Is your workplace helping you weight loss?

yanicka

I have to say that mine is. Almost 40% of employees are training for something or another (5K, marathon, and tri for exemple) We have a shower so those who go running at lunchtime can use. Out of 35, one woman and 3 men are over weight. We rarely have sweets available. It would be so much harder if my workplace was not that supportive of a healthy life style.

How is your's?

kathywoo10

The ladies that I work with at school are really supportive of my weight loss. They are always telling me how skinny I look and being so nice. Before I got on MFP, they were harsh on me about eating fast food for lunch, which annoyed me at the time, but now I know why!

MrBrown72

I'm quite jealous. The only thing we have is bake sales for charity, and several designated tables to hold the doughnuts for the crew.

Pfauxmeh

Lucky....there are at least monthly luncheons, sometimes there's random pudding cake or cookie cake from the bakery, etc...plus we're all surrounded by food all the time. Working in grocery sucks.

shesblossoming

At first, my work environment was not very conducive to my new lifestyle. We had nacho parties all the time and crazy snacks. But I think I've sort of whipped everyone into shape. People bring in fruit all the time to share, and I've started a walking group as well as a Bikram yoga group after work. It's kind of contagious now, because everyone is eating right and looking amazing!

Sj20fame

OMG< that's amazing!!! showers?!?!?! Wow!! I would love to work in a place like yours! My enviroment is tough, but I don't give in anymore like I ustue! Our VP is overwheight, and everyone here brings donuts, bagels, cookies, etc...Before I'd walk by the kitchen and grab half a bagel, or a cookie, and think well hmmm...how bad can it be? WELL IT WAS BAD! so Now I walk right by, and at first it was hard, but now I'm okay, and keep walking:) The place I work at doesn't care about eating right

MinnieInMaine

Mine is awesome! We have our own gym (it's small but it's got all the basics plus a DVD player for 30DS and the like) and locker room with showers, changing area, hair dryers and even a scale!
(Edited to add: just to clarify, we do have to pay a small membership fee, it's not free)

We also have quite a few folks who participate in 5ks, 10ks, marathons, 1/2 marathons and triathalons. These folks really inspired me last year. One of our quartely department meetings celebrated some of our folks participating in these events and I though, I gotta check these out!! Signed up for a 10k walk right away - and plan on running at least half of that same event this year. Next year I plan on participating in quite a few 5ks as my running should be up to par by then.

We also have 2 or 3 activity/weight loss incentive programs each year. There's a big pool of people so the chances of winning are slim but it's motivating anyway.

jraps17

Pretty supportive, they give out wellness awards, we have and onsite gym and showers, walking trails organized sports and they pay any tournament fees for tea sports. bike racks, they given out pedometers, excercise bands etc. and yet i dare to say over 60% of people here are overweight and obese, which is proof that outside influences are not always the absolute determinants on how people will act, cause if that were the case all of us at work would be super fit.

idonteatmyfriends

Even though I work doing admin in a hospital, my work place makes dieting really difficult!

They have "fat Fridays" where they bring in junk food, and they will literally put food in your lap whether you want it or not!

I used to struggle to say no but now being vegan I can't eat anything they bring in anyways!

overzoelous

I work in an ER. I have hypertension due to my weight. I've seen 19 year olds come in brain dead due to a hypertensive stroke and 21 year olds who have DM2 and are already on dialysis. So yeah, there is motivation to lose weight there.

jhendricks123

My workplace contributed to my weight gain in the first place. The break room, for the five years I've worked here, has constantly been stocked with snack bars, bagels, bread, cream cheese, muffins, cookies, soda, chips, and sometimes ice cream in the freezer! I gained about 100lbs over the first two years here due to really, really poor choices and possible (likely) depression.

At the end of 2008 I joined Nutrisystem and lost 100lbs in 7 months. At my 100lb mark they awarded me (publicly) with a $100 gift card to REI! Today I'm down to 220 from my original 350 almost two years ago and training for a half-marathon with my fiance. The office now has fresh fruit delivered weekly, one of the guys on my support team is also training for a half marathon, another is a biker and we're both riding our bikes to work now, and the three of us are doing a Warrior Dash 5k in September, and a 100mile cycling race to the beach next year

alise_lmx

I work at a small company, but they are pretty good about being healthy here. We have an elliptical and treadmill and showers, and most the the people I work with are pretty health-conscious. One guy was training for a triathlon a while ago, another is always talking to me about nutrition and exercise. Overall it's a good environment and I feel very lucky to work here!

