8-5 hour job need motivation

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krishnap1104
krishnap1104 Posts: 53 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hey guys, I've been using my fitness pal for a month now and I log once a week. It helps so much but my only problem is that I work a 8-5 job Monday-Friday and I need some stories of how you guys manage to exercise and diet while your sitting 8 hours a day!

Thanks!
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Replies

  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,897 Member
    edited January 2016
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    I take a 75 minute lunch break, walk/hike, and stay late to make it up.

    I also get up around once an hour during my work hours and move around a little. If there's a bathroom further away from you or on another floor, use that. Drink more liquid so as to need it more.
  • Char231023
    Char231023 Posts: 702 Member
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    Take the stairs when ever possible get up from you desk at least once an hour to stretch or walking around for a bit. Go to the gym after work and change into your workout clothes before you leave work so you have a little more motivation to go.
  • sarahspenceee
    sarahspenceee Posts: 38 Member
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    walk on your breaks. 2 15 breaks and 1 half hour- hour breaks, is great to get in cardio. or go to the gym at night. you leave work, have a protein shake ( protein powder, banana, almond milk, and almond butter---delicious) and then watch one episode of Grey's Anatomy and then you go lift weights, squat and lunges.
  • JodehFoster
    JodehFoster Posts: 419 Member
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    I work the same hours, sitting all day long. I hit the gym everyday after work, before I head home. During the summer, I also walk the park right outside the door on my lunch hour.
  • MarmiteToes
    MarmiteToes Posts: 20 Member
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    I set the alarm 35 minutes early on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays and do a quick Jillian Michaels workout in my living room before work. That way I can still "sleep in" two weekdays and force myself to do workouts in the evenings after dinner on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Weekends are my time to really get a good workout in, either walk 3-4 miles with my fiance, do an hour-long workout DVD (or two 30-minute ones back-to-back), or go for a run. I hate that I'm stuck sitting at a desk most of the day but make the most of my free time outside of work.

    As for food, I'll cook a big batch of something on the weekends, like soup or chili, so I've got leftovers for several more meals during the week. Or roast a chicken if I'm going to be sitting at home all Sunday anyway. It's hard to motivate myself to spend half of a weeknight evening cooking and then working out, so I try to make quick and easy meals with leftovers for at least one other meal. We also have salad for dinner one night a week, usually with a veggie burger and salsa, peppers, corn, and onion on top. Quick and easy.

    Meal planning is a must now that I'm on a healthy kick. I plot out the entire week's meals so I only have to go shopping once a week, and I also keep lots of stuff in the freezer that I can whip up into a meal. Frozen chicken breasts, frozen ground turkey, and a mountain of frozen veggies populate my freezer on a regular basis. The cupboard's always got chicken broth, canned beans, and canned tomatoes. If I find myself without a meal plan, I can throw chicken and chicken broth in the crock pot with whatever veggies I've got and we can have soup that night.
  • Shanel0916
    Shanel0916 Posts: 586 Member
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    Hit the gym 3-4 times a week first thing in the morning (4am), I use the restroom that's furthest from my desk (extra walking sometimes I even walk around the building), and walk for 30mins at lunch. Also take the stairs whenever possible. My fitbit motivates me for this.
  • BruinsGal_91
    BruinsGal_91 Posts: 1,400 Member
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    kshama2001 wrote: »
    I take a 75 minute lunch break, walk/hike, and stay late to make it up.

    I also get up around once an hour during my work hours and move around a little. If there's a bathroom further away from you or on another floor, use that. Drink more liquid so as to need it more.

    Yep, this is what I do. Every hour I get up and do a circuit from one end of the office building to the other, which also takes in walking up and down three floors. Depending which route I take, it can add anywhere between 6,500 and 7,000 steps to my daily target of 10,000 steps.

    It's quite funny because since I've started doing this, I've noticed the same people while on my travels who are obviously doing the same thing.
  • Meganthedogmom
    Meganthedogmom Posts: 1,639 Member
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    I work 8-5. I typically wake up at 5am and go for a run/walk or do some other type of exercise. I also get in about 20 minutes of walking on my lunch break. Then of course if you're not doing anything after work, you have a bunch of time left to fit in some more exercise.
  • peleroja
    peleroja Posts: 3,979 Member
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    I have an office job, so I go to the gym before work twice a week and at lunch twice a week, and I do a long run on Saturday morning and a recovery run Sunday morning (both first thing before any of my other plans so that it's out of the way. I walk to work as well, which I know is not an option for most people, but I manage to get up to 20,000 steps most days (walking/running about 12 miles.)
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,897 Member
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    BruinsGal_91 wrote: »
    kshama2001 wrote: »
    I take a 75 minute lunch break, walk/hike, and stay late to make it up.

