Office Workers Unite!!

LilMissLisaC
LilMissLisaC Posts: 30 Member
edited November 22 in Health and Weight Loss
Hi All,

I'm a 25 year old female and have worked in an office since I was 17...guess what...I got fat!!! Sitting on my backside for 8 hours a day and being too tired to do anything when I get home, oh, and of course when its someones birthday in the office and they bring cake...it would be rude not to right?!?!?!

I'm now trying to turn my life around and lose weight and get fit and healthy, looking for friends who have the same problems and aims as me...

I also use fitbit to try to motivate me to move more, which is easier said than done!! My profile //www.fitbit.com/user/3K23J2

Thanks xx

Replies

  • NoIdea101NoIdea
    NoIdea101NoIdea Posts: 659 Member
    I also work in an office all day-but there are those days where i will do nothing but sit at my desk, and those where i'm running all over the place attending meetings and such. I found a fitbit zip really helped me gauge how many calories i was burning a day, as my activity level is so varied from day to day that i have always been unsure as to how to set my 'activity level'; set it too high i will gain, set it too low i won't be eating enough. I can say it has definitely helped, so good luck!
  • editorgrrl
    editorgrrl Posts: 7,060 Member
    You can find friends in the Fitbit Users group: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/1290-fitbit-users

    Fitbit challenges are great motivation—and fun!
  • editorgrrl
    editorgrrl Posts: 7,060 Member
    NoIdea101NoIdea wrote: »
    I have always been unsure as to how to set my 'activity level'; set it too high i will gain, set it too low i won't be eating enough.

    If (and only if) you enable negative calorie adjustments in your diary settings, choosing an activity level is a matter of personal preference: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/account/diary_settings

    You're still eating TDEE minus deficit, but increasing your activity level gives you more calories in the morning with smaller adjustments.
  • Packerjohn
    Packerjohn Posts: 4,855 Member
    edited July 2015
    LilMissLisaC wrote: »
    Hi All,
    oh, and of course when its someones birthday in the office and they bring cake...it would be rude not to right?!?!?!

    Thanks xx

    Not in the least. Tell the person happy birthday and walk past the cake. I've worked in an office for 35 years and I haven't had a birthday treat there for probably 15 years. Nobody thinks less of me because of it.

    If you're "too tired" to workout after work do it in the morning.
  • editorgrrl
    editorgrrl Posts: 7,060 Member
    I never, ever waste my calories on meh food—so many office treats are easy to pass up. But I fit the yummy ones into my calorie goal.
  • laineybz
    laineybz Posts: 704 Member
    I work in an office so sit on my behind for 10 - 12 hours a day. I get the free lunch at work but prefer to bring my own in. People pretty much know that if there's sweets or cakes, I won't have any. I'd prefer to enjoy those at home with a nice cup of tea, not in between taking calls lol. I actually gained most of my weight working in retail, and when passing my driving test. I stopped walking so much and ate rubbish.

    I know i lack the willpower to exercise after work, so make sure I do it before or on my days off.
  • tibby531
    tibby531 Posts: 717 Member
    I'm adjusting to the office environment. I now split the treats with other coworkers; half a piece of cake/donut/cookie tastes just as great as a full one. I try to save about 100 calories a day for extra snacks; if it doesn't get used at work, it goes towards upgrading my dessert. ;)

    packing my own foods to eat throughout the workday really helps, too. "we're order pizza and wings, you in?" "that's so sweet of you, but no, thanks. I brought my lunch."

    and I get up early just to exercise. I have to get it done before I'm awake enough to talk myself out of it. :p I also use my lunch break to go take a walk, when the weather permits.
  • sandraradfordtimberlake
    sandraradfordtimberlake Posts: 1 Member
    I too work in an office, sit on my butt all day long. And have gained weight over the past few years. I just ordered my fit bit, hoping that it helps me at least be aware of the lack of activity on a daily basis. Trying to eat right and make better choices now, I need to lose about 50 pounds and I need to keep it off!
  • singingdispatch100
    singingdispatch100 Posts: 20 Member
    You may be too tired to do the work out after work now but if you keep at it and strive to push yourself a little more each day, not only will you start to have that energy you will begin to look forward to work outs. I still have 60 lbs to go on my goal but each day i feel a little better and a little happier with the direction that I am going.
    Not to be to pointed about it but weight loss should be a life change not just a situational thing.
    Either way good luck.
  • strong_curves
    strong_curves Posts: 2,229 Member
    Packerjohn wrote: »
    LilMissLisaC wrote: »
    Hi All,
    oh, and of course when its someones birthday in the office and they bring cake...it would be rude not to right?!?!?!

    Thanks xx

    Not in the least. Tell the person happy birthday and walk past the cake. I've worked in an office for 35 years and I haven't had a birthday treat there for probably 15 years. Nobody thinks less of me because of it.

    If you're "too tired" to workout after work do it in the morning.


