9-5 Office Job Diet Plan

WalkingAlong

For bloat and boredom, maybe sip hot herbal tea or even hot water with lemon. Lemon has diuretic properties and water is the best cure for bloat. Walking to the kitchen to brew a fresh cup once or twice an hour helps with movement, too. Pace while your water heats. Chat up some coworkers on the way back. Drag it out. The more you drink the more you'll be running to the restroom, too.

Can you change your desk environment? Sit on an exercise ball, if so. It uses more muscles than a chair and will help you feel more active. Do some subtle rolling exercises while stuck at your desk.

mazmataz

I hear and feel this....I really need to get better at bringing in my own snacks so that I don't end up at the canteen or the vending machine. I know that munching all day at work it pure boredom, as when I am at home I can get to 3pm and realise that I haven't eaten anything all day.

Stoopid office!

sgupstate

I am really into tea so I got a bunch of boxes of different types of tea and keep them in a desk drawer. It is warm and comforting and helps me to get more water while avoiding snacking when I am not actually hungry at work. The key for me is having all the varieties of tea to keep it interesting, sometimes I will have three cups of tea a day but all different flavors.

Disclaimer: I am not substituting tea for meals, I still get my calories, just using this trick to avoid unnecessary snacking.

As another note, when my boyfriend has greek yogurt or an egg with a piece of whole wheat toast for breakfast he says it helps him to curb hunger until lunch.

Barbsunshine7

I'm also a 9-5 desk jockey...I hate it! I start my day with either a green veggie/fruit smoothie (Love my Nutri-Bullet!) while I'm at home, or I'll have a bowl of old fashioned oats with cinnamon, no sugar. I also have my one cup of coffee in the morning...can't live without that! I always pack a small can of low sodium V-8 and a string cheese for my morning snack and I'll either bring leftover dinner for lunch or have a salad. A bag salad will last me a week and I keep pouches of tuna or salmon in my cabinet to go on the salad. I only get a half hour for lunch so I try to walk for 20 minutes, weather permitting. Afternoon snack is usually fruit.

Working a desk job makes it so much tougher to lose weight. Before this job I was home taking care of my elderly dad. I was able to take a break once in a while and walk around the block, and I was on my feet a lot doing laundry, etc. Now I weigh 20lbs more than I did 4 years ago

Jcallaghan1

In regards to drinking water - I have a hard time with it too. I found that when I have a straw, I drink more. I keep my cup within eyesight to remind me that its there and I need to drink some. Also, I make it like a game. Keep the caps off the bottles of water and see how many I can get before the end of the day. Or, give myself a goal of how many/much to drink in a day and then try like crazy to make it or exceed it. I downloaded an app on my phone to keep track of how much water I'm drinking and set a goal on it for myself. So each time I finish a glass or bottle of water, I put that amount in the app and see how far I've gone and how much further I have to go to meet my goal. This app also lets you set notificiations to remind you to drink (i have one set for 6:30pm EST to remind me to keep drinking) and tells you when you haven't entered anything for one day (or multiple)

I don't have a problem drinking water while I'm at my 7a-5p job, it's when I get home that I have to keep reminding myself to drink water. I dont keep anything else in the house besides water, some juice, and some adult drinks - so I tend to stop drinking (totally) when I leave the office. The app notification keeps me on track (most days) because I'm usually home by 6:30pm and haven't had anything to drink since leaving work.

I hope this helps!

KerryITD

I work 8-5 and live quite a ways away so I'm gone from home 11 hours a day. It's been hugely difficult for me to combat desk boredom and bring enough/healthy foods for the day!

The biggest help for me was to have only protein or no more than half protein/half carbs for breakfast (and preferably lunch too). Then I seem to make reasoned choices about what to eat instead of mindlessly nibbling.

I also try to walk 10-15 minutes twice a day (my legal breaks that I never used to take) even if that's just going around the building a few times. Lately I've also been doing a 7-minute high-intensity workout (adapted so I don't have to get on the nasty office floor, lol) at the end of lunch, which really wakes me up.

Good luck!

mamacoates

I've been trying SO hard to drink 8 cups of water a day and I barely manage 2 without a struggle! I normally drink alot of tea which obviously has water in so could easily get my 8 cups a day in, but now I have cut back on the tea, I can just about manage 2 bottles of Evian a day! T x

Try a squeeze of lemon or other citrus, or some of the flavored drink mixes that are now available. That is how I managed to transition form LOTS of diet soda to water only ... all day long. I have maybe one diet soda a week now but usually none. I drink upwards of three liters of water a day.

If you are drinking decaffeinated tea, it shouldn't be an issue ...

spazza89

I've been trying SO hard to drink 8 cups of water a day and I barely manage 2 without a struggle! I normally drink alot of tea which obviously has water in so could easily get my 8 cups a day in, but now I have cut back on the tea, I can just about manage 2 bottles of Evian a day! T x


The best thing I ever did for drinking water at the office is to buy a drink bottle with a built in straw and i sit it directly in front of me so I can still use my computer etc. This means that i don't even have to stop what I'm doing to drink the water and there really is no excuse for me to not drink it. I tried this on a whim and it has been such a great idea. I go through so much water during the day, plus what I drink while I'm working out in the morning so it all adds up to probably over the minimum requirement per day. I feel heaps better just from drinking more water so maybe give that a go?
Hope that helps anyway
Good luck

spazza89

I like this idea but also if you are like me and hate lemon I have switched to filtered water only and that actually tastes nice to me so maybe look at getting a bottle with a built in filter

rms705

I tend to have a bannana almost every day at about 10-11am, bring my own lunch to work (which is generally a salad, a sandwich or leftovers from the night before) and drink lots of water during the day. I'd suggest maybe taking some fruit with you each day or I find cut up celery or carrots are also really great for afternoon snacks.

CptCappie

I always bring protien bars, beef jerky, tuna, and protien shakes

^^ This guy is right. Also try eating a protein rich breakfast. Eating protein at every meal will help you stay full.

Moxie67

Ginger can relieve nausea and bloating because of its ability to disrupt and expel gas in the intestine. Ginger accumulates in the gastrointestinal tract, which helps to alleviate many stomach issues. If you like Ginger, you can try buying some fresh, and put a few slices into some green tea or herbal tea and sip it while at work. Of course you can find more information on how to make tea with it online. I have always given it to my kids when they had a tummy ache when they were little. I do agree that changing your early morning food choice to avoid getting bloated in the first place is the optimal thing to do. But ginger might be a good idea to add to your diet anyway if you are having problems digesting fiber comfortably. Good luck, and let me know if you try the ginger and how it works for you!

arlenejoneswilson

I also supplement lunches with bags of frozen veggies. I cook them in the microwave, alongside a low calorie Smart Ones or Healthy choice entree.

I also have a healthy snack drawer-- and Crystal Light Go packs to make the water more appealing. Lots of tea and coffee (easy on the creamer) with Splenda.

starsybyll

Just drink tea. I drink probably 8-12 cups of tea a day and Im never hungry. Half the time I even skip lunch because Im not hungry enough for it. Use artificial sweetener and drink some any time you feel like snacking on something unhealthy.