Help! New Desk Job = anxiety!

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  • kishstl
    kishstl Posts: 40 Member
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    Stairs.... 2 at a time for 5 mins, several times per day. Your heart rate will rise, your BMR will stay higher, and you will feel better mentally (AND PHYSICALLY) sitting afterwards!!!
  • hbrittingham
    hbrittingham Posts: 2,518 Member
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    I think you might need to recalibrate your pedometer. I work a desk job and yes, I have to walk a ways to get to the kitchen (where the water is) and the bathroom, but I usually have 5-6000 steps by the time I head for the gym after work. I have only been running 2 miles 4 days a week, and I hit my 10,000 steps while I'm running those two miles. On my strength or rest days, I still hit 10,000, though it may not be until just before bed. Sometimes we walk the dogs in the evening, but even if we don't, I make my steps. I don't live in a huge house (1700 square feet), but between feeding dogs, doing laundry, watering plants, etc., I can easily get 2,000 steps in the evenings.
  • dopeysmelly
    dopeysmelly Posts: 1,390 Member
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    I don't know about the pedometer thing, but it's logical that you have to be much more careful about calorie intake when you're less active. I have a desk job, am inherently lazy (although trying to get an hour of walking in a day) and also short, so my intake is fairly low and I am very careful about weighing my food. It's worked so far, so it seems perfectly possible to have a desk job AND lose/maintain weight.

    Honestly, it sounds like you're doing the right things to me, so I wouldn't panic. Just drink tons of water (office air conditioning can suck the water straight out of you), and be patient. Watch the scales, then after a few weeks (not days), adjust it if you need to.
  • Oswaltk
    Oswaltk Posts: 7 Member
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    You must be a really tiny person if your maintenance calories are 12-1400 and you're doing all that exercise to boot! I also think your pedometer may be off calibration or something because it seems like with what you are doing, most days you should be getting those 10k steps in, or at least approaching it. Standing during all phone calls and sitting on a ball are good strategies, just make sure you get a big enough ball that you don't throw your ergonomics out the window. You'll end up with a sore neck, back, and shoulders.

    I am a tiny person. I am 5'4'' and my weight fluctuates between 105-110. As you can imagine, I don't need many calories to maintain and yes am slightly underweight (no worries! I have seen a nutritionist and am normal!) I am also a foodie so it's hard to cut back! On my teeny frame, a small amount of weight shows easily so I'm trying to prevent it if I can. Yeah, I could gain a little, but again...my goal is my overall health, not a number on the scale. I just don't want to be stagnant!

    Probably overanalyzing the number of steps. I do plenty of other activities that don't have to do with "steps", such as bodyweight/kettlebelll exercises at home as well as yoga 1-2 times a week. I HARDLY sit down when I'm at home. I can't stand it. I putter constantly, and am always finding reasons to walk anywhere and everywhere. I'll even stand to eat dinner sometimes.

    No, a stand up desk or exercise equipment is definitely not an option where I work. I am very limited in this small office that's in the middle of an industrial area.
  • Oswaltk
    Oswaltk Posts: 7 Member
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    I think you might need to recalibrate your pedometer. I work a desk job and yes, I have to walk a ways to get to the kitchen (where the water is) and the bathroom, but I usually have 5-6000 steps by the time I head for the gym after work. I have only been running 2 miles 4 days a week, and I hit my 10,000 steps while I'm running those two miles. On my strength or rest days, I still hit 10,000, though it may not be until just before bed. Sometimes we walk the dogs in the evening, but even if we don't, I make my steps. I don't live in a huge house (1700 square feet), but between feeding dogs, doing laundry, watering plants, etc., I can easily get 2,000 steps in the evenings.

    I'm using the s-Health app on my Galaxy s4. I have read that it's extremely accurate, but I also read that 5 miles is supposed to equate 10,000 steps and I don't see that this is the case for me. Either that, or the treadmill I run on sometimes is off!
  • DaboGirlNB
    DaboGirlNB Posts: 17 Member
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    I didn't read all the previous posts, so someone may have suggested it already. I do exercises EVERY time I go to the washroom (which is often because I drink a ton of water). Depending on the size of the bathroom (probably doesn't work well in a single-stall), you can do squats, lunges, wall push-ups, pliés, etc. Create a little workout routine for the few minutes that you're away from your desk. Every little bit helps!
  • thyme4
    thyme4 Posts: 35 Member
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    Agree with many others who have suggested your pedometer is out of calibration, because your run should cover your 10K steps.

    During the temperate months, I can walk to and from my office (about 2.5 miles each way). But when the weather is bad or during the snow and ice season, I have a hard time getting in my steps. I have two primary strategies that I use when I can't get in my normal walk: I go to the grocery store or the local Target, and walk there. I have found that one circuit in the grocery store up and down every aisle before I do my actual shopping adds about 3000 steps. Both the grocery and the Target have late hours, so I can get there even if I've worked late or had other schedule issues. My second strategy was mentioned by another poster; I do stair climbs at home. I put on a music track that I like and just go up and down the stairs till its done. I have 20, 40, and 60 minute playlists depending on how much I need to make up.

    Not a complete workout by any means, but it does help make up for days when I don't get in my base 5 miles!
  • Elsie_Brownraisin
    Elsie_Brownraisin Posts: 786 Member
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    Am I alone in finding running up stairs etc at work a bit nutty? I work for the NHS and even they would not buy me an expensive wireless headphone set so I can walk about the office and get my however many steps in. Or give me a longer lunch break to get some push ups or leg cycles in. Or allow me to be whirring under my desk in an outpatient reception area.

    It's not even something I worry about. This may explain why I'm fat.

