My Job is Making Me Fat!

I also have a job where i have no time to exercise and I also home school our five year old. One thing I do that works is get up and move every hour. Simply standing up and walking around helps me get in more movement rather than simply sitting the entire time I am there. Even if I can't always every hour, I do make the effort. Standing up and just kicking your legs back for one minute gets your blood pumping and helps with a sedentary job. It also makes you feel better. Simple things also like taking the stairs instead of the elevator makes a difference. There are many ways to burn calories in little things you do. Park at the end of the parking lot rather the front is another example. Chezzie84 is right, some sources including our wellness NP at work, says that broken 10 minute exercise sessions throughout the day are sometimes better than super 30 min to hour sessions. It keeps your metabolism going. Literature she gave me said to walk to a co-worker to give a message rather than email. ANY movement is better than none! Good luck!

Here's some thinking out of the box:

Walk to the furthest bathroom at work, and drink a lot more water during the day
Get one of those little pedal things and pedal all day at work
Take some hand weights and for two minutes every hour or every other hour work your arms with hand weights
Do 5 squats and 5 lunges each hour
OR alternate squats/lunges and arms each hour at work and pedal while sitting
Take and am and pm break and walk around the building, tell them you started smoking (hey smokers get all kinds of breaks, right?)

You're supposed to take a 10 minute break every hour to rest your eyes anyway to avoid eye strain from the computer. Why not get paid to get fit?

What about family activities and games? Bike-riding in the evenings? A go on a Wii? I'm not being funny but, sex? Walking a dog in the evenings as a family? Get a trampoline for the garden so everyone gets more active?

May I ask why you can't find a different job closer to home? 4 hours a day in a car is nuts, that doesn't give you much time for anything let alone working out.

I have been here for 9 years, I have a lot of time invested in the company. Plus at the moment, I am not in the financial position to change jobs. I have multiple things that I am juggling and needless to say between a string of misfortune stemming from July of 2013, my savings is gone and I have no cushion for expenses that may occur between checks. Also, moving closer to home would drastically reduce my pay, something I cannot do at this time.

I use to have a commute buddy, but he bailed 4 years ago.

You're probably spending a fortune on gas and other car related expenses though, seems like you could take a bit of a pay cut and still break even. I'm sure you've thought about all of this though, I'm just thinking out loud.

Can you incorporate exercise into family time? Whenever schedules and weather permit, we do a walk around the block after dinner. I do an extra couple of laps around the soccer field while my daughter plays on the playground with her dad for a few minutes, then we head home. Even with a six-year-old in tow, I can log a mile and a half in about 30 minutes, and the bonus is she's tired and relaxed enough for bath and bed when we get home. And we all get each other's undivided attention for half an hour, which is harder to do when computers, toys, books, dinner dishes, etc. are competing for it at home.

Also, you mentioned that you have a Fitbit, so definitely start leveraging that. Do you have it linked to MFP yet? It's so nice to see those calories added to your daily allotment as you add more steps!

Try adding a little bit more to what you're already doing in your daily life: if you drive, park at the far side of the parking lot; if you take public transportation, get on/off one station further down the line and walk to/from it; or walk an extra lap around the block before you head into the office. I've started making it a point to get in more steps as I tidy up every evening: instead of carrying ten things upstairs, I'll make four or five trips. Stupid, I know, but it adds up.

It's much easier to carve out a few minutes here and there, add an extra few hundred steps at a time, than it is to find a block of 30 or 60 minutes in your day. Sure, it's not as intense, but it really does adds up--and seeing the calories added to MFP is a good reinforcement of how much it really DOES add up. It's got to be better than trying again and again to do what you think you "should" do and getting down on yourself for not being able to stick with it.

But 10,000 steps is a lot for someone with a desk job, a non-walking commute, and no free time. Try setting a goal for 5,000 steps the first few weeks, adding them in as you go; then bump up 1,000 a week as you're able. Even when I find time to do a long exercise walk, I sometimes still have trouble hitting 10,000 without really focusing on other activity as well. Better to ramp up slowly; but you'll find that once you get in the habit of looking for the extra steps, you'll find them much more easily.

If you can eventually change your job situation, then you'll be in better shape and ready to start a more concerted exercise program--but in the meantime, you'll have more energy, confidence, and mental clarity for your current tasks.

Oh, and yes! Take walks with the family. Do dead-lifts with your toddler. Have a dance party.

First things first: I have NOT read all the responses.

Weight loss is 80% proper nutrition. As long as you're eating healthy, you can lose.
It's only 10% exercise. I would concentrate on the nutrition.

Also, have you calculated your BMR? 1200 calories may be too low a goal for you.

You can visit this website and enter your stats to get a guesstimate:
http://www.fat2fitradio.com/tools/bmr/

I have not read the previous posts, so I apologize if I am repeating something.

I work fulltime & have two children, I am also very active in the PTA, Girl Scouts, Cub Scouts & their sporting activities. If I am too lazy to get up early to go out & run before my day starts then I drop off the kids @ school & commute to work. If I am @ work early enough I go & workout prior to work a quick 20min spin, walk, etc. I then spend my entire lunch hour working out & come back to work. This leaves me w/enough time to do all of my other activities that I am involved in. Also many times I walk w/my kids to our other obligations, like scout meetings, etc. On weekends I am up & out running before my kids are up, by the time I come back they are just waking up. This schedule has allowed me to do some form of exercise daily. It is not often that I can’t find the time to do something.

My advice would be to look @ your schedule closely & see how you can incorporate exercise into it. There is always time if you look hard enough.

ps. I work in an office sitting on my behind all day.

You don't need a gym, although they are good for motivation ( bird of a feather flock together". Your own body weight is all you need, I too have a desk job and a long commute. I take 2 10 minutes breaks a day and do some exercises right at my desk. then take another 10 minutes out of my lunch to do some more. I'm a BIG boy, but i am having fantastic results so far. If you have the will and are willing to sacrifice a little. Then anything is possible!!!

if you would like some more ideas. IM me. like for instance. when i clean i break the living room into quadrants. I will do lunges from one quadrant to the other, while folding clothes I will do squats. little things like that in a busy life can make a huge difference. IM me and I will help where i can, you can do IT!!

Is your 2 hour commute home due to distance or traffic? If it takes you 2 hours no matter what time of day, disregard this, but if it takes you two hours cuz of traffic, can you "wait out" the traffic after work?

For example, I live in Southern California. It's about 55-ish miles from my house to my parents. If I started that drive at 5pm during rush hour, that drive will take me 2 to 2.5 hours and I'll get there between 7 and 7:30pm. If I wait it out and leave at, say 6:30pm, I'll be "behind" most of the traffic and it might take me an hour. I'll probably get there by 7:30 anyway. Do you have the option of "waiting out" traffic after work, allowing you to get home at roughly the same time as you normally do? If so you could start doing a 2-3 mile walk/jog near your office before you even get home. I see you're in NorCal, so I'm not sure what rush hour is like up there. Down here it's a nightmare.