Sitting. The silent killer

I have a desk job but still incorporate exercise and monitor my eating habits. What works for me is planning ...I plan and prep my lunches and snacks so I am not tempted. I work out in the morning before I go to work as it is the most convenient and consistent time of the day for me.

I do little things like take steps instead of elevator. Take a walk during lunch time. This way I am not completely sedentary.

See what changes you can incorporate.

This is an incredibly common problem but unfortunately I don't think there is a one-size-fits-all solution!

When I started my current office job I was still losing weight so I was very mindful of calories and just didn't get into that habit of snacking that a lot of people do. Bottle of water on my desk, logged every coffee, packed my own lunch, only fruit for snacks or something I brought from home so no popping to the shops, no vending machines, no office-buns. All of these things are very easy, very normal and once that's your routine it makes deviating from it harder.

The late night eating is something else I guess. Is it stress relief? Boredom? Are you actually under-eating during the day and coming home having been starving for hours? That is still sometimes a problem for me sometimes, if I don't eat enough at lunch or even breakfast I'll get home and attack the fridge like a wolverine. So I'll pre-plan my day so I know I have enough food to get me to lunch without being starving and to dinner with a few left over for something small after if I want it.

The exercise bit is harder, but I do find morning-gym much easier overall than evening-gym. It's quieter, there's less distractions in the morning to stop me going, get's my day off to a positive start but I know if you have kids that's going to be hard to fit into a school run! Youtube workouts? There are HIIT-style ones, yoga, pilates, calisthenics etc etc. Go for a quick run outdoors? Ask Santa for a stationary bike for Christmas?

It is good that you recognize that you are slowing down and yes a desk job can be very bad for your health. There has been a lot of good advice here so far except that nobody has addressed what you eat and how often.

Skipping meals at work is almost as bad as sitting all day and you then start forming poor eating habits at home.

Additionally when you are pressed for time you tend to grab the first thing that is available to eat instead of "thoughtful eating".

You need to prioritize. working all day and then doing "mom stuff" as you say is okay but is it necessary? Are you enabling your kids to do nothing by doing it all yourself or do you empower them to do things on their own so that you can focus on your health?

A lot of people on MFP seem to believe that they don't have time to look after their diet and exercise because they are so busy. These are the people who use time as an excuse. If your health is important, you find the time to improve it. Period.

Bottom line is eat healthy nutritious food, don't skip meals, if you snack reach for healthy alternatives, and try to get moving more, as often as you can. Take walks at lunchtime, park further away if you drive to work, get off the bus one stop earlier and walk the rest of the way to work, use stairs instead of an elevator and yes, use the stand up desk when possible...I did at my desk job and stood every other 20 minutes on the hour.

If you are intimidated by going to the gym, consider a swimming pool where they offer "water walking". It is easy on the joints and can offer a good workout because water is 12 times more resistant than air. You are also virtually weightless so you can do it much longer than on land. I do it 6 days a week and them sit in the hot tub / whirlpool for 10 minutes at the end and feel great afterward.

I don't have a desk job but was pretty sedentary. Getting an inexpensive pedometer helped me see where I was at (less than 3,000 steps) and gradually increased my steps. Now I get between 8,000-10,000 steps a day but it does take some effort. I found I am more active all day if I walk 30-60 minutes briskly in the morning even just around my house. I sneak walking in by doing things like walking over to speak to someone or putting away one dish at a time and doing a lap of the kitchen before getting another dish.
I don't sit and watch tv or use the computer quite as much for entertainment.

There are a lot of workout videos on youtube if you don't have time for a gym.

I originally gained 60/70 lbs years ago after quitting smoking and going from a very active job to a desk job. I still have a desk job now but I'm 54 and in the best shape of my life.

I workout an hour a day, six times a week at lunch and every hour (I have a productivity timer that I use -- I work in blocks of 45 or 50 minutes and have a 10 minute "break" every hour) I get up and refill my water/coffee and either have upper body day or lower body day and do pushups/military presses for the upper body day or weighted squats or KB swings or similar on the leg day. On my upper body day, it's normal for me to do 200 or so pushups by the end of the day (I do some more at night during TV commercials).

I also run a business, take care of five animals and do all the cooking at home. We tend to blame circumstances for what's happened to us when actually, it's not the desk job exclusively that caused the weight gain. It was we moved less and continued to eat too much. I'm guilty of that.

For every eight hours of sitting, you need an hour of moving minimum.