I work in an Office, and losing weight is so hard!

DavyGaga

Hello,
I've been a fan of MyFitnessPal for a few years now and I think it's great. When I was in college (just graduated a few months ago) the app was very helpful. When I was in school I was constantly active; running from class to class, walking to work everyday, even hitting the school gym once and a while, and even though there were tons of calories from drinking involved (haha) there were parties and lots of dancing! So over all my weight wasn’t always such a big issue. Now, a good ten months out of school, I’ve gained almost 20lbs, and not in muscle! As soon as school ended I went straight into a 9-5 office job. I stopped going to the gym because I moved back home with the family and the closest gym in a good distance (I never learned how to drive. Going to school in the City you never needed to know how to drive haha, now I live on Long Island and I’m in the process of learning how to drive still, but alas I don’t know how). It’s way out of the way for walking. Anyway, before I turn this into a long essay; I really need help controlling my weight in this now non active life style. At my old job I was always on my feet, running around, sweating and seldom had time to stop and eat. Now since I sit at a desk all day long, and our office has a built in cafeteria and staff, I feel that all I do is munch and snack. I admit that I often eat to pass time, so I often catch myself getting a muffin or grabbing a tuna salad just to kill time. I guess my question is; to my fellow office workers, how do you deal with eating healthy and staying active at work?

WBB55

I have a FitBit to track my steps.
I bring healthy snacks, so I don't waste money in the lunch room.
I exercise after work, so I look forward to that.
I drink a lot of water, so I'm always walking to the bathroom.
I stand as much as possible.
For me, I typically don't eat "lunch." I walk for my lunch. I have 2-3 snacks per day at my desk.

deadyankee

I don't eat to excess and I ensure that I get exercise by taking long walks after work or on weekends. I've lost 14 pounds since Xmas by making very limited changes to my lifestyle - mainly in respect of cutting out grazing on high calorie sweets and drinks and replacing them with water. It's really not that much of a chore, it just takes a small degree of willpower and focus. Logging intake on MFP makes it very straightforward. If you 'cheat' then you are only cheating yourself and denying yourself the future and lifestyle that you are targeting.

Tabithas_Transformation

It's hard to fit exercise in during working hours but it's not impossible to find time when you've got the right motivation! If the gym is too far away (or in my case, too expensive!) find a way to get your exercise in other ways.

For instance, I walk to work. It's 20 minutes each way but that's 40 minutes of walking that I'd rather have than lose. Have you thought about maybe going for a run/walking more around home? Or even go back to your dancing - just do it sober in your living room. You could even think about some fitness DVDs, whatever keeps you moving and motivated

seltzermint555

there's this feature called "logging calories" on MFP and I use it.

cebreisch

I have a fitbit too, and LOVE IT. My favorite thing is a chart it has showing calories burned vs. calorie intake.

I get up once an hour to walk around the office. Each "set" I do of about 2 laps has about 300-ish steps, so if I get up 7 times, I've done 2100 steps by the time I leave work, not including whatever steps I take at lunch and after work.

I have a dorm fridge in my office. I keep healthy snacks in it - yogurt, light string cheese, bottles of water, diet soda, etc.

2 things I keep in my drawer:
Special K protein water mix - pink lemonade. 30 cals, about 5 g protein, and about 5 g fiber.
Chocolite protein bars (www.healthsmartfoods.com) - about 100 cal's, 10g protein, 10g fiber, gluten free, sugar free

Take as many trips to the copier as you can, trips to the bathroom, trips to the shredding bin or shredder. Find excuses to get up and move around as often as possible.

MVY_

I work in an office and I am doing great. You have to find time for it now because you are not walking around like how you use to back then.

shaynepoole

do you work in the city, or out in Long Island - one of the things I did when I lived in the city was get of the subway a stop or two earlier and walk part of the way - I lived out in Washington Heights, but worked on the upper east side on 2nd Ave - so if time/weather permitted, just stayed on the west side trains and walked crosstown.

Living in Long Island, I suppose you can bike - or at work, do office exercises/chair exercises, you can exercise/walk in your neighborhood at home

you are on your own with the cafeteria, never had experience with an office that had one of those - but you can try bringing your own healthy snacks to munch on instead

PinkyFett

It's hard to fit exercise in during working hours but it's not impossible to find time when you've got the right motivation! If the gym is too far away (or in my case, too expensive!) find a way to get your exercise in other ways.

