Has your job played a part in your weight gain?

xxxTiaxxx

I work in a call center so that means sitting at a desk for about 7.5 hours. A lot of people I know who have worked here for years actually started the job slim but have slowly gained weight over time. Even I have in the past seeing as you sit and eat and then are locked to that chair for hours afterwards. Boredom eating is another problem with this place. I know what you eat plays a part in it but could your job be part of the issue as well?

Anyone relate to this issue or have opinions?

tonytoo

Definitely! Office job + boredom eating.

If I didn't spend my lunch hour walking I think I'd be very overweight.

luckyjuls

I work in the city surrounded by every delicious food imaginable (pasty shop, sushi, pizza, Chinese, Mexican). Not packing my lunch has been my biggest mistake as I've indulged too many times getting takeout.

I still grab lunch from the bodega quite often now, but mostly it's something I can measure. Also, now I have a food scale at work.

cheshire29

Yes! But due to stress, not lack of movement.

MysticRealm

Not me. I have always had standing jobs. Retail sales person (for a summer during school), House Painter, Dog Groomer (current job for the last 6 years)

sunnyhlw77

I work in an office also, I'm at my desk for 7.5 hours also. I've noticed in the 14 years I've been in the field that my butt's definitely gotten wider. I know that I need to exercise outside of work but its the motivation that's always slipped. But you know, there is no time like the present to get up and at it. That's the approach I know I have to take. Once I can get the weight off, I should have a good routine and it should be maintainable, as long as I don't fall off the wagon.

Our office has a few women who like to bake and who think we all need to eat all the time, we have cake day every 3rd Wednesday to celebrate the birthdays of the month, so its the willpower to stay away from those foods. I have some things I do, I refuse to drink coffee or tea made at work, I bring mine from home, that way I can manage what is put into it. Also I only eat food I've brought from home, like a piece of fruit or crackers or something that I choose. I'm pretty good at staying away from the food though mainly because I'm not really that hungry during my coffee breaks and I just don't allow myself even if I am tempted.

moontenshi23

I gained plenty of weight at my last job. My co-workers would always get fast food, pizza, or wings every night. They always asked me if i wanted and i rarely had the willpower to say no. I finally decided to plan out my meals ahead of time and pack my own lunch/diiner. In your case, if you are stuck in the office all day and are going to end up eating because you are bored, i would suggest packing lots of healthy snacks to munch on. You still can eat throughout the day, but things that wont add up as much as what you may be snacking on now.

akj_25

i work night shift - and one of my biggest weight loss problems is controlling "tired eating" -- it takes a lot of effort to not graze all night (specially when others bring in yummy snacks) and then sleeping during the day i have found myself eating without really realizing what i am doing.
- yesterday i was exhausted, slept for a couple hours and the phone rang, got up to answer it (couldn't even wake up enough to find the phone) and walked back to bed, and it wasn't until i got back into bed that i really processed that i was half way throug eating a Little Debbie brownie

togmo

Yep, I am typing this from my desk at work right now actually. Technically I should be walking around stretching and socialising during my 10 minute break for afternoon tea but like everyone else here you just sit at your desk and hit up the internet...

Stress eating or boredom eating aside at the end of the day if you are in an office job where you are sitting from 9 to 5 then that has to have some effect on your weight, just look at the change in your TDEE and the amount of calories you can consume when you are lightly active compared to when you are moderately active.

Some of us attempt to counter our physical laziness during 9 to 5 by watching what we eat or by going to the gym but an office job is certainly a hindrance to a healthy lifestyle.

xxxTiaxxx

Glad other people can relate. I don’t snack as much as I used to but I was never a huge snacker. Once in a while it would get out of control for a month or so. I now have a thing of grapes on hand which works alright. I try to go to the gym at lunches so at least I’m active. Unlike many people on here I’m not really into exercising. I’ll admit it. I know a lot of people who are now gym junkies were most likely the same as me but I couldn't get crazy about it but love the transformation some people have got out of it. I’ll walk on weekends though so I’m not just sitting around. After working in such a draining job all week the last thing I really want to do is exercise. I used to have a job where I was on my feet all day. That was working at a gas station and it kept the weight down.

I can’t really complain though cause despite my lack of exercise and working in an office I am losing weight. I’m just changing what I eat and with other things how often I eat them. It’s working. Gym a couple times a week is good enough for me with some walking the dog on the weekends. It’s now too dark to take him out after work.

