Desk Job - Difficult to lose weight
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I sit at a desk all day. I've lost close to 90 lbs since August.
First and foremost, I figured out the calorie requirement to lose weight. I was morbidly obese so I lost a lot to start, but it was mainly from a calorie deficit.
I started walking on my treadmill. I'd walk while watching TV (hockey was best).
I started the C25K program Jan 1.
I started doing a weekly 5K Park run 2 weeks ago.
I rode my bike to work today.
I wear my tracker 23/7, have it off an hour each day to charge while I have breakfast and shower. Some days I have trouble hitting 3000 steps if I don't go for a walk or run.
I eat after 7 if I feel like it.
But the bottom line is I'm tracking what I eat and eat less than I burn. Everything else is secondary to that.
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Office job also. 6 ft/280 pounds. Lost 20 pounds in 52 days, just by eating around 1600-1700 calories/day(I eat almost anything, altough I cut the bread stuff almost totally). I'm walking only about 3000 steps per day, maybe one day of soccer or basketball fun(for about 1 hour)/week. That's all. No gym or extra cardio workouts(knee problems). I'll try to fit in some more exercise when I lose another 10 pounds.
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I work 40 hours a week at a desk job. I get up about once an hour to get more water from the fountain, go to the bathroom, grab something to eat, etc.
I'm 5'5, 25 years old. Started around 160 lb, currently right around 130 lb. I stuck to the deficit MFP provided for me, and ate some but not all of my exercise calories back. I did mostly bring my food from home, and it was (and still is) weighed out and logged. I refreshed my information probably every 10-15 lbs. Mostly just walked a lot, an average of 8,000-12,000 steps/day. (Was a lot for me at the time.) I've just recently started more serious strength training. I lost the bulk of my weight in about 4-5 months, the last 8-ish pounds were by far the slowest.
So, pretty similar to many other people who have already posted on this thread.2 -
Tacklewasher wrote: »I sit at a desk all day. I've lost close to 90 lbs since August.
First and foremost, I figured out the calorie requirement to lose weight. I was morbidly obese so I lost a lot to start, but it was mainly from a calorie deficit.
I started walking on my treadmill. I'd walk while watching TV (hockey was best).
I started the C25K program Jan 1.
I started doing a weekly 5K Park run 2 weeks ago.
I rode my bike to work today.
I wear my tracker 23/7, have it off an hour each day to charge while I have breakfast and shower. Some days I have trouble hitting 3000 steps if I don't go for a walk or run.
I eat after 7 if I feel like it.
But the bottom line is I'm tracking what I eat and eat less than I burn. Everything else is secondary to that.
Congratulations man. You an intermittent faster?
OP, how bad do you want it? If someone put you in a room in Cambodia, in the middle of nowhere gave you your required cals to lose weight you will most definitely lose weight.
If you need to start slow go ahead, divide and conquer. That could mean having a small deficit rather than a huge gaping one. Just stay determined and eat with your goal in mind. Build new habits for life, stay slim for life.0 -
NatureOfThings17 wrote: »Tacklewasher wrote: »I sit at a desk all day. I've lost close to 90 lbs since August.
First and foremost, I figured out the calorie requirement to lose weight. I was morbidly obese so I lost a lot to start, but it was mainly from a calorie deficit.
I started walking on my treadmill. I'd walk while watching TV (hockey was best).
I started the C25K program Jan 1.
I started doing a weekly 5K Park run 2 weeks ago.
I rode my bike to work today.
I wear my tracker 23/7, have it off an hour each day to charge while I have breakfast and shower. Some days I have trouble hitting 3000 steps if I don't go for a walk or run.
I eat after 7 if I feel like it.
But the bottom line is I'm tracking what I eat and eat less than I burn. Everything else is secondary to that.
Congratulations man. You an intermittent faster?
Nope. At this point I'm aiming for 2000 cals per day and letting the weight loss fall where it may, depending on activity.2 -
I lost 18kg in a year whilst working an office job and eating around 1900 calories a day.
It probably helped that I hadn't spent my life until then yo-yo dieting, but here's what I did.
1. I went out for a walk EVERY lunchtime for at least 30 minutes. I usually averaged 10000 steps a day between that lunchtime walk and post-work wandering.