    ETA: My sister has recovered (of sorts) from anorexia. Doing push ups in the toilet and runing up and down stairs for no reason is the sort of thing she used to do at work and home.
  • dakotababy
    dakotababy Posts: 2,406 Member
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    I just left my desk job...and I actually lost weight while working there! I kept up with my evening/weekend workouts, and instead of "coffee breaks" I went outside for a walk around the block twice a day.
  • seltzermint555
    seltzermint555 Posts: 10,741 Member
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    My best advice to you is do NOT fall into the snacking at your desk trap. I have seen a lot of people go from active to sedentary jobs and really enjoy the opportunity to graze on treats or even healthy snacks all day at their desks...and THAT is a recipe for desk job disaster in my opinion. some people will disagree with me, of course. But that's my best tip.

    Also a controversial opinion on these forums...but I see absolutely zero need to get fitness equipment for on the job or do workplace workouts. I think that's pretty silly to be honest, although if it works for some people that's great for them. If you're able to fit regular workouts into your mornings, evenings, and/or weekends you will be fine.
  • BenjaminMFP88
    BenjaminMFP88 Posts: 660 Member
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    I work the 8-4 job and so far this hasn't been too much of an issue. I don't get many opportunities to move while at work so I do the best I can to work out hard after. So far I've only lost weight. The key is to not snack when you're bored, that's the killer of a desk job...
  • Oswaltk
    Oswaltk Posts: 7 Member
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    I didn't read all the previous posts, so someone may have suggested it already. I do exercises EVERY time I go to the washroom (which is often because I drink a ton of water). Depending on the size of the bathroom (probably doesn't work well in a single-stall), you can do squats, lunges, wall push-ups, pliés, etc. Create a little workout routine for the few minutes that you're away from your desk. Every little bit helps!

    Haha I started doing squats and running in place in the bathroom! Yes, drinking a TON of water helps. I use a small cup so I have to go frequently. Luckily I work several young women so we all are doing goofy things.
  • bkthandler
    bkthandler Posts: 247 Member
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    Am I alone in finding running up stairs etc at work a bit nutty? I work for the NHS and even they would not buy me an expensive wireless headphone set so I can walk about the office and get my however many steps in. Or give me a longer lunch break to get some push ups or leg cycles in. Or allow me to be whirring under my desk in an outpatient reception area.

    It's not even something I worry about. This may explain why I'm fat.

    ETA: My sister has recovered (of sorts) from anorexia. Doing push ups in the toilet and runing up and down stairs for no reason is the sort of thing she used to do at work and home.

    Maybe it is kinda nutty and your ED concerns are valid but there are days I never move...between phone calls and e-mails from clients I am glued to my chair...often resulting in stiff knees and back. There are people more tied to their desk than I am (people who work in call centers) and it does take a toll.
  • Elsie_Brownraisin
    Elsie_Brownraisin Posts: 786 Member
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    Am I alone in finding running up stairs etc at work a bit nutty? I work for the NHS and even they would not buy me an expensive wireless headphone set so I can walk about the office and get my however many steps in. Or give me a longer lunch break to get some push ups or leg cycles in. Or allow me to be whirring under my desk in an outpatient reception area.

    It's not even something I worry about. This may explain why I'm fat.

    ETA: My sister has recovered (of sorts) from anorexia. Doing push ups in the toilet and runing up and down stairs for no reason is the sort of thing she used to do at work and home.

    Maybe it is kinda nutty and your ED concerns are valid but there are days I never move...between phone calls and e-mails from clients I am glued to my chair...often resulting in stiff knees and back. There are people more tied to their desk than I am (people who work in call centers) and it does take a toll.

    I guess so, going for a wander doesn't seem nutty - I walk about and I never eat my lunch at my desk. It's just the runing about etc that seems strange. I guess I can't be too judgemental, it obviously works for some people. I was just a bit surprised at the proportion of responses that recommended it. And yeah, a bit worrying as my sister did stuff like this all the time.

    Also, I would break a sweat by doing push ups in the toilet (hell, push ups anywhere) and I don't think my colleagues or patients would appreciate sitting in such close proximity to me. Even though if I am 13g lighter at at the end of the week.
  • 0somuchbetter0
    0somuchbetter0 Posts: 1,335 Member
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    I'm in a similar boat -- 9th week at a new job after consulting and working from home for many years, and now I spend most of my day sitting at my desk in a high rise office building. I've just ordered a standing desk -- it will help a little. I don't always have time to take a lunch break but when I can I definitely go for a brisk walk and then eat at my desk. I run when I get home in the evenings, and I no longer take weekends off from exercise. Also, the first couple of weeks I made the mistake of grazing at my desk all day long -- even though I was eating healthy stuff, by the time I got home I had almost no calories left for dinner. Now I make sure to eat lunch at lunch time and then just something small like a piece of fruit in the late afternoon.

    That's all I got. Good luck!
  • einzweidrei
    einzweidrei Posts: 381 Member
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    OP: Try a different pedometer. Something sounds very wrong.

    I am taller and take very big strides. And when I walked around four miles last weekend, it was around 8K steps.

    Half an hour of walking will easily add a few thousand steps.
  • mfp2014mfp
    mfp2014mfp Posts: 689 Member
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    Ask for a standing desk station, even standing is better than sittin g all day if you can avoid it :flowerforyou:
  • brenn24179
    brenn24179 Posts: 2,144 Member
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    I did better with my weight in an office job than a physical job. I worked in an office for years and then I thought I wanted something less stressful so I went to work at a grocery store. I thought if I worked physically it would help me but that was wrong. It didn't work for me. I think it is 80% food and 20% exercise and so for me it is mostly food, what goes in my mouth is what matters. I was so tired physically doing physical work and I turned to food for comfort. I left that job and now sitting again and doing much better with my weight, go figure. And now I like going to the gym for fun, at the physical job I was just too wore out.

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