How can I be more active during the day with a desk job?!

TexasBridgett

Hey all,

I'm just seeking some tips and suggestions for getting in more activity during the work day. I tend to sit at my desk constantly and have a hard time prying myself away from work. It seems the deadlines are always "NOW!"

Any tips on how to set some work boundaries so I can add more activity in my day? It's gotten to the point where my ankles are a little swollen/tight from not getting enough movement in throughout the day.

Has anyone had successes with losing weight with a demanding desk job?

Danp

A couple of things that I've been able to do. They may not be feasible for your work but I'll share anyway.

1. Bluetooth earpiece: I ordered a bluetooth earpiece for my work phone, now whenever I'm on a phone call I make a point of being on my feet and moving while I speak
2. Walking meetings. I have a rule. If There are 3 or less people in the meeting and no one has material to present then it's going to be a walking meeting. Weather permitting I'll meet people and we'll head out of the office and talk while we walk. It's a great way to add some movement and gets you outside in the fresh air.

Pretty much any incidental movement is gonna be of benefit. Even you are tethered to your desk doesn't mean you need to be anchored to your chair. set a 50 minute timer. When it goes off make sure you give yourself an excuse to get up for whatever reason (talk to someone instead of emailing, picking up a printout, getting some water, anything). At the very least you can stand up and stretch a little to get the blood flowing.

I also walk during my lunch break, and I'll occasionally walk to the train station a few stops away in the afternoon if I've had a particularly inactive day.

pkweier

While my job isn't as demanding as yours sounds I make it a point to get up and walk around every hour or so. I take the long way around to go anywhere.

nelja

I have a Garmin Vivo smart Hr watch.It tell me when i have not moved for an hour to get up.It really help me a lot.Otherwise i will also just sit at my desk.

Machka9

Walk, run or cycle as all or part of your commute.

Get up and climb several flights of stairs a couple times a day.

Go out at lunch to walk or run.

Werglum

I am a teacher so spend a lot of time standing while actively teaching, but I am also the head of department so have a mountain of admin to do. I have standing desks in my office and in my classroom. I only sit down to eat lunch, the rest of the time I am on my feet all day. It took a bit of getting used to, but now it is great - I barely notice it at all. It doesn't really get me fit, but I no longer have a sore back or neck and when I do exercise (mostly run or walk) my legs don't feel it the same way they used to.

RunForPizza88

Wow that sounds pretty terrible if your ankles are swelling up?!

My advice is that you need to consider your priorities in life and put your health and wellbeing before some companies profits.

I assume you are legally entitled to a lunch break, so use it!

I have an office job 9-5 and my job involves just sitting all day. I walk to and from the train station in the morning and evening and I split my lunch hour into 2 half hour breaks and walk for both of those.
That gets me circa 14k steps per day.

I worked on slowly building this up over a few months.

So now I am able to set mfp to ‘active’ even though I have a completely sedentary job. Yay more calories to eat!!

sijomial

I'm just seeking some tips and suggestions for getting in more activity during the work day. I tend to sit at my desk constantly and have a hard time prying myself away from work. It seems the deadlines are always "NOW!"
Don't accept unreasonable deadlines or that becomes the default expectation. "Lack of planning on your part doesn't constitute an emergency on my part".
Manage your workload and your manager or both will drive you instead.
Build exercise into your commute.
Eat lunch at your desk and use your lunch break for exercise.
Use the stairs.
Go and talk to people rather than send emails to people nearby.

Any tips on how to set some work boundaries so I can add more activity in my day? It's gotten to the point where my ankles are a little swollen/tight from not getting enough movement in throughout the day.
Hope you have recorded that your work is impacting your health with your manager and HR?
My boundaries were setting a reasonable professional working day in terms of both time and workload. That was a lesson learned from my early 40's when I had to walk away from a 24 year career due an intolerable workload which was making me ill, depressed and with a major drink problem.
If you don't set boundaries then you will find "if you want something done then give it to the busiest person in the office" is very true.
Don't let technology blur the boundary between work and personal time - unless you are paid to be on call don't be.

Has anyone had successes with losing weight with a demanding desk job?
Yes - I had a full time demanding office job for my client, long commute, also running my own business - remember none of that makes you eat too much. Make sure your eating is to your needs and not stress/emotional/tiredness eating.
I also managed an extensive exercise routine (some during lunch breaks, some late evening, a lot at weekends. But remember it's the not eating too much that is the primary driver for weight loss.