2. I lifted weights three times a week (Stronglifts 5x5 to begin with) and did bodyweight circuits before or after weights.
3. I went out walking at the weekend and tried to get in at least 1-2 evening walks a week.
4. I ate plenty of protein and vegetables (whilst following an IIFYM approach: 1g protein per lb bodyweight, 0.35g fat per lb bodyweight and filling in the rest with carbs).
I went from 77.6kg to 59.8kg and dropped from a size (UK) 16 to a size (UK) 10. I took three weeks off tracking and lifting in the summer, as I was travelling around Europe (although I still walked and did bodyweight exercises regularly).
A desk job isn't a reason not to be active. It can be an excuse but you can prioritise around it to keep active.2 -
Tacklewasher wrote: »NatureOfThings17 wrote: »Tacklewasher wrote: »I sit at a desk all day. I've lost close to 90 lbs since August.
First and foremost, I figured out the calorie requirement to lose weight. I was morbidly obese so I lost a lot to start, but it was mainly from a calorie deficit.
I started walking on my treadmill. I'd walk while watching TV (hockey was best).
I started the C25K program Jan 1.
I started doing a weekly 5K Park run 2 weeks ago.
I rode my bike to work today.
I wear my tracker 23/7, have it off an hour each day to charge while I have breakfast and shower. Some days I have trouble hitting 3000 steps if I don't go for a walk or run.
I eat after 7 if I feel like it.
But the bottom line is I'm tracking what I eat and eat less than I burn. Everything else is secondary to that.
Congratulations man. You an intermittent faster?
Nope. At this point I'm aiming for 2000 cals per day and letting the weight loss fall where it may, depending on activity.
Awesome!0 -
I sat around last year for nine months and lost 60 pounds. Its not the excersize, or the desk job, its eating below your TDEE every day thst does it.3
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I have a desk job... I have lost 52lb since 11/28/16 and have another 40lb to go. I started at 259.9, now at 207, I am 5'4... I am not a specific diet I just eat in a deficit every day and try to make healthier choices. I plan my meals, I log all my food. I got a fitbit for Christmas and it reminds me every hour on the hour to get up and feed it steps. I drink 1/2 my weight in water so going to the bathroom every hour to get my steps in helps. I walk in place a couple minutes to get in a couple hundred steps then head back to my desk. You don't have a lot to lose so it will not come off fast. You are going to need to patient and eat in a deficit. You can lose weight without exercising. I went 4 weeks in the beginning of this lifestyle change not exercising because I was just trying to get my mind right with food and eat at a deficit. Once I mastered that I then added exercise into the mix. You have to make a commitment to yourself and just do it, everything else is just an excuse. And I don't say that to be mean, I say that out of experience. I have degenerative disk disease and have herniated disk in my back and neck as well as an aneurysm in my artery to my brain. I used that as an excuse on why I wasn't active, never mind ate my feelings with junk food on the daily. You will filter through the "I can't because" eventually and just do it, and it will work and you will feel amazing and wonder why you waited so long to shift through the excuses. Remember, eat in a deficit, log you food and most of all be patient... weight loss in not linear and the scale isn't always a reflection of your efforts. Good luck... feel free to add me if you would like, I log every day and the diary is open.
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Desk here too. I'm down 11 pounds in the last 5 weeks. I'm 5'5". Sundays I make 5 days of breakfasts and lunches and take them to the office. I also keep some yogurt there.1
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I have had an office job my whole life, and I have lost over 100lbs in the last 18 months. I havent done a lick of intentional exercise either, due to medical issues. I just reduced and controlled the number of calories I consumed in a day to an appropriate level for me, and have been really successful. There is no circumstance I can think of, other than a significant medical concern, that can really and truly derail weight loss if one is using the science of CICO, motivation and committment.1
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StarvingDiva wrote: »I actually do much better at my job than I do on weekends when I have no structure. At work, I am regimented in my eating and I work out either before or after I get home from work. Never have been a problem.
so much this.1 -
OP have you taken some time to read the stickied "Most Helpful Forum Posts" at the top of each forum section? This one, in the Getting Started section, I think is particularly helpful along with the posts linked within it.
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1235566/so-youre-new-here/p1
The standard advice I typically offer:
1. Enter your current stats (height, weight, age, gender), activity level (maybe sedentary, maybe not, depends on your overall activity not just the desk job), and a goal (lose 20 lbs) in MFP.
