Tips for losing weight when you work in an office 730am - 5pm

I work 7-4 at a desk job, and have lost 98lbs in the last 13 months. The most important thing has been controlling my calorie intake.
But in terms of activity, I work out on my lunch break, and also in the evenings after my little ones (5 and 2) go to bed. I park as far from the building as I can. I use any excuse I can to get up from my desk and walk. I take the long way to wherever I'm going. I always take the stairs.
There are also tons of really short workouts (like 15 minutes or less) on Pinterest...you could maybe try to incorporate those into your evenings or something.
It can definitely be challenging to get the activity in, but how much one eats is really the most important part of weight loss.

cmcmurray wrote:

I try to follow a 1200-1500 calorie diet but tbh I always by 330 end up needing some sort of chocolate to help me through.

Are you eating enough calories? If you're trying to cut too much, you'll be miserable.
Here's a post I did about goal setting, including weight, calories, and macros.
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/MKEgal/view/2014-06-08-setting-goals-667045
It links to reputable information, such as the Baylor College of Medicine calculator at the end of the
first section. It takes into account your age, height, weight, and activity to show not only how many
calories you need, but also how many servings of the food groups.
If you're on target with a healthy weight goal & calorie level, look at what you're eating. Could you
swap some high-calorie-density food for one that would give you more volume / weight for the
same calories, so you feel fuller longer? Or spread out the protein & fat (because those satiate)
among all your snacks & meals?
Consider a different afternoon snack. To stay with chocolate, try a sugar-free fat-free fudgesicle, or
s-f f-f pudding made with skim milk, or hot cocoa, or _a_ serving of dark chocolate (and savor it).

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I have to pick my little one up from nursery so I cant park further away as he needs picked up literally as I arrive

Can you take the kidlet for a walk around the parking lot after you rescue him from daycare?
Or how about stopping at a park (in nicer weather) for a walk together.

At work, when you go to sit down do it twice. You just did 2 squats.
Waiting on the elevator, do toe raises.
When you're on the phone, and don't need to be seated, get up. Pace if you can, but even just standing
burns more calories than sitting.
Be inefficient - instead of taking 5 pages to the copier, take one, copy it, walk it back to your desk,
then get the next.
While you're waiting, do some presses with a box of paper. Or arm exercises with a ream in each hand.
Take the stairs when you can.
Park further away at work & walk faster to your car. Go one row further out, next week two.

I work 9-5.30 and get a lift to work at 8.30 so parking further away is never my choice! I do a 20 minute walk during my only half hour break of the day and find as many excuses to get up as possible (coffee maker is a great excuse and people in the office love you for it!) Also drinking loads of water means extra toilet breaks. By the time 5.30 comes Im usually tired but will force myself to gym 3 nights during the week, the other two I have local walks round the houses (you could bring your wee one with you!) If I still have steps to make by the time Im home (fitbit user) I make laps round the house whilst tidying or round the living area whilst watching tv

As of this week Ive also set my alarm earlier to make me walk 30 mins before breakfast as the days get lighter earlier this wil become easier too!

count calories and go to the gym before, during lunch, or after if you want to

I've been there and at times it's hard to squeeze in a mini-workout. My husband and I own a business and I'm stuck in the office 9:00 to 7:00 or later. But having said that ... I finally kicked myself in the butt and said no more excuses! I take extra steps wherever I can. I walk to the farthest ladies room and on the way back to my desk, I walk in place for one song (or more if the phone doesn't ring) each time. If you're drinking tons of water, you can do this quite a few times a day. I also do "monthly challenges" that I'm able to do at work. Right now I'm doing a squat challenge - which is very easy to do at your desk (if you don't mind your hubby chuckling when he catches you - lol). I found that if I pack my lunch and put dinner in the crock pot before I leave for work, it's easier to ignore the cravings. Even though by the time I get home, let the dogs out, straighten up blah blah blah - I continue with stepping in place and challenge myself to reach 10,000 steps on days I can't get to the gym. Right now its hard to get to the gym because we have a dog with kidney failure and I go straight home to take care of him.
It's just as easy to make excuses as it is to get in steps - at least in my case.

This seems to be a hot topic these days. People with normal day jobs that can't find time in their schedule. I don't really understand the problem as I've always worked this schedule and found it the most convenient to make time to work out.

Such great suggestions in here!

Though these may have been mentioned before, here's what I've found helpful in my 6:30am-3:00pm, M-F gig:
- I use my two 15-minute breaks to go outside and walk.
- I walk to the printer often, instead of letting documents pile up and picking them up all at once.
- I sneak in squats and lunges while waiting for my food to heat up or walking to the bathroom.
- I moved all my files from my desk so that I have to walk to a cabinet across my office to get one.
- I drink a pot (3-4 cups) of unsweetened green tea every morning before lunch, and sometimes again after. Though, i'll probably be substituting lemon water as the weather warms up (i'm in So Cal).

And I totally feel you on that 3:30 craving - such a pain in the butt!
I'm currently struggling with my "after work diet". I eat super well while at work, but as soon as I get home, I attack the fridge I've been pre-making myself 'snack packs' for this very reason - containers of raw veggies (I like broccoli, baby rainbow carrots and mini sweet peppers) and Lavash flatbread to eat with hummus. It fills me up just enough so that I can focus on a nutritious dinner, rather than stuff whatever's around in my mouth. They're super portable too, so you can bring them to work for those 3:30 cravings. You can throw in some fruit too, if it's the sugar that's getting you.

I would get a Fitbit or some other activity monitor - then you can see where you're at and work your way up. I remember barely getting 500 steps in some days. Then I saw on a couple different shows, that you shoul get up every 45-60 minutes. So, I started getting up once an hour and taking a lap or two around the office....started getting more like 2000 steps in before I'd leave work, depending on the day. I have two kids too, and understand the sleepless nights.

I agree . . . the Fitbit is great for tracking and being accountable. I try to get 2000 + steps before leaving for work in the mornings and my goal is to leave work with at least 6000 steps. It's easy to get the remaining 4000 steps to reach 10,000 because you run around like a knucklehead when you get home from work.

Even if you can't exercise often, 75%-80% of weight loss is based on your diet. So try to eat more protein, fruits, and vegetables than carbs while following your suggested calorie intake. Good luck!