live very close to the office the only walking I tend to do is to and from work, My past jobs have been fairly active now my weight is flying up fast even with going to the gym once a week how much less should I be eating sitting all day I often get pins and needles in my legs too,

TavistockToad

input your stats and MFP will tell you how much you should eat to maintain or lose weight.

bpetrosky

Set your stats in the MFP user setup with an activity level of sedentary and it will give you the calorie target for your goals. Log as accurately as you can and eat to that target. Give it time, but it will work.

coffee_rocks

I work in an office too. Same issues. Get up and walk during the day. Walk at lunch. Walk to get a glass of water. Take the stairs instead of the elevator. Park further away or get off the bus one stop before you need to, and walk. Also, as others suggested, change your activity level in MFP and let it help you calculate your new calorie goals. As for the gym, if you can move that up to 3x a week, awesome! Good luck!

pinuplove

Make it a point to get up and stretch, walk around periodically through the day (even if it's just to the break room and back). If your office building has stairs, even better. Walk them. Use MFP to calculate your daily calorie goal and follow it. You can't continue to eat as if you're very active when you aren't anymore.

LivingtheLeanDream

I work in an office too....but I watch my calorie intake and I am active outside of work.

Put in your stats to MFP, choose sedentary setting and eat at the calorie allowance given.

The pins and needles are coming from inactivity, get up from your desk every half hour, go for a walk around office, stand for a short while, or go grab a glass or water.

Machka9

Demonicmocha wrote: »

Hi I'm Rachael I work in an office all day I live very close to the office the only walking I tend to do is to and from work, My past jobs have been fairly active now my weight is flying up fast even with going to the gym once a week how much less should I be eating sitting all day I often get pins and needles in my legs too,

Can you get up and walk around once an hour?

If not, talk to your ergonomic assessor and make sure you can.

Machka9

Personally ...

I walk as part of my commute to and from work.
I walk at lunch.
I walk or cycle after work.
About mid-morning, I get up and climb several flights of stairs. I repeat that about mid-afternoon.
And I get up to go to the kitchen, to the toilet, to the photocopier, etc. I also stand during meetings.

MegaMooseEsq

My office related strategies:
- Find a parking space at least ten minutes walk from your office or get off transit a couple of stops early, if possible.
- Pack your food, including snacks, and do your best to keep any additional snacks to a minimum, say once a week. If you know Jackie has a birthday coming up, maybe skip the morning bagels.
- Drink lots of liquids through the day, ideally low or zero cal. In addition to keeping your hands and mouth busy, frequent trips to the restroom are a good way to stretch your legs. Kidding a bit, but not entirely.
- Set a reminder to get up and stretch your legs once an hour. My Apple Watch does this for me, but you could set a timer on your phone or computer too.
- Remember that weight loss is about diet first, exercise second. It’s entirely possible to maintain or lose weight while completely sedentary. Once a week at the gym is better than completely sedentary, so you’re off to a good start!

Good luck!

ItsyBitsy246

Can you stand while working? I requested a Kangaroo stand from my employer so I can stand when I want to. I have my own office so I can stand there and kind of march in place or dance around while I'm typing to get some extra movement in. Sitting all day is just awful.

PaulaWallaDingDong

The office doesn't cause weight gain. You need to adapt your calorie intake to your lifestyle. Regular exercise, which it seems you're already doing, helps offset some of the excess calories so you don't have to cut so deep.

Shellz31

For the pins and needles, one thing I have is a small foam roller under my desk that I use as a foot stool. I roll my feet back and forth and just kinda move them around on it. Keeps the blood flowing and satisfies my urge to figit when I can't get up right away.

steveko89

Also a cubicle-dweller. You just have to be that much more cognizant of your intake when you're sitting all day; you're TDEE has most definitely changed, you need to adjust your calories accordingly.

I also went through a similar transition going from a more active position to one where I sit all day. A big pitfall for me was the vending machine in the breakroom. I'd get bored and antsy sitting at my desk, go refill my water or coffee and a Big Texas Cinnamon Roll would call from spot 139 in the machine, which I would get and promptly devour at my desk. To break this habit I stopped carrying cash or change of any kind to keep it from being an option. I had the same issue with running errands at lunch and stopping at taco bell, or getting donuts from the grocer's bakery if I was picking something else up at the store. Now I make sure I always bring lunch and minimize the amount I leave at lunch to eliminate that risk. So much of getting healthy and staying healthy is habit-forming, taking away the negative choices, replacing them with positives.

janejellyroll

I work in an office. There is usually stuff you can do to get more activity (I exercise daily, I walk to and from work when the weather allows it, and I take a short walk every day during lunch). I also use a standing desk (although I'm not convinced it really burns significant calories, it makes me feel better than when I'm sitting for hours).

Ginger3301

Offices can be tough - there are days I get less than 1000 steps at work. How you can best manage depends on you and the specific environment. If your office work allows you to, I echo others who have said get up and walk every half hour or so. Or do "7 minute workouts" which often use only a chair as a prop. If you are, for instance, tied to a phone and can't do much during work hours, try going for a walk on your lunch break. And use MFP to help. Set your setting to "sedentary" and whatever goal weight loss/maintenance you want. It will give you your budget of calories for the day. Keep an eye on it. Then on days you move around more (walk, gym) you can have a few more (hopefully healthy) calories. On days it just isn't practical, you can eat less - at least you will know where you stand.

For me, it actually inspired me to work out more often - I can "buy back" some food (or even a treat) with that workout! YMMV on that though because everyone is wired differently.

toxikon

I work in an office too. Being desk-bound can definitely decrease your TDEE (total daily energy expenditure). So that means you need to take in fewer calories, or find other ways to burn them (or both).

I use my lunch break to go on walks, so that helps a bit. Packing your own pre-logged lunch will help you avoid the temptation of fast food. Don't keep snacks at your desk if you're prone to overeating them out of boredom snacking.

H_Ock12

I work in an office. The key is tracking your food and staying within your calorie allotment. Personally, I don't eat at work...I practice intermittent fasting, drinking water all day and having a protein shake between work and the gym. I take a walk around the city or parking deck before I go into work in the morning and at "lunch". I'm also a fidgetter....and while it doesn't do much for calorie burn, my limbs don't fall asleep very often.

Maxxitt

My office habits included all of the sneak-in-exercise strategies & pack my own lunch practices noted above. I also tended to stand or walk around my space whenever I was on the phone, use the restroom one flight of stairs away, hardly ever use the elevator no matter how many floors I needed to travel, and go and talk with colleagues rather than always rely on email.