How Does Your Occupation Affect Your Exercise/Diet

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  • carebear423
    carebear423 Posts: 4
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    I work at a veterinary hospital. Always busy and moving, BUT the clients like to show their appreciation. Which is great! It's always sweets, though. Never a veggie tray or cheese and crackers. It's hard to resist sometimes, but I just try to avoid the kitchen if possible.
  • AprilRN10
    AprilRN10 Posts: 548 Member
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    I'm a nurse. I work two jobs. Both are night shift. One is 6:30 pm to 7am---hospital and the other is 10p to 6a nursing home/psych. It makes it very hard to cook at all. Meal planning is a bust. If it isn't crocpot or super easy, I don't make it. I have a 45 minute commute one way for the 12 hour shifts. I literally work, workout, shower, sleep, repeat. It's easier when I work the eights, but nights is just hard period. The outside world expects you to function on the day shift like everyone else does even though you worked all night. That said, some nights are more busy than others so some nights I eat all the food I bring and some nights none of it. Outside of work, also affected by work due to the hours, is no better. I have one child but she is in 4th grade and has numerous activities to be shuttled to. As soon as I get home from work, I get her off to school before I get to do any of my stuff. I typically sleep between 4 1/2 to 5 1/2 hours. I used to use time as an excuse to not work out (I've worked nights for 15 years) but that is never going to get better so I just suck it up and do it anyway!
  • wifealiciousness
    wifealiciousness Posts: 179 Member
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    I'd be fascinated to know how many of you (esp those with sedentary desk jobs) actually get your workout as part of your commute or lunchtime at work, rather than specifically putting aside time to go to the Gym.... ?
  • Nfairley
    Nfairley Posts: 84
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    I work 8-4:30 in a medical office. I put on 15 lbs in less than a year there because...
    1) Drug reps bring lunch once a week, usually
    2) There are two "bakers" and one nurse who likes to stop at a bakery some weeks. Damn the peach cake!
    3) Hospital cafeterias have healthy choices, but who wants that when the pizza is the first thing you see...
    4) I don't drive and my afternoon commute is horrid (tons of school kids). I usually don't home until 6. In the spring and summer, I can jog after work with no problem but in the fall and winter it's dark by the time I get in and I don't have anyone to go with me.

    I did really well with MFP during the spring and summer because I had NO excuse not to exercise, but I'm worried about this Fall. The days are getting shorter already and this will put a huge dent in my workout time. If I can financially swing it, I'm joining the local gym. No excuses!
  • shanpwn
    shanpwn Posts: 66 Member
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    I haven't noticed any relationship between my occupation and my exercise/diet. At my slimmest, I was a waitress at a pizza place and I ate at work. Pizza, garlic knots, calorie-laden soups, etc. And what I ate at home was mostly bread, bagels, rice, etc. Not to mention I was 19-21 so I regularly boozed it up. What made the difference was I was MOVING. And not just at work, which was 30-50 hrs a week on my feet. But I was also in school and I walked a lot around campus all day. I also ran 3-4 times per week. I know that my job wasn't the determining variable because after I moved to Italy for a year and didn't work, I stopped running, went back to waiting tables and gained 15 lbs. When I graduated from college and went to grad school and continued not to run AND stopped waiting tables, I gained 5 more.

    What really factored in for me, more than exercise, was NEAT. Now I'm trying a combo of upping my NEAT, lifting, running, and diet and have lost 15 lbs. I think it really. Does just come down to diet and activity.

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