2. Select an appropriate rate of loss - with 20 lbs to lose, 0.5 lb/week is an appropriate goal.
3. MFP will calculate a NET calorie target for you.
4. You should aim to hit that calorie target eating a variety of foods that provide nutrition (both macro and micro nutrients), satiety (helps fill you up when eating at a deficit) and enjoyment (helps keep you on track to incorporate treats).
5. Log everything you eat as accurately as possible, ideally using a food scale for all solid foods.
6. When you exercise, you should log and eat back at least a portion of those calories. Most people start with 50% of the exercise burn, to then see if the estimates are accurate. I actually was fine with eating back all my exercise calories, especially after I got a FitBit.
7. Be patient. Monitor and adjust after about 6-8 weeks of results.
Now - for what it's worth, here's my story.
I'm 5'2, over 40, and have a desk job. I started at about 153 lbs, and set a goal of 125. I started with the sedentary activity setting (because that's what MFP seemed to suggest) and a rate of loss of 1 lb/week and my goal was set at 1200. I was eating back exercise calories, but wasn't doing much more than walking a couple times a week at first, but I was still losing. I was eating 1600 or so calories at that point, and trying to be more active. After about 6 months, I had lost about 18 lbs, and I got a FitBit. I realized that I was averaging about 10K steps/day, and got the good advice on these forums that 10K steps/day is not really sedentary. I changed my activity to lightly active, changed my goal to lose 0.5 lb/week and got a higher baseline calorie target. I lost the rest of the weight I wanted to lose over the next several months, at a slow but sustainable pace. I'm now in maintenance, with my weight range being 116-120, so I've lost over 30 lbs, and I did so eating 1600-1900 calories while losing. Even with a desk job, I now average 15K steps/day, am set as Active, and my maintenance calories according to FitBit and actual results, are about 2200 calories/day.
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Hi there. The most important aspect of weight loss is what you do or don't eat eating less calories than you need to maintain your weight by keeping an eye on nutrition. If you have a sedentary job and can't find time to exercise outside of that, then focus on your calorie intake and accurately measuring and logging your food. Exercise helps, but you can absolutely lose weight without it. With that said, a couple questions...
What is your height, current weight, goal weight? How many calories are you currently consuming and are you consistently weighing and logging your food? This information will allow people to give you more personalized advice.
I work in an office at a very sedentary job, but I make an effort to get at least 10,000 steps a day. It's easier than you'd think. If you can afford one, get a fitness tracker, or even download an app on your phone (if it's a newer smart phone) and set a goal for yourself. I find seeing the number on the screen encourages me to move more.
FIFY.
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Desk jobs for 18 years. Was at my VERY thinnest then. I walked during my lunch hour, but mostly it was simply through calorie control.0
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Hi there everyone,
I just want someone to share their story, if you have lost weight while having a office job, if you did what did you do to lose weight? I cant seem to lose weight and I don't know if it is because I have a office job or I am not eating enough, not exercising enough? I've tried everything and not seeing any changes. I am wanting to drop 20 pounds. Any kind of advice will help, thank you so much.
I have a desk job, and yes it does make it harder - I don't care what anyone says. As a result I have to increase my activity - I have always run or gone to the gym on my lunch hours, for many years. I am in a different building now so I don't have a gym across the street now, but I do make sure I either walk, or take a longer lunch and go to the gym. ACTIVITY at lunch - don't go out to eat. I have also been walking during the day as well - 10 minutes here, 10 minutes there, it adds up. Also I try to walk after work too, or go to the gym, as many nights as possible. I have a low BMR so that makes it even tougher, but I have managed to lose 10 pounds since Feb 10.
I have a FItBit one that I use to track my steps, but I pay absolutely no attention to what it says my burn is. (I eat to fuel, as I feel I need it. I don't worry about what some formula says I burned.)
Are you logging your food here on MFP? Weighing everything you eat? If you are not doing that, at least, then I would venture to guess that that is where your problem is. But the reality is, for us desk job folks, we need to MOVE MORE.0 -
Desk job here too. I count calories and do 30 mins on the recumbent bike after work every day. Down 13lbs from February1
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Well I just read that the lowest you could go was 1200 and nothing below that I figured it would suit me because I have a sedentary job..
