What do you do?

Ddsb11
Ddsb11 Posts: 607 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Just curious, what do you do for a living? This has always been a point of fascination with me, seeing as we spend more time at work than anywhere typically.

How has it impacted your goals regarding diet and fitness? What have you done to overcome any challenges?
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Replies

  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    I am a project manager for a retail company.

    In the past, I had to figure out how to eat and exercise while traveling a lot or working weird/long hours, as well as all the typical office stuff (tendency to sit a lot, free food in the office, etc). I developed a pretty good bag of tricks for sticking to my calorie goals while on the road. Now I've been working from home for months and non-essential travel is suspended so I had some of the same challenges many of us have had figuring out what THAT routine should look like.

    I've really enjoyed the opportunity to run over lunch (because nobody will be bothered if I have to jump on a meeting before I get the chance to take a shower). The extra time for exercise has been the best part of this period.
  • Dogmom1978
    Dogmom1978 Posts: 1,580 Member
    Warehouse management.

    I previously worked at amazon where I was on my feet all day, no chair, running around like a lunatic.

    Now I head a training department for a smaller warehouse and I have an office and a desk and a chair and I’m sedentary. This job is much easier than being a manager at amazon though and it’s owned by a European parent company (I live in the US), so the vacation time is more than I’m used to getting.
  • Ddsb11
    Ddsb11 Posts: 607 Member
    edited October 2020
    @janejellyroll Traveling was hard on me personally with my diet. Glad you figured out how to manage that. I’m in the design industry, and did fine when I had my routine at the studio. Not to mention having to dress professionally in tailored clothes kept my diet in check. But the travel part, I never quite got the hang of that since it was so random.

    Now that I’m home I’ve realized the less I do the less I want to do, including getting dressed, being active, doing pretty much anything with myself. I’m sure my husband is wondering who kidnapped his wife and swapped her with Cousin IT at this point.
  • Marcus_Eating_Donuts
    Marcus_Eating_Donuts Posts: 22 Member
    I currently work as a manager of support staff at a community college. I started in June and it has changed my life. There are reasonable hours and clear boundaries between work and home.

    For 11 years prior I managed a building material thrift store . It is a challenging and frenetic workplace, exciting and rewarding, but also stressful and depleting. I found myself too exhausted to exercise and frequently turned to fast food for convenience and short-term mental health. The end result was I was heavy and unhealthy.

    My current position leaves me with physical and mental energy to take care of myself. I didn't realize how much stress eating I had been doing for years. I really didn't realize how stressed I was.
  • Ddsb11
    Ddsb11 Posts: 607 Member
    Dogmom1978 wrote: »
    Warehouse management.

    I previously worked at amazon where I was on my feet all day, no chair, running around like a lunatic.

    Now I head a training department for a smaller warehouse and I have an office and a desk and a chair and I’m sedentary. This job is much easier than being a manager at amazon though and it’s owned by a European parent company (I live in the US), so the vacation time is more than I’m used to getting.

    Do you miss the physical aspect of your previous job? It does sounds like you’re in a better place ultimately, especially with the vacation time. I love being active at work, like I’m getting paid to get my steps in, and it keeps my head in a positive place. Being as sedentary as I have been has been no bueno for me.

    Is that why you got into weight lifting? To account for your current position?
  • AliNouveau
    AliNouveau Posts: 36,287 Member
    edited October 2020
    I'm a stay at home mom so I set my schedule basically around school drop off and pick up. I used to be able to do sporty things outside the house but with covid I haven't lately.

    I basically use my mornings to get exercise done and then do what needs to get done, my "work" in the afternoon
  • Diatonic12
    Diatonic12 Posts: 32,344 Member
    edited October 2020
    I'm an interior decorator. B)
  • JAC581
    JAC581 Posts: 91 Member
    I'm an office manager for an auditing firm; however, we have all been working from home since March. It's really hard to get in a lot of steps when you have a desk job; however, my boss has been really awesome about letting me take walks during the work day, even before WFH. I feel like I will have to be taking advantage of that more now that it will be getting dark earlier.

    WFH has been a lifesaver when it comes to diet. At the office, we had tons of chips and snacks available, and hearing others crinkling their bags made it really hard not to grab one. I was also really bad at preparing a lunch to bring in to work and would often drab something from a nearby restaurant. Now that I'm home all the time, I can control exactly what I eat with no temptation from others.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,895 Member
    I was a project manager for a company that made health and beauty products. (Got laid off due to Covid.) I'd done that remotely since 2012. I'd always had flexibility in my hours, and when still working in the office took long lunches a few days a week to go to the gym or do yoga in the park, etc.

    I really liked WFH because after a long hike in the woods at lunch I didn't need to worry about cleaning up too much before going back to work.
  • Dogmom1978
    Dogmom1978 Posts: 1,580 Member
    @msalicia07 I do miss the very physical aspect of Amazon. I used to lift weights prior to working there and then with the unpredictable schedule and long hours, I lost ALL motivation.

    I left to get a better work/life balance and then after a couple months, the sitting all day REALLY started getting to me. We started building the home gym while I still worked at amazon, but after I left I became motivated to finish it and actually USE it. 😊
  • rfuchs
    rfuchs Posts: 55 Member
    Stay at home mom.
  • brankaabbada
    brankaabbada Posts: 29 Member
    I am childcare supervisor (nursery)❤
  • Chef_Barbell
    Chef_Barbell Posts: 6,646 Member
    AliNouveau wrote: »
    I'm a stay at home mom so I set my schedule basically around school drop off and pick up. I used to be able to do sporty things outside the house but with covid I haven't lately.

    I basically use my mornings to get exercise done and then do what needs to get done, my "work" in the afternoon

    This for me as well.
  • ChristopherLimoges
    ChristopherLimoges Posts: 298 Member
    msalicia07 wrote: »
    Just curious, what do you do for a living? This has always been a point of fascination with me, seeing as we spend more time at work than anywhere typically.

    How has it impacted your goals regarding diet and fitness? What have you done to overcome any challenges?

    At the moment, I'm a janitor. Shortly before this I was doing Warehouse work, Overnight Retail, Medical Assembly, etc.
  • Ddsb11
    Ddsb11 Posts: 607 Member
    edited October 2020
    Marcus_Eating_Donuts wrote: »

    My current position leaves me with physical and mental energy to take care of myself. I didn't realize how much stress eating I had been doing for years. I really didn't realize how stressed I was.

    Some people manage to endure the stress despite the impact it has on their body and mind, like most of my family in the medical field, including my husband. I am not one of those people for some reason. My mental and physical health would deteriorate until the point I would have no choice but to change jobs. I knew this about myself from an early age, which is why I chose a field where I could be creative and still active.
  • Ddsb11
    Ddsb11 Posts: 607 Member
    AliNouveau wrote: »
    I'm a stay at home mom so I set my schedule basically around school drop off and pick up. I used to be able to do sporty things outside the house but with covid I haven't lately.

    I basically use my mornings to get exercise done and then do what needs to get done, my "work" in the afternoon

    What motivates you to pull yourself together every day? You've got more of a handle on this than I do and would love your pov.
  • imgwendolyn2015
    imgwendolyn2015 Posts: 348 Member
    I'm a Payroll Manager, working from home since March and I LOVE IT! I gained the COVID 15 but made my mind up to be smaller when I went back to work (if we ever do) than when I left. Now I am healthier than I have been in 10 years and I thank my mental health as well as my physical health to WFH. I get to eat better with more options at home, go out to play with dogs at lunch time and visit with my hubby if the stress gets to be too much.

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