(I too am typing this from my work computer. So much like lost in this place lol)

n1ghtshade

Mine did, I was sat in a car a lot of the time, or sat drinking tea, plus the stress of the job meant I often bought junk food to snack on

BluePHX

Job? No. I'm an Airline Conveyor tech and... well today, through the use of a Heart Monitor, I totaled 983 calories burned in 5 hours and 13 minutes. o_O It speaks for itself.

I did, however, get married, and my husband is a WONDERFUL cook. I had to ask him to use smaller plates to serve it up and then we had to get down to ingredients to figure out what was happening. He loves to feed me and I love to eat what he feeds me! I guess maybe that's what they mean about "getting comfortable" after you get married? LOL. I put on about 11 pounds after I married him and now I'm [finally!] almost back to normal.

casy84

Desk job also + I had a gaming addiction for a few years -> I used to spend most if the day on a chair

Pema91

Definite stress factor rather than lack of movement re my job and weight gain...

chrisjathompson

Night shift taxi driver... So, yes! Blah

umer76

I would say Desk job and me being lazy to exercise are 50:50 responsible for my weight gain. I am an accountant and sometimes forget to get up from my seat untill lunch. But Desk job is not responsible alone because I am doing the same type of job(obviously had promotions) for last 12 years but as soon as I changed my diet and starting to get active I have lost 52 lbs in one year. This means I will change the above ratio to 50:50 diet and exercise. Hence deskjob was not reponsible for making me a 300 pounder it was always been ME:)

laurajcrampton

My job was a massive factor! It's difficult to diet when you work at a veterinary surgery, and you get clients giving you chocolate and biscuits and (on occasion) even a bottle of wine or two, to say thank you for saving their pet. And especially when it's someone's Birthday, all the client's seem to know too and they all make cake (this generally happens for the vets rather than the vet nurses, but still means there's at least 5 birthday cakes in the practice at once!). Easter and Christmas boxes of Celebrations/ Heros/ Roses etc are also not uncommon.

And there's Tesco Friday - the once a month lunch where everyone puts in a fiver and someone goes to Tesco and comes back with a few cooked chickens/ bacon joints, fresh bread and pastries from the bakery, and lots of cookies and crisps and dips with bread sticks.

And there's Chippy Thursday.... Chips and gravy.

And it's impossible to ignore all this, and there's only so many times you can say no before you give in to a bit of something here or there.

It got to the point where I deliberately didn't take money to work with me so that I couldn't participate in Tesco Friday and Chippy Thursday... But the chocolate was still hard to ignore

The job itself is very hectic, and often end up running around the practice, rushing about doing one thing or another, and you're lucky if you sit down at all... Lunch breaks are often limited to 15mins because it's so busy, and even in emergency situations, you may end up without a break at all... So it's easy to snack when you see chocolate.

kaylacollinscna

Yes, but for other reasons. Working float pool I make my own schedule but I often find coworkers wanting me to cover their shift and it's hard for me to say no, especially when they need off for something really important. Due to this I'm often working 50+ hours every week. Because I'm working so much I sometimes feel I don't have enough time to go to the gym or to cook. After a particularly hard day I often ease my stress by having a milkshake or some sweet treat. I guess I am an emotional eater.
I'm getting better though. I'm going to the gym -before- work now and I'm going to start bringing my own lunches to work and doing some "freezer cooking".

kazzsjourney

I work in a call centre too...and did put on weight when I started there but was already big. That said while still working at a call centre (been in the same job for nearly 12 years) over the last 6.5 years i have lost 188 pounds while working there

TheVimFuego

Historically, yes, being yer typical IT office drone.

But now it's actually helping my weight loss:

1) I take the internal stairs everywhere in our 12 story block
2) I extend my walk home to the train station
3) I don't snack at work, run a bit lean (consumption-wise) and look forward to a GOOD dinner

Less distractions, keeping busy and building in some exercise as a matter of routine ... can't go wrong really ...

emsicle_o

Absolutely. Before I worked here, I weighed exactly 8 stone. After 2 years working here, I'm nearly 12 stone. I used to jog to and from the train station for my old job, now I drive door to door. There is also a Tesco around the corner which sells so many super yummy treats. There's also nowhere near as much stress with this job, so I'm not just living off half a sandwich and a main meal a day.

But actually, to be fair, I COULD get up off my lazy butt and exercise after work and resist the temptation of Tesco, I just need the willpower!!