I agree with this.

I'm a stay at home mom and full time student. I'm with 3 kids under 5 years old ALL day, EVERY day. Gym is out of the question. I bought a treadmill and I use it every day. I also have Hashimoto's and it's near impossible to lose weight, but I've lost 3 lbs just this week.

BlueBombers

I have a FitBit to track my steps.
I bring healthy snacks, so I don't waste money in the lunch room.
I exercise after work, so I look forward to that.
I drink a lot of water, so I'm always walking to the bathroom.
I stand as much as possible.
For me, I typically don't eat "lunch." I walk for my lunch. I have 2-3 snacks per day at my desk.

^ This (although I do eat lunch). I don't go for walks at lunch at the moment as it's stupid cold where I am, but I do go out for walks during breaks once the weather improves.

fercar3000

I work in IT so my butt is on the chair at front of the computer for 9 hours everyday ... I control what i eat and I work out at home before going to work in the morning ... so ... it can be done.

fitfan11

Take breaks and find some obscure corner of the building and get a quick workout in.
Take the stairs instead of the elevator.
Watch your intake. Don't take in what you can't burn off.
Drink lots of water.
Get off the train. Get off one stop before yours and walk the rest of the way.

LoraF83

I work in an office. I've managed to lose weight. So have many other people.

Track your calories. Eat at a moderate deficit. Exercise at home. There are plenty of exercise videos online - youtube, amazon, etc are your friend. Buy some dvds if you want. Get outside and go for a walk or run.

You can either make excuses for your situation or you can find the best solution and work at it.

DavyGaga

(Wow you guys respond so quickly, so awesome!) I know once the weather finally clears up with all the snow I found a town with like, small restaurants and things of the sort, so I want to start walking there during my lunch breaks, I'm sure that will help a lot (But until this polar vortex thing ends, It's kinda dangerous to walk on sidewalks covered in ice and snow) . I often go into the city on the weekends, so I do a lot of walking then. If I'm very occupied I don't eat much (kinda like the opposite of being bored and I eat, if I'm occupied I literally forget about eating) so when I'm out shopping or running around to different places I'll probably eat something small here or there, so I feel during the weekend my calorie count is really small and my activity is high. It's just the five days in between that makes it difficult. I'm sure once the weather gets better and more walking becomes an option this won't be much of an issue.

McKenzieLeigh

I am pretty new, but I have lost almost 12 pounds just by logging my calories. I work in an office all day and I am not following any sort of exercise routine at this point at all. Simply tracking my calories, bringing my own snacks to work and drinking lots of water are working for me.
I do plan to incorporate more and more exercise as I go, but sitting at a desk does not make this impossible!

Awesomers

I work in an office, too. The most important thing is to plan what you're going to eat. I take my lunch every day. If I don't, then I will absolutely fail. I am also a grad student and a mom so my schedule is very structured. I carve out an hour of exercise time before I go to work. You just have to test the waters and try to find a good time frame for you to work out. It took me a couple of months to really get into it - sometimes I work out before work and after work. Sometimes I do squats and lunges at my desk!

I don't have a gym membership, either. I bought some used dumbbells at Play It Again Sports. The world is my gym! Good luck!

CassandraEldridge

I work in an office too. I log my calories bring food and chew lots and lots of gum. I find using a low calorie flavoring for my water helps a lot too.

Also I don't go to the gym, I do my exercising at home. I have weights. Push up bars. A Total gym. The whole shabang! I just pop in my strenght training video's or my Cardio video's depending on my schedule for that day and Go for it.

You have to search and find something that works for you. It will take trial and error until you find the right routine but you have to try if you want results.

UmmSqueaky

My 10 year anniversary of joining the working office world is this August, and I've gained 50 pounds since then! My goal is to lose those 50 lbs by August

Here's what I do:

*Carefully carefully watching what I eat and staying within my calorie limits. There are dozens of fast food options within short walking distance to my office, which I have overindulged at for my entire working career. I allow myself one fast food meal a week, and then everything else is homemade. I have a breakfast heavy on protein, pack my own lunch and have a healthy snack for the afternoon.