.. if you don't mind me asking what is TDEE? I am measuring all my foods & weighing them at the moment..
With only 20 pounds to lose set your weekly weight loss goal to a half a pound per week. These last few pounds come off really slowly, but doing it slowly will help preserve lean muscle and prevent burnout and binging. Many women with little to lose notice they lose it in wooshes, for example after their period, rather than weekly.
Some people, especially those who consistently get the same amount of exercise per week, like the TDEE system, but I like to keep it simple and just use MFP.
MFP uses the NEAT method (Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis), and as such this system is designed for exercise calories to be eaten back. However, many consider the burns given by MFP to be inflated and only eat a percentage, such as 50%, back.
My FitBit One is far less generous with calories than the MFP database and I comfortably eat 100% of the calories I earn from it back.
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/818082/exercise-calories-again-wtf/p1
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cerise_noir wrote: »Hi there. The most important aspect of weight loss is what you do or don't eat eating less calories than you need to maintain your weight by keeping an eye on nutrition. If you have a sedentary job and can't find time to exercise outside of that, then focus on your calorie intake and accurately measuring and logging your food. Exercise helps, but you can absolutely lose weight without it. With that said, a couple questions...
What is your height, current weight, goal weight? How many calories are you currently consuming and are you consistently weighing and logging your food? This information will allow people to give you more personalized advice.
I work in an office at a very sedentary job, but I make an effort to get at least 10,000 steps a day. It's easier than you'd think. If you can afford one, get a fitness tracker, or even download an app on your phone (if it's a newer smart phone) and set a goal for yourself. I find seeing the number on the screen encourages me to move more.
FIFY.
By saying exactly what I said in a different format? You eat less calories or more calories based on what you do or don't eat. You may have noticed I advocate CICO in every thread where it comes up, so no need to play semantics. It was clear what I meant.1 -
I know the anti-exercise crowd is in here talking about only eating at a deficit. But here is the reality of "that". For many people who are sedentary (for whatever reason) that leaves a very meager calorie intake. Trying to lose weight by only eating at a deficit and not using exercise may possibly just leave you hungry and set you up for binging because you feel so famished. You need to add some kind of exercise. It doesn't have to even be one long exercise session. If you can squeeze in a 15 minute work out in the morning, then take a walk on your break, then after work get in another 15 minutes you will increase your calorie usage and thus be able to eat more than some dinky 1,200 calories a day.
That is my advice. Find ways to get in whatever exercise you possibly can. That will help create a better deficit and allow yo to eat enough to feel satisfied.2 -
I am an accountant and sit at a desk all day and have lost 25 lbs since mid-January.
#1: eat at a deficit which means actually weighing the ingredients - was a total shock to me how little 1 serving of certain foods are when weighed. I had been measuring but even using the measurement on the back of the package (example 1/4 cup) when I put that 1/4 cup on my scale it was closer to 2 servings by weight than one.
#2: I started exercising more. I get up at 5am and hop on the treadmill. Started walking and am now up to running. I eat back minimal calories (currently set up to lose 1 lb per week and try to stay close to that calorie/day amount) but will eat up to 50% back on days I do heavier weights.
#3: drink a lot of water at work so you have to get up all the time to pee and then refill. Try to make those separate trips each time.3 -
I know the anti-exercise crowd is in here talking about only eating at a deficit. But here is the reality of "that". For many people who are sedentary (for whatever reason) that leaves a very meager calorie intake. Trying to lose weight by only eating at a deficit and not using exercise may possibly just leave you hungry and set you up for binging because you feel so famished. You need to add some kind of exercise. It doesn't have to even be one long exercise session. If you can squeeze in a 15 minute work out in the morning, then take a walk on your break, then after work get in another 15 minutes you will increase your calorie usage and thus be able to eat more than some dinky 1,200 calories a day.
That is my advice. Find ways to get in whatever exercise you possibly can. That will help create a better deficit and allow yo to eat enough to feel satisfied.
