How to lose weight when I sit all day
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It really all boils down to watching what you eat. I had a job where I was on my feet 40 hours a week and then I started my current job, where I am sitting at a desk all day. I gained 40 pounds within a year of starting this job. I knew I obviously had to do something about it, so I had to make some big changes.
Now, I get up at 3:45 am in the mornings to workout before work and only have about 40 minutes tops to get in a workout before I have to get ready for work. If you do not have a lot of time to workout, I suggest doing HIIT, as you get a great workout in a short amount of time, and definitely strength train. I stay in a caloric deficit, so you really need to watch what you eat. Avoid all the doughnuts, bagels, cake, candy, pizza, etc that comes into the office (because in an office environment, this is VERY typical) and keep healthy snacks at work but try to not eat just because you are bored or just don't feel much motivation to work much one day (happens to me often :-P). Sometimes after I get home, I will go for a walk or do another quick workout. But really, the main item to focus on is your diet.0 -
I sit all day too. And don't exercise regularly. I lost almost 20lbs, got to goal and have been under it for weeks now. All it takes is to eat less than you burn. So stop snacking at work, eat smaller portions, etc.0
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FoxyMars25 wrote: »It really all boils down to watching what you eat. I had a job where I was on my feet 40 hours a week and then I started my current job, where I am sitting at a desk all day. I gained 40 pounds within a year of starting this job. I knew I obviously had to do something about it, so I had to make some big changes.
Now, I get up at 3:45 am in the mornings to workout before work and only have about 40 minutes tops to get in a workout before I have to get ready for work. If you do not have a lot of time to workout, I suggest doing HIIT, as you get a great workout in a short amount of time, and definitely strength train. I stay in a caloric deficit, so you really need to watch what you eat. Avoid all the doughnuts, bagels, cake, candy, pizza, etc that comes into the office (because in an office environment, this is VERY typical) and keep healthy snacks at work but try to not eat just because you are bored or just don't feel much motivation to work much one day (happens to me often :-P). Sometimes after I get home, I will go for a walk or do another quick workout. But really, the main item to focus on is your diet.
This!
Especially about the HIIT training. Quick hits are so much more effective than hours of cardio. Yep, I am guilty of spending hours on an elliptical before a class, but at this point I consider that a good warm up. If I'm doing it for a work out I make sure to do 20 second to one minute interval sprints on various levels.0 -
Calorie deficit.
Simply put, eat less calories.0 -
Don't let the new job or sitting all day be an excuse. Listen to the advice here...log everything you eat, stay under your calories, move more when you can and the weight will come off! You might have to change your activity level in MFP which will lower your daily calories but if you really want success, it's worth it!0
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Lemon in your water will help with retention and also have you up walking to the ladies room more. Take the long way
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Don't eat so much.
If you take a 5 minute break every hour, you will log 30 minutes of activity (not exercise) a day. That adds up to 150 minutes for your work week without even taking time from the rest of your day. And you will be more active than about 60% of the American population.0 -
FIRST OFF: Congrats on the new job Lady!
Everyone is pretty much spot on, but you're a smart cookie and you know the obvious answers to your situation are to either a) change your eating routine and habit to incorporate more bang for your nutrition buck - less bang for empty calories. or b) increase your caloric output, keep current eating routine.
Somethings you can do while your sitting... 1lb leg wts at the chair and do some motion.. little bike pedal device under the desk, a timer to remind you to get up and move 5 min every 30 (or better if your workload accommodates being away from your desk. Like one person said, park further, take stairs, challenge co-workers, etc.
Trust me on this, you haven't lived 26 yrs with blinders on, you don't need a bunch of us armchair coaches to tell you what you already know.
You may however, need to hear that conversation that your inner voice is trying to have with you, in someone elses' voice. That does happen. My brain sometimes drowns out my voice when it is telling me what to do.
My advice - listen to your body, she's talkin' to you. She's singing your song and waiting for you to stop humming along.
Get up and DANCE girlfriend!
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pinklotus_56 wrote: »I work a desk job. 9 hours a day at a computer. I get up and walk around for a minute or so often. I take the long way to the bathroom, the long way to the printer, etc. I park in the far end of the parking lot.