*Walking over my lunch hour. I'm lucky that I live in the frigid north and our downtown area is all connected by skyway, so there's lots of indoor walking. If there isn't anything like that near you, perhaps a mall to walk in?

*Go to a gym that is on my train ride home. Once I get in the door, all I want to do is sit on the couch and veg, so I need to make sure I get my exercise done before I get anywhere near home.

JenMc14

You don't need a gym or nice weather to workout. I workout in my house in the am before work. I have a bench, rack, dumbbells and bar with plates, access to YouTube and videos. Checkout. FitnessBlender.com for great, quick workouts. Also, log everything you eat. Stay in your calorie range. Try to not eat when you're not hungry. I know it's hard, I a bored snacker, too. If you can break the habit yet, pack your own snacks like celery sticks and other raw, crunchy veggies. Eat filling meals with a good balance of fat, carbs and protein.

broox80

I work in an office too I just try to get extra steps in. I will walk to the water cooler( 33 steps from my desk) about 10 times during the day. I do squats in the hallway for the 2 minutes my lunch is heating up. People just roll their eyes and walk on by, I dont give a flying you know what!! I also bought a bunch of workout DVD's at goodwill and pawn shops to do on my lunch break if I have more time. It can be done!!! Good Luck!!!

vamred

First stopped looking at as a problem and decided to make it a challenge. So a challenge can be overcome with small steps. These are the following changes I did.
(a) Workout early morning around 5:30 - 6:30 AM, so the only thing at that time I am fighting is sleep
(b) Have a heavy breakfast about 400-600 calories around 7-8 AM
(c) Take Lunch from home atleast 4 days a week
(d) Take oranges, greek yougurt, almonds in 3 small contains (these you can them at any Walmart/Target Store)
--- 10 AM -- have organes
-- - 2 PM -- have yogurt
--- 4 PM -- have almonds
(d) Have dinner at 6-7 PM

Following this, I have been able to lose 23 lb in 2.5 months. As far as muffin's go, If a colleague is about have one, i ask for a small piece to keep my taste buds happy

dp1228

it's funny because my story is the complete opposite of yours. I gained MOST of my weight in college. 80 pounds after gaining about 20 in highschool. getting a full time job after college is what helped me lose weight believe it or not. the office job gave my life some structure.

You said you lived in Long Island? I'm from NY so I know how the commute is. Instead of working out near home why don't you just work out near your job? I get most of my workouts done right after work on my way home. And on the weekends you can always do a workout at home. Also, instead of eating the cafeteria lunches and snacks you should be making your own food and bringing it with you. Try to plan out your meals for the day so that when you do get home after working out you have an idea of what you are going to eat.

I know it's hard to adjust but it really is easy to lose weight with an office job. You just have to want it enough.

cici1028

You are going to really need to adjust your nutrition because your activity level has dropped so drastically. I lost 50 pounds working in an office. It is completely manageable. You will need to invest time in planning and preparing your meals, mental fortitude for saying no to the office snackery and a FitBit or other monitor to help motivate you to get those steps in any way you can... whether it is taking the stairs, parking further out, or giving up your lunch break to exercise. Bring your lunch. Breakfast too if you can.

That said, nutrition is key here. You can lose weight without exercising. You can do it.

csuhar

1) I bring my food in from home, that way I'm in control of what I eat.
2) I take walking breaks. It's not necessarily anything timed, but it's ususally something like using the bathroom a floor below / above and using the stairs.
3) I have the "You are Your Own Gym" book and app. No gym necessary. Even now that I have a gym in walking distance, it forms the foundation of my exercise program because I don't need to worry about open hours or crowds in my back yard.

k8briseno

I do little things through out the day. I think it's really important to break the sitting cycle to keep your metabolism up. I use a bathroom on a different floor and take the stairs. Sometimes on my way back to my desk I go down, back up, and down again just for the extra steps. I drink a lot of water and it make for lots of trips up and down the stairs. I do 100 squats during the day in my cubicle. If you don't have as much privacy that might be hard and may get you some stares. I'm working on getting up to at least 300 squats a day and 100 lunges. I also added an add on reminder to my Firefox browser to get up and move around every hour to half hour. Stretch do some squats. Walk the halls. Sitting around all day not only ruins your metabolism it can shorten your life. Plan your meals, it makes a huge difference. If you can't make it to the gym, workout at home. I work out at the gym and at home. I think it is also important to make gradual changes too. If you take on too much all at once you will have a much harder time sticking with it. Maybe just add one or two changes a week.

