Desk Job

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karirenae
karirenae Posts: 106 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I work at a state's attorneys office and my job is sitting ALL day at my desk. Does anyone have any suggestions on things to help me from binging or eating junk just because I am bored? I really have no way to exercise while im at work, and I get bored often and think I am hungry but I am really not.. any one else have this issue and any good tips? Thanks!
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  • nikkit321
    nikkit321 Posts: 1,485 Member
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    Can you get up and move every hour? Take the long way to the bathroom, do some squats and wall push-ups while you're there. Take the long way to fill up your water.
  • jefamer2017
    jefamer2017 Posts: 416 Member
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    Cucumbers, carrots, pickles, cherry tomatoes, popcorn. All low cal options to snack on. When I worked a desk job I'd have lunch at my desk before my actual lunch break and spend the entire break walking around the block. I'd bring my sneakers with me to work. So I'd walk around in slacks or a skirt and sneakers. I lost a lot of weight.
  • SCoil123
    SCoil123 Posts: 2,108 Member
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    I have a desk job and a commute. Best advice - bring your own food to work. I keep snacks in my desk and pack my lunch. Keeping foods on hand that are a part of my food plan helps me. If you can take a walk at lunch to keep activity up that helps too.

  • alyssanavetta
    alyssanavetta Posts: 6 Member
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    I too sit at a desk for majority of day and I've started drinking hot green tea in morning and afternoon. I don't allow myself to have any snack until I drink a full cup of water and have my tea - then if I am still hungry (which I usually am not) I will eat one of my prepared snacks (cut up apple/bag of veggies/nuts or nut/fruit bar/ tuna pouch).

    There are all kinds of flavored teas that make it somewhat "exciting" /something to look forward to...maybe not quite as good as snickers or bag of chips - but at least its not plain water!

    So, preparation of healthy snacks that you can easily grab and tea is my suggestion.
  • briscogun
    briscogun Posts: 1,135 Member
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    SCoil123 wrote: »
    I have a desk job and a commute. Best advice - bring your own food to work. I keep snacks in my desk and pack my lunch. Keeping foods on hand that are a part of my food plan helps me. If you can take a walk at lunch to keep activity up that helps too.

    Bingo. I bought a little fridge that fits under my desk so I keep water bottles, healthy snacks and bring my lunch every day so I don't ever have to worry about being tempted by foods that don't fit into my plan. I just plan ahead a few days or a week at a time and I'm always covered.

    Just like anything else in life, If you have a goal you need to have a plan to get there, so I try to plan it out and head off any potential bad decisions at the pass. Or the fridge in this case... ;)
  • joeboo81
    joeboo81 Posts: 28 Member
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    Drink water when you get the urge to eat. I find that helps me when I start thinking I'm hungry. It'll increase your water intake and your steps in a day (because you'll be walking to the bathroom more).
  • amgreenwell
    amgreenwell Posts: 1,268 Member
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    Drink, drink, drink plenty of water while sitting. If you can take a walk a couple times a day and get fresh air that helps too. I keep healthy snacks in the fridge and log all my food and snacks for the day in the morning so I stay on track and now how much wiggle room I've got if I want something "off chart".
  • urloved33
    urloved33 Posts: 3,325 Member
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    unfortunately in an office setting...its moment to moment effort. I drink tea.water. bring fruit. healthy snacks and I literally DO NOT EVEN look at the day in day out garbage food that is all over the office for all to eat. I stand when I can. walk when I can..and do a walk at lunch and of course work out before I even get here. office settings are exhausting.
  • Cassandraw3
    Cassandraw3 Posts: 1,214 Member
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    Same issues here: work a desk job and want to snack all day even though I am not hungry. Part of it is just working on self control, realizing I want to snack out of boredom and not actual hunger. Easier said than done, I know. Also, plan your snacks and make healthy choices; you will become more full on 100 calories of fruit vs 100 calories of cookie. Water helps curb it as well. I have a 24 ounce water bottle I keep on my desk at work that I try to drink at least 3 of a day, with time goals for each one.

    Also, see if your work will purchase a variable desk for you. I have one and I set a goal to stand at least 2 hours a day (1 hour in the morning, one in the afternoon). If not, like others have said, get up and walk around once an hour or even just do a set of stretches.
  • toxikon
    toxikon Posts: 2,384 Member
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    I work a 9-5 desk-job and I'm currently at my lowest adult weight ever!

    Don't keep snacks at work. Pack a lunch, and that's it. Leave your cards and cash at home if you have to.

    I like to use my lunch-break to go for a long walk or go to the gym. I also walk/workout after work.

    I'm also a big tea drinker.
  • stanmann571
    stanmann571 Posts: 5,728 Member
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    Pack a lunch. and plenty of water.