TeresaW1020

I have a very busy desk job too and one of the little tricks I do to get in more steps is to drink a lot of water and then every time I get up to go to the bathroom I either walk around or walk in place to get 200 steps. It only takes a couple of minutes to do but over the day can really add up. You can also set a timer on your phone that reminds you to get up and move.

coderdan82

I've been trying to tackle this problem recently too. Here's what I've done so far:
- I bought a standing desk converter so I can stand while I work for at least part of the day. I've only had it for one day but so far I like it and I think it'll work out. I don't just stand, it also makes me pace around when I'm thinking about a problem.
- I got a membership at the gym on the base floor of my office building and I'm going to do some cardio during lunch. Today will be the first time I try it out so no impressions yet but I don't see any reason why it wouldn't work out. If that's not an option for you, you can still do brisk walks.
- I take a 20 minute walk before I leave for work. It's better than coffee in terms of waking you up and it's easy to squeeze in.

There's some good ideas in this thread, I'll be keeping an eye on it.

tracengel

I work from home most days and it's worse than the office, I can sit 16 hours in my chair some days. A silly thing I do is "kitchen walking". When walking outside is too much effort, would take me away from my work for too long, it's too cold etc - i pace my kitchen. It's fairly long, so I just walk up and down while reading emails, watching something on my phone etc. My fitbit tracks my steps and the numbers appeal to me: I like round numbers, so if I hit a round number on steps, and the distance isn't a round number, I'll push a bit longer to get it there. Of course, by that time, some other metric is off, so I'll go again. A little silly, but I find it helpful. Sometimes up to an hour a night. I don't get bored (others might, I guess). It's not very much exercise, and not enough for people serious about it, but for just getting a little more active, I've found it a good place to start.

anothermfpuser

Super demanding desk job (about 60 hours per week)... Before and after work is the time I get my exercise in.

For weight-loss, it's all about calories and logging. You don't need to exercise to lose weight, but the calories burned can help to create more food intake (assuming logging is accurate).

CILLAJ8

I too have a desk job, though not as demanding as yours. I get 2-15 minute breaks and an hour for lunch. So just at work I walk 30 to 45 minutes a day and sometimes I add a run in at home. I also drink a lot of water and that helps me get up and walk away from my desk throughout the day as well. The work will always be there. Don't stress it. Your health comes first.

hesn92

I understand at times work can be very demanding but if it's to a point where it's the norm for you to not have time in your day just to take a quick walk around the office several times a day, or go for a walk at lunch time etc. then I think some changes need to be made. Tell your boss if you think their expectations of you are unreasonable or not. I realize that's not always easy. At my last job it was pretty much expected to work your *kitten* off, always, and deadlines were always now, and then lets add some more deadlines on top of those while we're at it. There's a good reason I left that job. Life is too short.

That being said even with downtime at my new job I'm still sitting the majority of the day. I exercise in the mornings, and then most evenings I will go for a bike ride or something with my toddler.

debrakgoogins

My job requires that I work 17 hours shifts at a desk sometimes for weeks at a time. I have the same problem with swelling. One of the things I do to combat the sedentary work is volunteering to go pick up lunch for meetings. It's an excuse to get up and move. An under desk bike is a good way to keep moving even when you're seated. You can get really simple ones for $25 on Amazon. There are fancier, more complex ones too. Do you have the option of a sit/stand work station? I have a sit/stand station and try to stand for an hour at a minimum per day. I have a FitBit with alarms three times a day to remind me to get up and take a walk around the building. On days that are less busy, I walk on the treadmill in our wellness room for 1/2 hour at lunch. Walking meetings are not possible for me because my office is small with no room for multiple people to walk together and it's on a major highway so there are no safe places to walk outdoors.

kimny72

Not specifically about at work, but this thread might give you some ideas:

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10610953/neat-improvement-strategies-to-improve-weight-loss/p1

mbaker566

i'm inactive at work. i am active before and after work and on the weekends.
you can always park farther away-not just at work but if you are going to the theater or shopping or whatever. walk on breaks and lunch. take stairs where it is an option.

mom23mangos

I don't know if you have an office or ever get stuck on long calls, but when I do, I close my door and put the phone on speaker. I then do mobility work or yoga during the call. Most of the time I can stay on mute.

davidylin04

I bought a sit/stand desk converter. I also try to walk around more often and take the stairs.

halfninja2

If you can and it's safe, park as far as possible from your building (mine has a huge and safe parking lot, so that makes it easier). Take the stairs - even if you don't have to - basically take the long way to the restroom, to your desk, to your car, to lunch, to anything you can (if time allows, of course). So even if you just go to the restroom, take the long way and go up/down a couple flights of stairs if you can. It helps if you plan, of course, like getting to work early enough and stuff like that. You can always add ankle/wrist weights if you want extra resistance.

mitch16

Busy-ness aside, you need to make your health a priority--if your ankles are swelling that's not really a good thing! Drink plenty of water during your work day. The bonus is that you will probably have to use the restroom frequently, which means you can get up and move. Use the restroom that is on the next floor up or next floor down and take the stairs.

happytree923

I work from home 3 out of 5 days most weeks, and even though my schedule is very flexible and my job isn't very fasted paced on work from home days it's very easy for me to sit all day. I have a fitbit that gives me a nudge to take at least 250 steps every hour. Unless you have a real jerk of a boss that would frown upon this you just have to make it a priority, it usually takes less than five minutes. Of course activity around work is where you'll get most of your activity but it sounds like even something small could improve your situation!