    I also get up around once an hour during my work hours and move around a little. If there's a bathroom further away from you or on another floor, use that. Drink more liquid so as to need it more.

    Yep, this is what I do. Every hour I get up and do a circuit from one end of the office building to the other, which also takes in walking up and down three floors. Depending which route I take, it can add anywhere between 6,500 and 7,000 steps to my daily target of 10,000 steps.

    It's quite funny because since I've started doing this, I've noticed the same people while on my travels who are obviously doing the same thing.

    But you didn't notice them before ... exercise stealth mode > engage!
  • ghimm
    ghimm Posts: 38 Member
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    I work 7-4 and I find it easier to go to the gym if I haven't gotten home yet. Once my shoes come off, I'm not going anywhere. I keep a pair of sneakers in my car and every day toss in a clean pair of gym clothes and go straight after work. Helps cut down on me rationalizing excuses.
  • hockeysniper8
    hockeysniper8 Posts: 253 Member
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    I work 8-5 as well, I'm on the 19th floor at my building and do stairs the odd time. According to my MFP, 10 minutes of stairs burns over 100 calories!
  • soccerkon26
    soccerkon26 Posts: 596 Member
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    I go to the gym at 5am before work. I take the long way to the bathroom at work. I walk at lunch. Instead of calling people in my office or emailing them, I walk to their cubicle. I also walk my dog when I get home.
  • Mistraal1981
    Mistraal1981 Posts: 453 Member
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    I find it easier to be motivated to go to the gym since I started a 9-5 desk job. I was in retail before and I'd always think, well I have been on my feet all day I need to rest. Now I'm like, man I have been on my butt all day, get up and move! I gym 6 times a week now (lifting 4 times, spinning once and a long treadmill session on the last day. Today is my rest day).

    Never thought I'd be that person.
  • sairsyfairy
    sairsyfairy Posts: 62 Member
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    I get up at 4:30 M/W/F and go to the gym for 1 hour then head straight to work. T/Th I tend to do hikes or running after work. This has worked very well for me as I find that if leave my "main" work outs till the evening I will not do them.
  • XicanaVerde
    XicanaVerde Posts: 2 Member
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    Gosh this stinks. It was my big issue too. I work the same hours.
    I also have a 2yr. old. My best bet to make time to work out was as early in the morning as possible,
    or whenever she fell asleep.
    Keeping in mind that 8 hours of sleep is crucial was another challenge.

    I became a morning person (Like a 4am morning person) and got my hardest workouts (running) in that way.. Which in the long run (for my body) was the best time to do it on an empty stomach; Tapping into my fat reserves and my calories from the previous day rather than the breakfast that morning.
    It is great for me because, it revved my metabolism and stressed the importance of a nutrient rich breakfast, keeping me motivated ALL DAY, even making me faster and more alert at getting ready and leaving the house.

    Then I challenged myself to eat small meals 6x each day, gradually making sure that everything I ate was superfood or wholefoods, ALWAYS accessible when I am ever hungry to avoid eating crap. and WATER! DRINK WATER!

    If you have a desk job, try not to stand and/or stretch for at least 10-15mins each hour to avoid progressive stiffening of muscles and arteries of the lower body (which is commonly attributed to loss of focus, bad posture and fatigue).
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wUEl8KrMz14&list=LLqIqc5knlIGCsxmHS4hcLiw&index=11

    I had turned myself into an athlete, Think like one, Train like one, Eat like one. Then log at the end of the day as I get ready to sleep if I forgot to.

    The change took me a solid 2 weeks to get used to in the beginning. but then everything else fell in like clockwork.

    Overall, the way I ate changed everything. I was focused on fixing my energy issue, knowing what I ate had to get better. Naturally, I became a vegan.. and immediately noticed the difference in my energy and focus. I went from Pushing myself to Disciplining myself, easily. Now, I will never go back :]

    I know it was lengthy, Hope this helped!
    -Dani
  • LoosingMyLast15
    LoosingMyLast15 Posts: 1,457 Member
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    office job here and i work out on my lunch break (get an hour)
  • littleb0peep
    littleb0peep Posts: 333 Member
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    I go to the gym at least three mornings before heading to work. It was hard at first but now it's not a problem.
    I swim on my lunch breaks if I don't have errands.
    I use a smaller water bottle so I have an excuse to get up more often.
    I'm not confined to my desk so I vacuum, dust or just something to keep me busy.
  • ThickMcRunFast
    ThickMcRunFast Posts: 22,511 Member
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    Sorry...are you actually asking for advice because you work the most common schedule known to man? Go to the gym before work. Or after. Or in any of the other 15 hours of your day.
  • mbaker566
    mbaker566 Posts: 11,233 Member
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    I run(indoor or at gym) or do aerial yoga betwen 4-5am in the morning and gym after work 2x. I also teach an aerial yoga class.
    I figured i just needed to do it and not think about it

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