Nerdycurls

I work in an office. I've managed to lose weight. So have many other people.

Track your calories. Eat at a moderate deficit. Exercise at home. There are plenty of exercise videos online - youtube, amazon, etc are your friend. Buy some dvds if you want. Get outside and go for a walk or run.

You can either make excuses for your situation or you can find the best solution and work at it.

I think you're being unnecessarily harsh here. It's obvious this person has a professional office job for the first time, and getting used to that scene takes some time. If the OP is asking because she doesn't know, why is that making excuses?

One of the things you need to do when working in an office is to get your body to the point where it burns a high amount of calories even when you are sitting. Strength training will do wonders for you, because your metabolism will still be relatively high even when you are inactive. The last time I worked in an office, it was hard because our workload was measured in terms of how much we accomplished at our desks-- making it nearly impossible to get up and move around as much. In fact, we were yelled at for having low productivity and then would get asked why always left our desks-- even if it was 3-4 times a day! I'll never take a job like that again.

The job before that was much easier to move around in. I would get up and walk to the printer to get my documents. I would stand and work as much as I could. I would go for walks during my breaks. Our supervisor was also health-savvy and he bought a couple of exercise balls for us to all sit on, and we'd even fight over them! LOL. Find a few good strategies that work for you in your office and implement them one by one.

The meal planning is also necessary. A pitfall of an office is people will bring in "bad food" all the time, there are potlucks a lot, and snacks sitting around. Controlling your eating habits and portions is going to be a given no matter the work environment.

Polarpaly05

Don't worry too much about where you'll get your exercise(the above suggestions were great though). It's a relatively small factor in your quest to drop what amounts to the professional version of the "freshman 15". Your diet is far and away the most crucial thing to rein in.

My suggestion, cut out using the cafeteria. Plan out your work week breakfast, lunch and snacks on Saturday. Go to the store and buy things on Sunday, then cook it all up that day and separate it out into portions from the week. I bought a crock pot and just look for simple and healthy recipes online. Just throw everything in, come back a couple hours later (a downside to the crock pot is you end up eating the same thing for lunch for the week. But if you make something super tastey, shouldn't be a problem).

Also pick up some of those water flavoring drops (Mio, Dasani, etc.). I know I wasn't a huge fan of plain water, but with a bit of flavor it gets MUCH easier to drink up.

What you'll need:

1) 30 minutes on Saturday to plan
2) 2-3 hours on Sunday to shop and cook
3) A lunch bag/box to keep things cold/warm
4) Tupperware or other storage
5) A good water bottle you can easily carry
6) Scale to weigh out food/portions
7) Will power to change

You can also try only bringing $2 cash with you to work. Thus limiting your spending and snacking potential. So if you get the craving to snack/buy something... you can only buy $2 worth of snacks.

rockmama72

Does your office building have stairs? Use them all the time. Get in a few flights when you arrive, some at lunch, and some before you go home.

Get yourself a lunchbox and pack it each day with food you like--stuff that's good enough to keep you out of the cafeteria.

Get a 32 ounce bottle and fill it with water when you get there and again after lunch. Drink both of them.

qtgonewild

I work in an office too. First of all, stop making excuses. If you want to lose weight, you'll find a way.

Julesdublin

I work in an office as well.
Bringing your own lunch really helps. I leave everything ready the night before so I don’t have to wake up early to prepare my food. I just put it in my bag and off I go.
Keep healthy snacks at your desk so you can munch on fruits and nuts instead of the more caloric office canteen stuff.

qtgonewild

I work in an office as well.
Bringing your own lunch really helps. I leave everything ready the night before so I don’t have to wake up early to prepare my food. I just put it in my bag and off I go.
Keep healthy snacks at your desk so you can munch on fruits and nuts instead of the more caloric office canteen stuff.

i do exactly this as well.