keljo05

I work in a chiropractic office and health is a prime focus. I've never been lectured, nagged or otherwise over the last 10 years which is great... but they are also among my biggest supporters.. along with tons of our patients. Nothing like constant positive reinforcement, lol

rosalee87

Wow, that's great actually...over 70% of the ppl I work with are overweight. We have monthly birthday parties in the office (tacos, tostadas, hot dogs, nachos, cake etc) and there's always someone that brings sweet bread from the bakery maybe once every 2 weeks, there's always cookies, donuts, and a bunch of crap around the office >:( When it comes to supporting me on my weight loss, no. They aren't supportive, they complement me on my weight loss then come back with a "don't lose anymore weight your starting to look sick" deal and it just upsets me. So...my answer...no!

Suedre

Mine is pretty darn supportive. We have a full gym and large pool. There are aerobics, strength, yoga, water, and nutrition classes. We've got basketball courts, soccer fields, racquetball, baseball (kickball) and disc golf. There are trainers on site that will work with us individually. We have a full library on health and wellness topics as well as two nutritionists and several life coaches. The cafes always have healthy choices; some of the items are grown right here at a self-sustaining farm. We have special programs to help stop smoking, lose weight, run a 5K. They really make available absolutely everything anyone here could need to be healthy in all aspect of our lives.

What’s amazing to me, is how many people don’t take advantage of it.

GreenGettingLean

Man, I wish! My officemate has been "trying" to lose weight forever, meaning she goes to an aerobics class once in a blue moon and eats terribly. Chicken salad sandwiches w/ mayo, huge bag of doritos daily, and probably about 40 oz of diet coke a day - it's so hard to see this when I know she wants to lose weight. I try to set a good example by packing my own healthy lunch from home and even showed her this website! She got on once and gave up after she saw that it'd require logging. I hope one day it clicks for her, it'd make eating healthy at work so much easier!

KimmyEB

Every job I've ever had has been counter-productive in terms of weight loss. Even when I started parted of my volunteer hours for my teaching degree this past summer, it was bad. We were told that food would be available, and since we were feeding kids ages 8-18, I figured there'd be healthy snacks. Turns out, all they brought in were KFC chicken sandwiches, Wendy's burgers, potato chips, Coke, and Little Ceasar's pizza. Every. Single. Day. I started bringing granola bars and bottled water with me everyday, since there were no fridges or microwaves to bring any home-cooked foods. I honestly have been avoiding get-togethers with old friends and coworkers, because of the choices of the places they pick. I'm trying REALLY HARD to eat healthier, and bars and Chilis aren't helpful to that in any way.

blazergrad

My work place is extremely supportive of a healthy lifestyle. We have over 20,000 employees in 4 states and the company is constantly offering wellness incentives and classes.

There are fitness centers in most of our larger office buildings for the employees and they even offer discounts on our health insurance premiums if we get our yearly physicals. Every year they have "Scale Back" programs in the various locations where employees team up in groups and attempt to be the team with the largest weight loss over a specified period of time. And this year they started participating in a program that allows the employees to log their workout\exercise sessions and gain points which can then be traded in for merchandise.

All in all, I'd say I'm very fortunate to work for a company that takes such an interest in their employees well-being.

Kierra112

Not really!! I have a sit down job that allows you to snack all day. No one there to motivate me...just me.

ladybg81

All the women in my office are currently using this website to either lose or maintain. The other 2 are already thin (one actaully healthy thin, the other skinny fat.) There are only 8 women so it helps all of us because there is no one bringing in junk food baked from home or anything like that. I think my office is helping me though I'm not sure at this point that anything or anyone is going to make me gain back the 25 lbs I've lost. This is a lifestyle change for me; for the rest of my LIFE!

melsinct

Helping? Hahahahahaha...No. Not at all. My office helped me gain weight.

We have many catered meetings at my office so there is always leftover meeting food. Morning meetings may produce leftovers of pastries, muffins, and bagels. Fresh fruit too if you're lucky. Lunch meetings will have assorted sandwiches, potato chips, sometimes pizza, etc. Then there are always baked goods being brought in: cookies, cakes, etc. On top of that, in my department two different people keep giant candy bowls stocked with assorted and changing goodies.

These days I rarely eat any food I didn't bring in, except for the rare work pot luck or group cake event (going away party or something).

