How Does Your Occupation Affect Your Exercise/Diet

I'm a graphic/web designer so I am sedentary for sure and I work 8-5. I always bring my lunch so food is not an issue. I usually get home about 5:30 so I have the rest of the evening to go to the gym. I usually end up at the gym about 8:30 or 9. It's an easy routine.

I do weld inspections at various nuclear power plants. I am on the road about 6 mos a year, working close to 12 hrs a day 6 days a week including my commute time. eating is not always the best, but i try my best to make good decisions. going to try to stay dedicated to my current running program so i can maybe do a 1/2 marathon late next year.

Wow! That's dedication! I'm an author, so fortunately I have a good amount of time when I'm not doing book signings or working on my next novel, to spend on my diet & exercise

Thanks! being an author must be amazing. I used to write a lot, but haven't gotten back into it as of late. Mostly poetry and such.

It could completely affect it, but I try not to let it. Essentially I work 2 full-time completely sedentary desk jobs. 8-5, with non-negotiable hours and 6pm-11pm plus weekends where I can come and go as I need. I fit it exercise in every nook and cranny. I walk 15 minutes on my morning break. I go to the gym for 45 minutes on every lunch period. I sometimes go for another 1/2 hour in between leaving one job and heading to another. I hike or gym on weekends. I park far from my office, etc. I try to take the stairs two at a time (I could never do this before!) Never any big chunks of time to devote, but it all adds up. Just gotta' plan ahead. Make my lunches for the week on Sunday night. Make a protein smoothie every morning before work. Super lucky in that my husband cooks our dinners so it's always ready right when I walk in the door.

I'm a Phelebotomist and I will soon be in med school. I am constantly on my feet walking from room to room. I do find time to exercise after work or before work though and I pack my lunches and snacks so I dont get the bad stuff when I'm in a hurry

reading everyone's stories and how they fit exercise and healthier eating into busy lives is very inspiring and reminds me that I have a lot of opportunities to make this healthier lifestyle work for me.

I am single, no kids (although I do have a dog so I can't be gone endlessly from home) and work a slightly flexible 8:30-4:30 office job--I use my half hour lunch break to walk at a nearby park with coworkers and then eat lunch at my desk; I pack lunch the night before and rarely eat lunches out except for a rare special occasion with coworkers. I am not a morning person so most of the time I go home after work (30 minute commute), walk my dog, clean up a bit around the house, and then go to the gym or running group or bootcamp fitness class (at the local running store). I eat dinner around 8 pm when I get home. Once a week I meet a friend at a local park and we walk and talk for 30 minutes while her 5 year old rides her bike. On weekends I get up earlier than I do for work (!) for running group or long runs at local parks...and I try to take my dog for extra long walks--she doesn't like other dogs too much so I don't take her to running group, but try to make up for it with extra exercise near home.

Some weeks I have to fit workouts in with concerts, special events, or volunteer work, but I try to not skip too many workouts, I like staying on my routine.

If I ever date again or have more of a social life, I know that I will find a way to keep eating smart and working out, I'm getting some good ideas from all of the other posts.

I am a ballroom/latin dance instructor and spin instructor. I dance about 15-20 hours a week and spin 2 hours a week. Aside from that I do road cycling (usually 2-4 hours on a Sat.) and paddleboarding (1-2 hours/week). When not training for an endurance cycling event, I train with heavy weights 2x week -- squats and deadlifts up to 135#; also presses (overhead and bench) and rows (instead of road cycling).

I've always been active and worked out 6-7 days per week.

Ironically, my dancing so much negatively impacts my weight loss. The more I dance, I the more my weight is stalled. Granted, I've never been more than 15 lbs. above my goal weight, but when I'm dancing a lot is when the weight creeps upwards; usually 6 or so lbs.

My weight is cyclical and has ranged from 127 - 142 lbs. Right now, I'm smack dab in the middle. I'm 5'4, 44 years old, and a mom of 4 kids under 14, so I do plan and cook most meals, including their lunches to ensure they are healthy. I do have one overweight 11-yr-old, and it is infinitely frustrating to me trying to figure out how to get that under control without making him self-concsious.

I'm a mechanical engineer, and I work 8:30-5:30. Some days I'm at my computer the entire day doing models and drawings, while other days I'm on my feet the whole day running tests or putting something together in the lab. On my sedentary days, I try to find excuses to get up and walk around. Foodwise, vendors are the biggest problem - some of them bring Taco Cabana burritos and assorted ice cream bars every single week. Just had to learn how to say no! I used to exist on Lean Cuisines and it did me no favors, so now I cook healthy meals for the whole week and bring my lunch every day.

I get home around 5:45-6, so I have about 5 hours in the evenings to do whatever I need to do. When my boyfriend was away on a work assignment I'd cook ahead for the evenings too so I wouldn't have a problem fitting workouts, household chores, dinner, and a little relaxation into my evenings, but since he came home a month ago I've been struggling to find a balance. He likes a fresh dinner every night and hasn't gotten a gym membership yet, so my workouts have suffered.

I work in a lab, normally 7-4 (with an hour drive each way) but some days we get a call that a particular type of sample is coming in and I can be in the lab for 6-8 hours (or more) with just long enough to run to the bathroom, or we get a call after hours that one of these samples are coming in and have to come back to work for another 4-6 hours.

When we get these samples in, I often end up not eating during the day because I can't get out of the lab long enough. It's almost funny, when people (especially the "diet" people I used to go to) ask why can't I take something to eat in the lab with me (uh, hello, this is a laboratory... in a medical facility.... with body fluids and blood and microorganisms-I work in microbiology- no, I really can't take food in there with me,) not even a piece of cheese or a hand full of granola (really, you want me to eat in a laboratory? Since you're the one that made the face when I told you what I do, would you eat in a laboratory?) Some of the tests are time sensitive, I don't want to have to repeat a 3 hour test because my 5 minute incubation lasted 7 minutes so I could exit the lab (a procedure that takes 5 minutes in and of itself... no I do not work in a traditional laboratory) to have a hand full of granola.

Since I am at work so early , I generally work out after work so my workout plans can get derailed when these samples come in to play. But I just reschedule for the next day so I get it in

I work in food and beverage developement which is pretty awesome but very hard on the diet at times. We have 8 scheduled tastings a year for new menu items and a whole lot of chefs cooking up some awesome lunches in between. When I first started I would pile my plate high, go back for seconds (these are REAL CHEFS cooking delicious things, how could I resist!)...after a year in position I packed on 10 lbs...from not paying attention to what I was eating and not exercising regularly. I still have to taste as part of my job...but I try not to make it a 3 course meal anymore!

I also used to work 7am-6pm with an hour commute and had every excuse in the book not to exercise. I did not have a good work life balanced and worked with my boss to let him know that I was going to be in from 7:30-5:30...thanks for MFP for helping me track what I am putting into my body (even on the bad days) and scheduling time to exercise (I put it in my outlook calendar!) I am on the right track and back to where I was (a little less even) from when I started!

i would love!!! your job hahahaha