I don't think anyone here is "anti-exercise", we're simply saying that it's not necessary for weight loss. I'm one of the posters who said it wasn't required and I do crossfit 5 days a week and get a minimum of 10,000 steps, which hardly qualifies as anti-exercise to me.3 -
I know the anti-exercise crowd is in here talking about only eating at a deficit. But here is the reality of "that". For many people who are sedentary (for whatever reason) that leaves a very meager calorie intake. Trying to lose weight by only eating at a deficit and not using exercise may possibly just leave you hungry and set you up for binging because you feel so famished. You need to add some kind of exercise. It doesn't have to even be one long exercise session. If you can squeeze in a 15 minute work out in the morning, then take a walk on your break, then after work get in another 15 minutes you will increase your calorie usage and thus be able to eat more than some dinky 1,200 calories a day.
That is my advice. Find ways to get in whatever exercise you possibly can. That will help create a better deficit and allow yo to eat enough to feel satisfied.
Most people on here can eat more than 1200 cal a day, however when they choose to lose 2 pounds a week (for most this is too much in a week) then you get minimal calories. Most can eat more and yes with exercise this will also increase NEAT, but it is not necessary if you can't fit it.0 -
I work at a desk most of the day as well. Once I'm done work I'm either dragging myself to the gym or doing an outdoor workout (if its nice) right after work to get it out of the way 4 times a week. Your diet is what is most important. I started February 1st and I've lost 16 pounds since then. Its doable. You just need to motivate yourself. The first few weeks are HARD but then it becomes a routine!1
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TheCupcakeCounter wrote: »I am an accountant and sit at a desk all day and have lost 25 lbs since mid-January.
#1: eat at a deficit which means actually weighing the ingredients - was a total shock to me how little 1 serving of certain foods are when weighed. I had been measuring but even using the measurement on the back of the package (example 1/4 cup) when I put that 1/4 cup on my scale it was closer to 2 servings by weight than one.
#2: I started exercising more. I get up at 5am and hop on the treadmill. Started walking and am now up to running. I eat back minimal calories (currently set up to lose 1 lb per week and try to stay close to that calorie/day amount) but will eat up to 50% back on days I do heavier weights.
#3: drink a lot of water at work so you have to get up all the time to pee and then refill. Try to make those separate trips each time.
While I do the first two, I have to give # 3 a shoutout. I have used it successfully myself - it's a great stealth way to add in a little movement. (or a lot, depending on how far away the water and the bathrooms are.) It's also good for your body to interrupt long stretches of sitting.1 -
If you have a sedentary job, it can be more difficult to lose weight. You'll need to have a higher calorie deficit to make up for the lack of activity.
No. You need to eat fewer calories to make up for the lack of activity. The deficit required is the same.
My answer comes in two parts:- Like everyone else has said, track your calorie intake accurately. Even if you don't burn very many "extra" calories from movement, you can still eat somewhat less than you burn (since you even burn calories asleep!), and if your calorie intake is less than the number you burn, you lose weight.
- Move more. "Exercise" is great for your health, but the actual calorie burn from working out an hour or two a week is trivial. Get a pedometer or find a free step counting app for your phone. Aim for a decent number of steps per day. (The typical recommendation is 10,000 steps - which will increase most people's daily calorie burn by several hundred calories over sedentary. But you can pick a different target. The actual number is arbitrary. The more steps you take, the more calories you burn.) This doesn't have to be "working out". It can come from parking farther from the door, taking extra loops around the grocery store. Walking in the evenings or on your lunch break. That sort of thing. Or make other changes to increase physical activity: ride your bike places instead of driving. Whatever sounds appealing to you.
You're only at work 8 hours out of the day (maybe 10 if you include commuting). Make the most of the *other* hours in the day and get your physical activity then!0 -
SusanMFindlay wrote: »You're only at work 8 hours out of the day (maybe 10 if you include commuting). Make the most of the *other* hours in the day and get your physical activity then!
Hours at a desk job can vary a great deal. I had a 2-week span recently where I was at the office from 9am until 8pm every day, with no break for lunch, hardly even got out of my chair. I was completely stressed out those 2 weeks, so I had late nights at the gym just to stay sane.
I agree though; we all need to find ways to move more. 0 -
I have a desk job and lost 55lbs eating 3500 cals+ a day, and only doing cardio 2-3 times a week for 30 mins max. Easy to do. Sent you a friend request also. Msg me anytime if you need anything.
-Josh-2
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