DRetel

I work for an organic food company, we distribute and manufacter snacks and bulk food. We often have snacks on the sample rack that we can eat. It's hard to ignore them. Just because it's organic doesn't mean its not fattening! We also often will sample new products being introduced to us, to see how the staff feels about it.. (chocolate, cookies, chips, etc)
I've become really good at saying "No thanks", but some things are hard to resist, so I'll have ONE of something, instead of a whole package.

As for culture, almost everyone in my office is health concious. We used to have Yoga in the office every Friday, but we had to cancel as the yoga area was taken over as expanded office space.

onefuzzy

I am part of the wellness committee at my work and I must say motivating overweight, lazy people is extremely hard to do! We have weekly, monthly and yearly challenges and unless they are winning a prize or receiving money noone participates. We have had Biggest Loser competitions which have turned into high school dramas! And after the contest only 1 person kept the weight off.

We are constantly getting cupcakes, bagels, brownies...You name it we have it in our breakroom! I makes it very hard to stay on track when there are triggers everywhere!!!

I am very active and would love to ride my bike into work or take a run at lunch, but we don't have showers at my workplace.

My work does not make it easy for me to stay fit

Qarol

I wish. People are always bringing in something bad and leaving it in the break room. I can only walk by it so many times before giving in. My company has a lot of annoying, strict policies against stuff. Why can't it have a policy against bringing in fattening foods and leaving it in the break room?

Brownski860

I work for a large nationally known corporation. We do have access to a gym and walking trails which is nice. However the 3 cafeterias we have on campus are overpriced ($8/sandwich) and the fat/calories are horrendous. They do offer a "FIT" option for breakfast and lunch but thats like 500 calories. Lets not talk about the cookies/pastries/and icecream thats also available.
I eat breakfast at home and bring my snacks and lunch to work everyday. Much better on my wallet and waist.

PS - alot of people are overweight here b/c we all have desk jobs that we are at for 10-12hrs per day.

lizdavis07

no they are not like that at all!! :-( my coworkers are constantly telling my im too skinny and are constantly trying to shove doughnuts down my throat (lawyers and officers are always bringing our office doughnuts).

They are not supportive at all of me losing weight. They see me bring in a salad for lunch and tell me i need to eat more. They are all 50+ more pounds than i am, but if i actually listened to them and ate what they eat, i guess i'll be right there with them lol

We even have special lunches a couple fridays a month. We all bring a covered dish and have sort of a "pot luck"...i like to call those days "Bring Your Own Suicide" simple bc these women bring the greasiest, cheesiest, sinful dishes :laugh:

Sparksfly

I work on a military base so we have a gym available here for free. This includes locker rooms, scales, cardio/strength equipment, and fitness classes. Oh did I mention free personal training??


My actual office is quite bad with bringing in snacks and junk food. I always try to decline freaking delicious baked goods, but it really can be hard sometimes.

The food choices on base are AWFUL. Which is better for me because it forces me to bring a good lunch or I am buying a can of soup down at the exchange.

My coworker and I started a healthy challenge for our command, and it wasn't a huge success . My specific office won overall, and we receive a healthy snack every week for a month. People here mostly want to stuff their faces with donuts, and sit in their cubicle all day long. It's sad, but it's their choice!

iAMaPhoenix

Mine is pretty darn supportive. We have a full gym and large pool. There are aerobics, strength, yoga, water, and nutrition classes. We've got basketball courts, soccer fields, racquetball, baseball (kickball) and disc golf. There are trainers on site that will work with us individually. We have a full library on health and wellness topics as well as two nutritionists and several life coaches. The cafes always have healthy choices; some of the items are grown right here at a self-sustaining farm. We have special programs to help stop smoking, lose weight, run a 5K. They really make available absolutely everything anyone here could need to be healthy in all aspect of our lives.

What’s amazing to me, is how many people don’t take advantage of it.

Where do you work, at the YWCA or something?

zoombie_bear

wow that's great, here the boss got us a treamill, bike & weight n' stuff, fun really, no shower however

smelius22

i've gained 10 pounds in the last year i've worked here.. i have a desk job that doesnt require me to ever leave me desk pretty much. we always order food from a near-by burger place and have cookouts and people keep snacks around. its a little hard to sit in front of a computer all day and refrain from bored-snacking.

sandra_stoddard

Yes,my work place does help me.I work night shift in a hospital on a very busy medical floor,So I am constantly on my feet walking and nobody really brings sweets to work.Everybody is pretty much health contious.