    1. it saves money
    2. It means you've got an excuse- Oh sorry, I can't. I brought my lunch today.

    Eventually you'll be able to condition your cow-orkers to pre-schedule stuff far enough out that you can plan it into your daily or weekly calories.
  • Jadub729
    Jadub729 Posts: 135 Member
    edited May 2018
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    I work at a desk all day too, I bring lots of low calorie snacks with me everyday. Once an hour I walk down the long hallway and back to my desk, then I get up a bit later and refill my water bottle. I find excuses to move. I park in the furthest parking space. I also walk 20 minutes on my lunch. Despite working in an office I average 15k-20k steps per day. I keep sneakers in my office, I spend 20 mins of my lunch walking then back to my desk to eat.
  • JennJ323
    JennJ323 Posts: 646 Member
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    jefamer2017 wrote: »
    Cucumbers, carrots, pickles, cherry tomatoes, popcorn. All low cal options to snack on. When I worked a desk job I'd have lunch at my desk before my actual lunch break and spend the entire break walking around the block. I'd bring my sneakers with me to work. So I'd walk around in slacks or a skirt and sneakers. I lost a lot of weight.

    This! I do the same, or eat after my walk at my desk. I managed to loose a decent amount of weight last Summer by just adding this simple exercise and some evening walks too.
  • fitoverfortymom
    fitoverfortymom Posts: 3,452 Member
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    I bring all my food for the day (besides dinner with me), and that's what I eat, and I don't eat anything else. I eat what I pack and pack what I eat.
  • Mals1805
    Mals1805 Posts: 35 Member
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    I am the same, I sit at my desk from 7am sometimes until 5:30pm. I carry my lunch and pack snacks for throughout the day. another thing that helps me out a lot is to take gum! When I want to snack, I will drink water (or a diet pepsi) or bring something healthy. I love the Atkins Endulge products(yum)!

    I do walk 30mins on my lunch break as well, just sitting that long is a no-no for me now, and I think I can spare 30mins to unwind, enjoy the fresh air and get a quick workout in!
  • Mals1805
    Mals1805 Posts: 35 Member
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    I also walk 20 minutes on my lunch. Despite working in an office I average 15k-20k steps per day. I keep sneakers in my office, I spend 20 mins of my lunch walking then back to my desk to eat.

    This is amazing! I can't wait to get to this point!! I have just hit a milestone of 12K steps a day!

  • seltzermint555
    seltzermint555 Posts: 10,742 Member
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    I make it a rule that I don't consume ANYTHING at my desk/in my office, except for water and occasionally hot tea or coffee. I think it looks unprofessional to eat while working. I know a lot of people do not share my view on this and it probably stems from my first few jobs which were retail & similar, and eating was frowned upon. But this has served me extremely well.

    Luckily, my office isn't one of those filled with treats and potluck lunches and donuts in the break room. But when that does happen, I usually partake if it looks appealing, and just limit it to a seated, 10 minute break where I enjoy it with a cup of coffee and don't graze.
  • gearhead426hemi
    gearhead426hemi Posts: 919 Member
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    I work a desk job too and it can be difficult to stay focused especially when you get bored. I work rotating shifts from days to nights and nightshifts are especially difficult to stay focused. My employer finally got us a adjustable stand up desk that has made it a lot easier. I set a timer so I stand for 1 hour and sit for 1 hour. I work 12 hour shifts and can't leave my space for lunch or breaks so standing has definitely helped. Depending on how your employer feels about activity and fitness you might convince them to allow you to do some stuff at your desk. When most of the employees leave I have a mat that I jump rope, and have dumbbells and bands I use at my desk. I have a pretty large area which most probably don't have. Meal prepping is another way to stay focused on the diet side. Prep for all meals and snacks and bring extra with you daily. I try to leave extra food at work just in case so I have no excuses to not eat right. Here is my view for 12 hours. I attached a link to the desks my employer purchased for everyone and they work great.

    yrl8yl5bskq6.jpg

    https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwjm3f-UmI3bAhUQwmMKHRKCCtIQFgg-MAA&url=https://www.varidesk.com/&usg=AOvVaw2OolNAEVdwpzhPrIY7ZJBp
  • NGentRD
    NGentRD Posts: 181 Member
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    karirenae wrote: »
    I work at a state's attorneys office and my job is sitting ALL day at my desk. Does anyone have any suggestions on things to help me from binging or eating junk just because I am bored? I really have no way to exercise while im at work, and I get bored often and think I am hungry but I am really not.. any one else have this issue and any good tips? Thanks!

    get a lacross ball or softball and mobilize for like 2-5 min break if you can. Im not sure how much space you have but you can even sit on the softball, mobilize your butt, and you can tell people youre on the ball today!

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