Walk on your lunch break. Work out in the mornings or evenings. I work out at lunch, and if I don't, i do it after my kids go to bed. I get in an average of 15,000 steps a day.
Minus the parking, since I don't drive, I do this too. I also leave the house a little early so I can add another block or so to my walk to the bus. Ditto on adding a little more on my walk to bus or train home. I walk outside now, but during the winter, I'd wind up my lunch hour with a fast stroll around the halls of various floors.
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I sit all day at work. I exercise when I can. The less I exercise, the less I eat.
Weight loss comes from a calorie deficit. You probably weren't burning that many calories moving around during your work day, anyway.0 -
My husband has what's mostly a desk job. Him and a few coworkers sometimes do push-ups or sit-ups a few times an hour, but that may not fly at your workplace. He also goes to the gym on his lunch hour.
You could keep weights at your desk and do a set once an hour. Walk the stairs on breaks, if you have any.
And as almost everyone else said, adjust your caloric intake.0 -
I don't complain about my desk job. Part of the benefit of obtaining an education is working in a profession that requires a lot of your mental capabilities and few of your physical ones. As a teen I worked jobs where I bailed hay, lifted boxes in a factory, lifted crates in a grocery store, planted trees at a nursery, etc., and that was fine for a young man with a strong back. But if you are still doing manual labor like that into your 30s and beyond, while you will certainly burn calories, you will also start to wear down and be gnarled up with aches and pains. So don’t mourn the plight of the desk-ridden, billions around the world are burning a lot of calories while working their fingers to the bone.
Ok, stepping down from my soapbox - so I sit on my a** 8+ hours a day at work, but ensure that I engage in some sort of exercise 4-5 hours a week. I run or lift before work, at lunch, or after work. On weekends, I’m pretty much in motion the entire time, so those two days of activity seem to mitigate some of the damage that sedentary habits inflict on the other five days.0 -
strong_curves wrote: »I sit all day too. Walk on your lunch hour, get up earlier to work out. It can be done.
I agree. You just gotta get creative or shift your discpline - whichever you want to call it!0 -
There are a lot of desk jobs where getting up and moving about during the day simply isn't possible. For those jobs, you will simply need to become more active outside of work to compensate.
I don't think anyone has mentioned this so I'm going to step out of the box and suggest something radical: Get a dog.
If that is not an option for any reason, pretend you have a dog.
Make sure your imaginary dog needs at least half an hour of exercise every day, in the form of brisk walking. Also pretend large and very expressive eyes that makes you feel unbearably guilty if you skip that walk... there is a reason they call them sad puppy eyes.0 -
I don't complain about my desk job. Part of the benefit of obtaining an education is working in a profession that requires a lot of your mental capabilities and few of your physical ones. As a teen I worked jobs where I bailed hay, lifted boxes in a factory, lifted crates in a grocery store, planted trees at a nursery, etc., and that was fine for a young man with a strong back. But if you are still doing manual labor like that into your 30s and beyond, while you will certainly burn calories, you will also start to wear down and be gnarled up with aches and pains. So don’t mourn the plight of the desk-ridden, billions around the world are burning a lot of calories while working their fingers to the bone.
Ok, stepping down from my soapbox - so I sit on my a** 8+ hours a day at work, but ensure that I engage in some sort of exercise 4-5 hours a week. I run or lift before work, at lunch, or after work. On weekends, I’m pretty much in motion the entire time, so those two days of activity seem to mitigate some of the damage that sedentary habits inflict on the other five days.
Well said.
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Hi sweetie if you are holding water a great way to get rid of it is to take a bath with epsoms salts in them... I have found that this is so effective I have even had to get up out of my bath half way through to take a big wee!! (sorry if to much detail lol) check with your doctor if you have any preexisting issues and get your epsoms salts from a good health food shop if you can as they will have a better type/grade especially for bathing in xx Good luck x0
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Eat less.
Even if you sit 9 hours, it still leaves 15 hours in the day though... take 8 hours of sleep, that's 7 hours you have to be active.0
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