I have only worked for smaller nonprofit orgs so idk how this kind of stuff works, but is this something you could take to the HR department if you have one? Maybe you could have a standing desk. I think the swollen ankles would fall under workplace safety to some degree.

megbeveridge93

It might be kind of weird, but I use the bathroom on a different floor of my building. I'm on the second floor and go up to the third floor to use the restroom. It's not a ton of extra steps, but I use the stairs and it's a legitimate reason to be away from my desk. I also use half my lunch to walk and occasionally I'll do a quick lap around the building if I'm getting frustrated or unfocused.

quiksylver296

megbeveridge93 wrote: »

It might be kind of weird, but I use the bathroom on a different floor of my building. I'm on the second floor and go up to the third floor to use the restroom. It's not a ton of extra steps, but I use the stairs and it's a legitimate reason to be away from my desk. I also use half my lunch to walk and occasionally I'll do a quick lap around the building if I'm getting frustrated or unfocused.

Me, too.

I walk on my morning, lunch and afternoon breaks, as well. I usually have 10-12k steps at the end of my work day, and I work a desk job.

VioletRojo

I walk a mile in the mid-morning, then again mid-afternoon.
I don't use the bathroom that's closest to me. Instead, I use the one that's all the way in the front of the building.
I park in the farthest parking lot.
I print to the printer that's farthest from my desk.
I don't send emails for trivial things, instead I get up and walk to the person so we can have a conversation.
Sometimes I just get up from my desk and take a walk around the building. This helps clear my head too.

Mrsrobinsoncl

I work in the courts, when we are not in court I stand at my desk and work and I try and take a walk around the building every hour. It takes less than 5 minutes, but gets me out moving. In the court room I have a stand up desk and I try and stand for any hearings less than an hour. For longer hearings I sit because I tend to fidget it I stand in one place for a long period of time.
I go walk in my lunch break if the weather is nice.

kshama2001

Another vote for drinking more fluids so you have to pee more, and using a distant bathroom.

Also, get some activity at lunch. I'm more productive and less prone to the munchies in the afternoon if I exercise at lunch time. This can be as simple as going for a walk.

deetails26

You could get a Deskcycle from amazon. I have one and I love it

HoneyBadger302

My job can be pretty demanding, and yes, getting away from the emails can be difficult. There are a few things I've done to work to move myself into the "lightly active" category, however, and thus far, they don't seem too terribly painful.

1) I take public transit to work - so, I started getting off one stop before my normal stop (and going back to that stop at the end of the day), and walking the difference. Didn't add too much to my commute times, but more than doubled my daily steps otherwise!

2) I've also decided to start walking to the train station rather than taking my scooter. Adds some time to my commute for sure, but it's a couple miles (total) of walking so that helps a lot. Scoot is still an option if I need it, but my butt needs to move more, so this is a good move (pun intended).

3) I keep a bottle of fizzy water (after my morning coffee) with me and sip throughout the day. This means I'm drinking a 42oz bottle of water most days, which means I can't go more than a couple hours without a bathroom break! You can take the long way if the bathroom is too close.

4) Go work in a conference room on the other side of the floor for an hour - has a couple benefits: a) you move over there and back, and b) gives you some good head's down time to focus on some tasks.

5) Learn to fidget. I'm naturally a fidgeter, but after badly breaking a leg I got bad about fidgetting. I'm getting better about it again, just wiggling or tapping my feet helps keep the blood flowing!

Other than #1 or 2 above, the others won't have any noticeable impact on weight loss/calorie burn, but can help keep you mindful of how much you're sitting around. I find I tend to use better posture, too, the more I'm fidgetting, so that's a good thing too!

CSARdiver

I apply the Pareto principle in everything - focus on the 20% of you job that is of critical importance and leave the rest be. Prioritize your health and fit in a work out break every hour. Get up and walk around, squat, do push ups, etc.

I get my team up and hold walking meetings rather than conference rooms when possible. You just do what you can. Small changes in behavior produce great results in the long term.

DaisyHamilton

20lb down at my desk job so far. Here's what I do.

Park at the back of the parking lot when I have my car (husband and I usually carpool as we work near each other, so if he drops me off, I have an extra 10 mins to walk around the building to get my steps in before he gets here to pick me up).
Walk on lunch break (I have a one hour lunch, and am allowed to eat at my desk so I usually eat around 1130AM, then walk one hour from 12PM to 1PM).
Squats or jogging in place every time you go to the restroom.
Walk to the farthest restroom if there's multiple in the building.
Use your 15 minute breaks. You're entitled to them and you get paid for them. Don't skip. Take a walk to clear your head and get a little exercise in.
Take the stairs when possible.