Desk Job and FREAKING OUT!

jacquitakelly

You can do torso twist or other simple movements like sucking your stomach in and out i know it sounds crazy but if you do enough you'll feel the burn.

Lyssa62

lower calories to lose weight exercise to tone up what you lose. That's how it works for me. I can lose weight and not do a damn bit of exercising...I will restart my desk job in january. I exercise to tone up and feel better. That may be 1 - 3 times a week or more depending on what's going on. This week has sucked for me and I am ashamed to say I haven't done anything other than a few hand weight exercises...and I feel like crap because of it and need to get back on it tomorrow.

denezy

Lots of people work desk jobs and are in great shape. Don't sweat it.

CorvusCorax77

I work a desk job.
And lift weights.
And count calories.

Me too.

+1

NCchar130

I've had a desk job for the entirety of my time here. My goal is also about 70 pounds from my starting weight. I'm half way there!

In addition to my lunch break, I get two 15 minutes paid breaks during the day. Lots of people in my building walk around the parking lot on their breaks, so if that's an option, bring your sneakers. (I only do that occasionally, to be honest).

I'm on the 5th floor and take the stairs as often as I can.

Other than that, unless I'm walking to the copier or bathroom/breakroom, the only exercise I get at work is moving my stapler out of my way (WHY IS IT ALWAYS IN MY WAY??).

It sounds like you are getting your exercise in anyways. I walk my dogs and work out at the gym 5-6 days a week. Usually my workouts are about 30 minutes long, sometimes as short as 20 and sometimes as long as 45. This has worked well for me - I've lost an average of 1.7 pounds per week over my time here at MFP. Keep your calories under control and you'll be fine :flowerforyou:

zenchild

Why I Started:
I'm here because I started a desk job a little over two years ago and immediately gained 12 pounds (in under 4 months) when I really needed to lose 12-17 pounds. I went from working in every department of a pet store I did stocking (2 days a week, 8 hours of lifting and walking), pet care (2 days a week of going up and down ladders, lifting, walking) and grooming (1 day of washing dogs) to sitting for 9 hours a day. I'm now 9 pounds down from where I was when I started the new job. Another 5-10 pounds to goal.
How I Did It:
I started walking during lunch. Then I started doing Jillian Michaels DVDs. Then I started rollerblading during lunch. Then I broke my tailbone while rollerblading. Then I gained 6 pounds. Then I did 17-day diet. Then I started doing 2 JM DVDs 6 days a week. Then I started Insanity. Then I finished Insanity. And now I'm doing 10 Minute Trainer for the rest of December and January.
The Moral of the Story:
You can lose weight at a desk job. You just have to watch your calories and work out when you can. I'm in better shape now than when I was throwing around cases of cat food and carrying boxes of fish.

kdeaux1959

I am a teacher so I basically have minimal movement throughout most days (except marching season when I am out on the field quite a bit). I set my settings to "Sedentary" and eat as though I sat on the couch most of the time. I also exercise @ the gym any time I can. I set my setting to sedentary but then I count my exercise calories as activity. I only count my aerobic activity (treadmill usually) and not my strength training... I use that as sort of a buffer for miscalculations and the fact that when i exercise, it does not replace a "zero calorie" hour... but rather an hour that I would have been burning some calories anyway... therefore, there is a built in overestimate. In short, you can lose weight with a desk job... You just have to eat less than somebody who is constantly mobile. (BTW, I do change my activity level during marching season to "lightly active" since I am out an about a lot more during that time of the year.. Most of the year though, I assume I am sitting on my posterior most of the day, which in itself is a bit inaccurate.. but it too allows for a buffer.

eileenchristine

I used to walk every lunch hour when I was working downtown Boston. Course back then I wasn't fat, but I did watch what I ate, avoided fast food, no fries, no ice cream. Kept my weight between 125 and 130. I never worked out but I did walk a ton. Now I can't imagine being that active, 2 kids and surgery, and injuries....ugh. But am working at becoming more active, still not into walking.....yet! I have 70 lbs to go too. Have lost 20 so far mostly from logging here and making good choices. I am extremely (sadly) sedentary.

You can lose weight, just take the next stop for the bus or trolley or park car a bit further away. Walk as much as you can. Living in the city and having to take public transportation (driving and paying for parking.....yikes) does make you walk alot more. You can do this. For quick lunches get soup instead of sandwiches. Soup is very filling and great comfort food. Or bring your own lunches. Bring fruit to snack on. If you drink coffee, drink it black or switch to tea or drink water. Just by making a few substitutions you can lose alot of calories = lose alot of pounds.

Be sure to log your food daily, helps me to see, duh. I coulda had a V8 (just joking) but it does make me think, wow, that wasn't really a good choice, what would have been better? Quickly the choices get much better.

Hang in there!

ChristyRunStarr

I have a desk job and I've done ok with losing the weight I wanted to lose. I'll go for a walk or run on lunch sometimes, I'm a morning person so I hit the gym in the morning before work and sometimes even after work. You'll be able to figure out what works best for you. I added weights in (on top of my cardio I always go) and I've seen a HUGE difference even in a short amount of time. Don't think of what you can't do, think of what you can

LoraF83

I have a desk job, I exercise 3-5 times a week, and I've lost 46lbs.

Stop freaking out. It's not worth it.

Just follow MFP, be honest, and you'll be fine. Good luck!

Cinflo58

Hello - you can do it! I have a desk job. Prior to MFP, I would walk my dogs once a day, drive to work, sit on my fat *kitten* all day, drive home and watch TV all night. I was eating crappy food, lean cuisines, lots of carbs.

Now I get up 90 minutes early - I walk my dogs for an hour. Make a smoothie for breakfast and pack a healthy lunch. I run/power walk 3.5 miles on my lunch break and walk the dogs for 30-60 minutes at night. I plan on starting Jillian Michaels Body Revolution 12/26 - so far I have lost 20 lbs and I feel better than I have in years.

I also started c25k which I do on my lunch break during the week and mornings on the weekend. I am up to week 5

OH and what really motivated me to walk more was getting a Fitbit. It is a wireless pedometer that even counts stairs AND it automatically adds the exercise calories to MFP - I am addicted to it. I went from struggling to walk 7000 steps a day to easily averaging 15000.

Unlike a previous poster - I disagree. I think exercise is just as important as diet. You can lose weight by eating less. but unless you exercise - you will probably gain that weight back.

Good luck on your journey! Just find things you enjoy to be more active, walk a little more here and there and it adds up at the end of the day.

MightyDomo

I have worked a desk job for nearly 6 years and it is certainly not one that gets you on your feet a whole lot. I find 5 minutes every hour to just walk around. If your staring at a screen all day it is also great relief for your eyes too!

Just find some extra minutes to get up and walk even if its just a few minutes and it does help, every little bit helps.