Desk job fear of gaining weight

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  • narspips
    narspips Posts: 48 Member
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    I work in an office 37.5 hours a week where everyone is pretty much always sat down during working hours, and I'm one of the only ones there who isn't stick-thin! You seem to have received some pretty solid advice here but I just thought I'd put that out there - having a desk job doesn't mean you have to put on weight :)
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,952 Member
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    Of course if people decrease activity yet eat the same amount of calories they will gain weight.

    To prevent this, eat less and/or more more outside that 20 hour commitment.
  • karahm78
    karahm78 Posts: 505 Member
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    As far as your Fitbit and MFP setup, here is how mine is setup and this works for me. I do have a desk job but activity level and understanding the balance between it and how much you eat is important.

    Set activity level in MFP to Sedentary

    Enable negative adjustments (if you don't move your kitten you have to eat less that day)

    I eat back 50-75% of the calories given to be safe, this will be trial and error for you

    Understand that the way Fitbit adjustments work... by having a sedentary setup you will get large adjustments when you are active. Some people freak out when they see Fitbit adjustments that are more than they perceive for the activity, but the adjustment is not just for the specific activity but how many calories for the day you have burned over what MFP says for sedentary. It doesn't mean that it says you actually burned 200 calories on a short walk for instance but that you had burned 200 cals over Sedentary. I see lots of threads where this distinction causes confusion.

    If you consistently get large adjustments and are losing at a good rate, consider increasing your MFP level to Lightly Active. You will get smaller adjustments that way.

    Given the above settings I gain/lose/maintain as expected. If I move I get to eat, if I sit on my kitten I get nothing extra. No excuses for blaming my desk. :-)
  • hesn92
    hesn92 Posts: 5,967 Member
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    I think a lot of people gain weight when they work desk jobs because they aren't counting calories so they don't know how much they are actually eating, and they also underestimate just how many extra calories walking around actually burns. It does make quite a significant difference. But if you are mindful of how much you're eating and logging your food (assuming you have your calorie goal set correctly) you should not gain weight.
  • Famof72015
    Famof72015 Posts: 393 Member
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    karahm78 wrote: »
    As far as your Fitbit and MFP setup, here is how mine is setup and this works for me. I do have a desk job but activity level and understanding the balance between it and how much you eat is important.

    Set activity level in MFP to Sedentary

    Enable negative adjustments (if you don't move your kitten you have to eat less that day)

    I eat back 50-75% of the calories given to be safe, this will be trial and error for you

    Understand that the way Fitbit adjustments work... by having a sedentary setup you will get large adjustments when you are active. Some people freak out when they see Fitbit adjustments that are more than they perceive for the activity, but the adjustment is not just for the specific activity but how many calories for the day you have burned over what MFP says for sedentary. It doesn't mean that it says you actually burned 200 calories on a short walk for instance but that you had burned 200 cals over Sedentary. I see lots of threads where this distinction causes confusion.

    If you consistently get large adjustments and are losing at a good rate, consider increasing your MFP level to Lightly Active. You will get smaller adjustments that way.

    Given the above settings I gain/lose/maintain as expected. If I move I get to eat, if I sit on my kitten I get nothing extra. No excuses for blaming my desk. :-)


    I am even more confused. I thought I didn't have to adjust MFP settings and let fitbit do it all? So you're saying if I'm sedentary I get more calories to eat back if I move my behind more? And if I'm slightly active I get fewer calories to eat back ?? So confused. Why can't I just always eat my target MFP calories? I never eat back exercise calories anyway, can't I just do that? Regardless if I set it to sedentary or lightly active

  • karahm78
    karahm78 Posts: 505 Member
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    Famof72015 wrote: »
    karahm78 wrote: »
    As far as your Fitbit and MFP setup, here is how mine is setup and this works for me. I do have a desk job but activity level and understanding the balance between it and how much you eat is important.

    Set activity level in MFP to Sedentary

    Enable negative adjustments (if you don't move your kitten you have to eat less that day)

    I eat back 50-75% of the calories given to be safe, this will be trial and error for you

    Understand that the way Fitbit adjustments work... by having a sedentary setup you will get large adjustments when you are active. Some people freak out when they see Fitbit adjustments that are more than they perceive for the activity, but the adjustment is not just for the specific activity but how many calories for the day you have burned over what MFP says for sedentary. It doesn't mean that it says you actually burned 200 calories on a short walk for instance but that you had burned 200 cals over Sedentary. I see lots of threads where this distinction causes confusion.