Oh yeah, I also work 8.5 hours in an office and the only time I get up is to go to lunch or printer.

janiecrake

My job was a massive factor! It's difficult to diet when you work at a veterinary surgery, and you get clients giving you chocolate and biscuits and (on occasion) even a bottle of wine or two, to say thank you for saving their pet. And especially when it's someone's Birthday, all the client's seem to know too and they all make cake (this generally happens for the vets rather than the vet nurses, but still means there's at least 5 birthday cakes in the practice at once!). Easter and Christmas boxes of Celebrations/ Heros/ Roses etc are also not uncommon.

And there's Tesco Friday - the once a month lunch where everyone puts in a fiver and someone goes to Tesco and comes back with a few cooked chickens/ bacon joints, fresh bread and pastries from the bakery, and lots of cookies and crisps and dips with bread

Sounds like you work at a great clinic Laura! I worked as a vet nurse for 15 years and was always busy on my feet, never fat! Then I took a job teaching vet nursing, mainly online learning so spend most of my life at a desk. Have gradually accrued weight over the last 6 years and completely identify with what others are saying, you know lunchtimes should be for walking and stretching but you end up on Facebook or MFP!! I was so concerned about the risks to my health (especially the increased risk of bowel cancers) that I thought of giving the job up. Instead I have started making a real effort to walk round the block at lunchtimes or to go swimming a couple of times a week, I have the mindset now that I have to earn my breakfast dinner and tea and I just can't afford to snack with my job.

emsicle_o

Definitely! Office job + boredom eating.

This too

MsPudding

Oh I can certainly relate - not only do I have a desk job, but it's from home so my daily commute is 'down the stairs'. Also I work pretty long hours - quite often 50+ because part of my job is account management of clients who are often West Coast US, therefore 8 hours behind me and just getting to work as I'm finishing. Also as it's the games industry a fair amount of my time *not* working is spent on our clients' Betas getting to know the product well.

So I have a job that teenage boys salivate over....but it's massively bad for being sedentary and gaining weight!

icmuse

Yes! But due to stress, not lack of movement.

^^^ YES! Exactly this!

My former employer was a devil incarnate, working for her was hell :devil: hence stress eating = 35 pound weight gain.

Once I quit and opened up my own business, new stresses emerged at first, but after the first year I started losing all the weight. Now over 2 years later 23 pounds gone, 7 to go

gingabebe

I have an office job and most people gain weight due to sitting and people bringing in tempting treats. We call it the "secretary spread". I walk around the building 9 to 12 x's a day, it is massive- 3 x's around = 1 mile. My husband has a physically demanding job and he needs his meat and potatoes supper to refuel so it is hard to cook for both our needs.

splucy

It certainly has. I work as a Night Audit. I have about 2 hours of work to do on my 8 hour shift so the other 6 hours is down time.

We have a 24 hour McDonalds and convenience store only steps away from my building.

You can figure the rest out lol

ajfc1971

Definately... office job nightmare, I try and walk around and get out as much as possible.. but it's not only that its the birthday cakes everytime it's somebodies birthday, the office buffet lunches for meetings.... all very nice but all have added over the years.
Since joining MFP I have moved the munchies away from my desk to the other side of the office, this way if I really want one I have to make an effort to get up and get it. Which means most of the time I don't have any. A desk full of fruit is my other saviour.

savithny

my first "growth spurt" of my adult life was when I got the earlier version of my current job, where the coffee break area had inexpensive donuts and cookies for sale. At the same time, moving here and taking this job meant that I wasn't as active as I used to be - I didn't have time, and my life wasn't set up for some of the activity I used to have.

splucy

It certainly has. I work as a Night Audit. I have about 2 hours of work to do on my 8 hour shift so the other 6 hours is down time.

We have a 24 hour McDonalds and convenience store only steps away from my building.

You can figure the rest out lol

Am trying to find ways of avoiding temptation though. I keep chewing gum with me always, I drink lots of tea, diet soda...

and the most helpful of ideas has been this one - leaving my money at home. No money = no buying crap food!

yamsteroo

Yep!

I used to be at the more technical end so was always moving around, lifting, bending all day long.

Then they promoted me so I spend most of my day in the office which is right next to the coffee machine and cakes! I know no one forced me to eat them but the temptation was always there (still is, I just don't give in unless I have room in that day's count) and add to that the lovely Italian deli across the road from one of the dealerships I cover and you can see it was inevitable for a weak-willed woman with a fondness for mozzarella and jaffa cakes.

I've got it under control now and even when I hit goal, I'll use the deli and the cakes as an occasional treat rather than an everyday occurance as I don't ever want to end up fat again!