desk jobs

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tabik30
tabik30 Posts: 443
in Health and Weight Loss
Anyone else feel as though their desk job has really affected their metabolism? I am a banker and I have worked my way up over the years from a teller to running my own branch. It's been great, but no so much for my health. My *kitten* has taken the shape of my chair! Anyone have a simiar experience?

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  • jemachharo
    jemachharo Posts: 144 Member
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    I have a desk job too, but I make sure I get up and move. I work in a 4 story building. I try to get up and walk the stairs every hour if I can. When I'm on the phone, I stand up and pace around my office (or if I'm just listening to a call I put the headset on and walk the halls) I try to get out and walk at lunch. I also have resistant bands in my office that I use as often as I can.
  • allthegoodusernamesaregone
    allthegoodusernamesaregone Posts: 16
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    Ahh, the dreaded 'secretary spread'!

    Holding a desk job definitely can affect your metabolism. While your mind (and fingers and hands and shoulders and neck) are taxed, the rest of your body doesn't do much. If you work 9-5, and only eat one meal between those times (like most of my coworkers did), your metabolism has no need to act very quickly. Think about it: breakfast ~7, lunch ~12, dinner ~7. Then consider the role of coffee (an appetite inhibitor) in the office. This is not practical for your body...

    but eating more often and drinking less caffeine is not always compatible with your workload. You don't want to have to answer the phone with food in your mouth lol.

    What worked for me was keeping two containers of grapes on my desk: (1) meant to last me until noon and (1) meant to last me until 5pm. Grapes work because they are easy to quickly munch down, and hardly messy. They were also very easy for me to pack in the morning before heading for work.

    I'm not sure how flexible your schedule is, but I think planning at least two meals between your office hours can benefit your metabolism.
  • nnylee
    nnylee Posts: 814 Member
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    I was a professional 2D animator so I spent from 9-7 every day staring at my dual monitors. It was terrible. But I would go to the gym afterward. Now I'm going to grad school 3D animation and I'm still staring at monitors. But this time around, I have the school gym (yay free gym!).
  • katysmelly
    katysmelly Posts: 380 Member
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    I was a professional 2D animator so I spent from 9-7 every day staring at my dual monitors. It was terrible. But I would go to the gym afterward. Now I'm going to grad school 3D animation and I'm still staring at monitors. But this time around, I have the school gym (yay free gym!).

    A friend of mine is an animator, as well. He stands at his computer. (He has one of those big things one draws on with a stylus.)

    I think it would benefit a lot of people if they had the option to stand at their desks. Like, if the desk were raised high and they had a high stool (with comfy footrests) on casters that they could stand up from.
  • jcameron731
    jcameron731 Posts: 69
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    I have a desk job, However I work in a 400,000 sqft building..I am in the IT Dept and I walk a lot there and watch what I eat..however when I weigh myself after a week or so..I never see a difference..it is frustrating..
  • nataliefallbach
    nataliefallbach Posts: 105
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    I blame my job at the bank and then at a call center for my weight gain. Why do those places have to have cookies and crap there? Ha! I still have a desk job but I do get to move around more now so I feel like that has helped. I guess if I had to go back to either one of those jobs (call center, personal banker) I would make sure I had a will of iron! Good luck to you!
  • nnylee
    nnylee Posts: 814 Member
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    I was a professional 2D animator so I spent from 9-7 every day staring at my dual monitors. It was terrible. But I would go to the gym afterward. Now I'm going to grad school 3D animation and I'm still staring at monitors. But this time around, I have the school gym (yay free gym!).

    A friend of mine is an animator, as well. He stands at his computer. (He has one of those big things one draws on with a stylus.)

    I think it would benefit a lot of people if they had the option to stand at their desks. Like, if the desk were raised high and they had a high stool (with comfy footrests) on casters that they could stand up from.

    I never thought of standing, that's kind of cool! I wish my desks were higher. D:
  • ashley67203
    ashley67203 Posts: 95
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    Yes and I hate it. There's not much I can do because I'm required to be at my post at all times. My former boss threw a hissy fit once where he screamed at me that "an *kitten* needs to be in my chair 24 hours a day and if it isn't my *kitten* in the chair I had to find someone else's *kitten* to put there while my *kitten* was away." Strangely enough, he was fired for being abusive to employees.

    A few weeks ago once the weather turned nice I started taking a brisk 30-minute walk around the neighborhood over my dinner break. Afterwards, I clock back in and eat at my desk while I'm working. I don't know yet if it's helping the secretary spread but I sure look forward to it all day and I'm in a better mood when I get back.

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