    If you consistently get large adjustments and are losing at a good rate, consider increasing your MFP level to Lightly Active. You will get smaller adjustments that way.

    Given the above settings I gain/lose/maintain as expected. If I move I get to eat, if I sit on my kitten I get nothing extra. No excuses for blaming my desk. :-)


    I am even more confused. I thought I didn't have to adjust MFP settings and let fitbit do it all? So you're saying if I'm sedentary I get more calories to eat back if I move my behind more? And if I'm slightly active I get fewer calories to eat back ?? So confused. Why can't I just always eat my target MFP calories? I never eat back exercise calories anyway, can't I just do that? Regardless if I set it to sedentary or lightly active

    Well, you could but if that is your plan I wouldn't sync the Fitbit to MFP because the adjustments are sort of the point of doing that. I brought up the Fitbit piece since you mentioned it, but if you are going to eat what MFP says and not the adjustments I assume you are planning to use the Fitbit as a reference but not Sync it? If you are following the MFP model the idea is to eat back at least a portion of exercise calories.

    But to answer your questions yes, if you are set to Sedentary that will give you adjustments for moving more, but you will have a lower amount of calories to start with. This of course makes sense, if you are truly sedentary than you have to eat less. If you move more and thus exceed a sedentary level then you can eat more. If you increase your base activity level to Lightly Active yes you will get a higher base calorie allowance but smaller adjustments as you would then have to exceed Lightly Active activity level before you would see an adjustment.
  • misnomer1
    misnomer1 Posts: 646 Member
    edited September 2017
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    Famof72015 wrote: »
    karahm78 wrote: »
    As far as your Fitbit and MFP setup, here is how mine is setup and this works for me. I do have a desk job but activity level and understanding the balance between it and how much you eat is important.

    Set activity level in MFP to Sedentary

    Enable negative adjustments (if you don't move your kitten you have to eat less that day)

    I eat back 50-75% of the calories given to be safe, this will be trial and error for you

    Understand that the way Fitbit adjustments work... by having a sedentary setup you will get large adjustments when you are active. Some people freak out when they see Fitbit adjustments that are more than they perceive for the activity, but the adjustment is not just for the specific activity but how many calories for the day you have burned over what MFP says for sedentary. It doesn't mean that it says you actually burned 200 calories on a short walk for instance but that you had burned 200 cals over Sedentary. I see lots of threads where this distinction causes confusion.

    If you consistently get large adjustments and are losing at a good rate, consider increasing your MFP level to Lightly Active. You will get smaller adjustments that way.

    Given the above settings I gain/lose/maintain as expected. If I move I get to eat, if I sit on my kitten I get nothing extra. No excuses for blaming my desk. :-)


    I am even more confused. I thought I didn't have to adjust MFP settings and let fitbit do it all? So you're saying if I'm sedentary I get more calories to eat back if I move my behind more? And if I'm slightly active I get fewer calories to eat back ?? So confused. Why can't I just always eat my target MFP calories? I never eat back exercise calories anyway, can't I just do that? Regardless if I set it to sedentary or lightly active

    Say you have set level sedentary and mfp gives you 1700 calories for 0.5lb a week loss. Mfp will give you ~2000 for the same if you set activity as lightly active. Both these numbers are hypothetical.

    Now if you fitbit synced to mfp, activity level setting is lightly active, but you move very less that day. Fitbit will then reduce your calorie allowance by 300 for that day so your quota will be 1700.
    Now, if you move a lot more than 'lightly active', fitbit will give positive calorie adjustment, ie it might give you 300 more, ie you can eat 2300 that day.

    Bear in mind that any intentional cardio will also give you positive adjustment. Ie. if you run a lot on a particular day, you might be given a quota for ~3000 for that day.

    Bear in mind that all numbers are hypothetical and only make sense in relation to each other.