    This is what I do, I get up at 5 a.m. to work out.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    My first office job was at a liberal arts college that had lunch time activities available for us - yoga or aerobics classes. We also had gym and pool access. I also had a walking buddy who used to drag me straight to the hills, ugh, lol.

    Without some sort of movement at lunch I, and many workers, are less productive in the afternoon and it's a shame more employers don't realize this and encourage their employees to move at lunch.

    I've also snuck in some extra interactions with gravity by getting up for water, then getting up to go to the bathroom, then getting up for more water...
    LilMissLisaC wrote: »
    ...Sitting on my backside for 8 hours a day and being too tired to do anything when I get home...

    I bet this isn't real physical fatigue and if you force yourself to exercise after work you will find you have the energy for it. Often the hardest part is making up your mind to do it and putting on your sneakers.

  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    A 2-Minute Walk May Counter the Harms of Sitting

    With evidence mounting that sitting for long stretches of time is unhealthy, many of us naturally wonder how best to respond. Should we stand up, or is merely standing insufficient? Must we also stroll or jog or do jumping jacks?

    A new study offers some helpful perspective, suggesting that even a few minutes per hour of moving instead of remaining in a chair might substantially reduce the harms of oversitting.

    As most of us have heard by now, long bouts of sitting can increase someone’s risk for diabetes, heart disease, obesity, kidney problems and premature death. These risks remain elevated even if someone exercises but then spends most of the rest of his or her waking hours in a chair.

    In a representative and sobering study being published next month in Diabetologia, scientists found that every hour that overweight adults spent watching television, which is a handy way to measure sitting time at home, increased their risk of becoming diabetic by 3.4 percent. Most of the participants were watching nearly three hours a day.

    But despite such health concerns, simply advising people to abandon their chairs and stand all day is impractical. Many of us who have experimented with standing or treadmill desks have discovered that they can have their own deleterious impacts on typing accuracy, general productivity and our lower backs.

    So what reasonable steps could and should people take throughout the day to reduce sitting time?

    ...But those who walked around after standing, replacing some of their sitting time with a light-intensity activity like strolling, gained a substantial benefit in terms of mortality risk.

    In fact, if they replaced as little as two minutes of sitting each hour with gentle walking, they lowered their risk of premature death by about 33 percent, compared with people who sat almost nonstop....

    Read more: http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/05/13/a-2-minute-walk-may-counter-the-harms-of-sitting/?_r=1
  • LilMissLisaC
    LilMissLisaC Posts: 30 Member
    I have started being stronger with regards to the ever increasing amount of cake, I just don't go to the kitchen, that said 7 years of no will power and the damage has been done, I now know that I need to be strong to undo it all and that it is going to take time, but I will get there. A couple of weeks ago I did start a c25K program (in the morning so I cant use the tired excuse when I get home) so we will see how that goes. Just trying to make small changes that I can stick to rather than turn everything on its head, which I know would be a 5 minute wonder!!! :smile:
  • MelodyandBarbells
    MelodyandBarbells Posts: 7,724 Member
    Honestly for the most part I use the office to get my sweets fix. For instance I don't think I've ever actually bought a donut, but I'll eat one or half when they appear in the office. Don't worry about being rude - I would think the person whose B-Day it is would be happy enough if you chat with them for a bit, make them feel special on their day and wish them a happy birthday

    As for being active in the office, for me some days I just can't sit still. There's people to talk to, things to walk about and see, errands to volunteer for. I had to stop being so "efficient" about things, and now if anything, some days I'm tired from all the ping ponging about and need to catch my breath. We may not all have those opportunities, but if you do, try to take advantage of them
  • Dariasen
    Dariasen Posts: 145 Member
    edited July 2015
    I've started walking around the parking lot at work on my lunch break to combat the all day sitting. Less call of the take out menus and office treats if you just burned some calories.
    Although I tripped and fell on my way back into the building today, busted my feet and am now sitting in my cubicle with ice packs, so I may not be one to give advice/ideas.
  • Lisaraige
    Lisaraige Posts: 9 Member
    I raised my computer and keyboard so I could stand during the day. I made it so I could easily transition between sitting and standing when I needed a break. Its been a few weeks and I love it. Breaks up the constant sit, I felt like I was dying behind a desk. I feel so much better.
  • Cocoa1020
    Cocoa1020 Posts: 197 Member
    I used to walk around in circles around the file cabinets at my job. i had to sit near the phones and unfortunatly my job sucks major butt and i need to stay by my phone. it was ok until they put this desk in the way.... if i didnt have this job i'd be moving much more. I'm going back to school hopefully! i wont be here much longer.
  • editorgrrl
    editorgrrl Posts: 7,060 Member
    LilMissLisaC wrote: »
    Just trying to make small changes that I can stick to rather than turn everything on its head, which I know would be a 5 minute wonder!

    You've got this! Weight loss takes a whole lot of trial & error to find what works for you. And you do not have to be perfect to lose weight—I'm living proof.
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