  • mandrewes
    mandrewes Posts: 24 Member
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    If you can - stand up more and work walking into your daily routine. Standing burns an extra 50 calories an hour - not a lot but over 5 pounds a year if done for an hour every day for a year. Stand up when making a phone call. Stand more at home e.g. for a while when watching TV. Consider meetings where everyone stands! It makes them shorter!!! Stand on public transport.

    Take the stairs, walk round the office, make your colleagues coffees, go for a 5-10 minute walk either outside or round the office. Go and see people rather than phoning or emailing them. Walk down your street and back again. When watching TV go for a 5 minute walk around the house every so often - say when the ads are on! The opportunities are endless!!!!

    If over a day you can do an hour's extra walking a say that's around 200 calories net burned depending on your weight and speed (you would have used say around 100 anyway) - about 20 pounds of fat over a year.

    It is useful to establish a baseline amount if you are aiming to increase walking (or standing) either in time, distance or steps as some of it will already be in your total energy expenditure calculations anyway at the moment.

    Walking more and just standing more are independent factors for an reduced risk of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease as well as helping reduce obesity which is an additional factor.
  • mktom29
    mktom29 Posts: 57 Member
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    I try to make it a point to get up and move around every hour. Also, I walk on my breaks.
  • Famof72015
    Famof72015 Posts: 393 Member
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    karahm78 wrote: »
    Famof72015 wrote: »
    karahm78 wrote: »
    As far as your Fitbit and MFP setup, here is how mine is setup and this works for me. I do have a desk job but activity level and understanding the balance between it and how much you eat is important.

    Set activity level in MFP to Sedentary

    Enable negative adjustments (if you don't move your kitten you have to eat less that day)

    I eat back 50-75% of the calories given to be safe, this will be trial and error for you

    Understand that the way Fitbit adjustments work... by having a sedentary setup you will get large adjustments when you are active. Some people freak out when they see Fitbit adjustments that are more than they perceive for the activity, but the adjustment is not just for the specific activity but how many calories for the day you have burned over what MFP says for sedentary. It doesn't mean that it says you actually burned 200 calories on a short walk for instance but that you had burned 200 cals over Sedentary. I see lots of threads where this distinction causes confusion.

    If you consistently get large adjustments and are losing at a good rate, consider increasing your MFP level to Lightly Active. You will get smaller adjustments that way.

    Given the above settings I gain/lose/maintain as expected. If I move I get to eat, if I sit on my kitten I get nothing extra. No excuses for blaming my desk. :-)


    I am even more confused. I thought I didn't have to adjust MFP settings and let fitbit do it all? So you're saying if I'm sedentary I get more calories to eat back if I move my behind more? And if I'm slightly active I get fewer calories to eat back ?? So confused. Why can't I just always eat my target MFP calories? I never eat back exercise calories anyway, can't I just do that? Regardless if I set it to sedentary or lightly active

    Well, you could but if that is your plan I wouldn't sync the Fitbit to MFP because the adjustments are sort of the point of doing that. I brought up the Fitbit piece since you mentioned it, but if you are going to eat what MFP says and not the adjustments I assume you are planning to use the Fitbit as a reference but not Sync it? If you are following the MFP model the idea is to eat back at least a portion of exercise calories.

    But to answer your questions yes, if you are set to Sedentary that will give you adjustments for moving more, but you will have a lower amount of calories to start with. This of course makes sense, if you are truly sedentary than you have to eat less. If you move more and thus exceed a sedentary level then you can eat more. If you increase your base activity level to Lightly Active yes you will get a higher base calorie allowance but smaller adjustments as you would then have to exceed Lightly Active activity level before you would see an adjustment.


    I'm syncing it just not eating them back .
  • hydechildcare
    hydechildcare Posts: 145 Member
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    The problem with desk jobs is it is a lot easier to have a snack while working. At least that is what I notice when starting a desk job. My activity level decrease but my calorie intake didn't. I have started eating my lunch at my desk (all cook and portion out by me) and walking during my lunch.
  • LivingtheLeanDream
    LivingtheLeanDream Posts: 13,342 Member
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    Its possible to have a desk job and still be active. If you were finding yourself a little less able to be active it just means adjusting your calorie intake if you found you were gaining.

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