Does your job make weight loss difficult?

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Replies

  • brandee1212
    brandee1212 Posts: 20 Member
    I work at a place that offers unlimited candy, beer, and soda. On Wednesdays, they buy us pizza. On Fridays, they buy us breakfast tacos. Once a month, we celebrate birthdays with some delicious dessert and there is always some sort of goody that someone has brought in to share in one of the common kitchens. It's also a sedentary workspace, so it definitely makes gaining weight a lot easier!
  • saragato
    saragato Posts: 1,154
    I had a similar challenge when I worked at a coffee shop 2 years ago. We baked the pastries (though they came to us frozen) and if any were ugly or got broken or whatever that made them unsuitable to sell by company standards, they were either broken up for free samples or the employees got to eat them. It also didn't help that when you worked the register you had to not only handle the pastries (thus ending up smelling them and their tempting yumminess) but you had to verbally sell them to the customer. "Would you like to try our delicious, buttery scones today? How about a warm, gooey muffin or flaky turnover?" Plus we had the perk of getting one free drink a day and everyone usually chose the super-sweet frozen coffees because you got overheated working around the oven and the coffee makers.
  • ashlinmarie
    ashlinmarie Posts: 1,263 Member
    I work at McDonalds and right now, my schedule is all over the place. 6AM to 2PM some days and 10PM to 6AM others and 11AM-7PM most of the time. 11-7 isn't too bad because I can get up early to workout but it is so hot now that if I can't get in a run before 8 AM, I can't handle the heat.

    Plus, you know, the food. Especially smelling breakfast foods........UGH
  • matchbox_girl
    matchbox_girl Posts: 535 Member
    I'm in healthcare. I'm on my feet all day long. We do not get lunch breaks. Makes it very hard to eat healthy and snack every two hours.
  • matchbox_girl
    matchbox_girl Posts: 535 Member
    I work at a blood bank as a mobile phlebotomist. My hours are different every single day, which of course makes a routine impossible. Some days, we'll work 6 hours, some days we work 14 hours. It all depends on where the blood drives take us. Now that I've worked there a year, I can keep track of which places have facilities for us to eat in or use microwaves, or have a good place for us to store a cold lunch. It has been quite a challenge! I had lost almost 30 pounds before I started at this job, and since then, I gained 8 back. I'm getting back on track now, but it's hard after a 12 hour day not to crave something cheap, fast and easy, which doesn't usually translate into healthy!

    I'm a phlebotomist for Red Cross, my hours are exactly the same. Crazy isn't it??
  • RockyMtnJhawk
    RockyMtnJhawk Posts: 42
    YES! I am a huge stress and emotional eater & my job and work environment are really stressful.

    When I'm successful it's because I've planned ahead with bringing my lunch and snacks to work and I do a ton of positive self talk. It's hard, really hard...
  • mimieob
    mimieob Posts: 54
    I work in a grocery store deli....fried chicken, mac n cheese....potato wedges....deli meats and cheeses....yes my job makes it hard...but I try really hard...I eat at Larry's Giant Subs everyday I work....instead of the fried stuff I REALLY want....yummy
  • kgalea
    kgalea Posts: 156 Member
    I cannot get up early to save my life. So exercising before work is out. I usually eat a decent breakfast and drink plenty of water through out the day. Lunch is iffy. By the time I get home from teaching I just want to pick up fast food for dinner. Then I have correcting or planning and I just want to sit in front of the TV and not exercise. Part of the problem is that my job comes before me and my needs. I know that I just need to reserve an hour to exercise at night and stick to it.

    I can totally relate to this!!! I used to be able to get up before work to exercise... Now that I have kids and work 30 miles from home it is sooooo rough getting up at 4:30 to hit the gym, knowing I have to be home by 6am so I can leave by 7am with two kids ready for school. Teaching becomes so time consuming if you are doing it well... :)
  • bethygirlie
    bethygirlie Posts: 311 Member
    I am a PCT in a hospital and I work night shift. It's annoying sometimes because every day someone brings in cookies, candy, junk food and I'm like "really, we're having a party every day?" but yeah I just avoid it like the plague. I keep telling myself I'm allergic to that stuff. -_- lol
  • KateHill1981
    KateHill1981 Posts: 43 Member
    I have two jobs. My first job is in the cafeteria of a school and my second job is delivering pizzas! I am constantly surrounded by foods that I love. I try to pack healthy foods and bring them with me but sometimes my willpower is weak.
  • andy2486
    andy2486 Posts: 93 Member
    RV Dealership- Cinnamon rolls and doughnuts, french fries and pizza, breadsticks and blizzards (from DQ), tacos and cookies... the usual food groups on a given day at my work. Not to mention all of the goodies that are brought in by our vendors. I used to be the receptionist and let me tell you, holidays were the absolute worst time. ALL of the goodies were left on the counter that was attached to my desk right in front of me. I swear I spent most of my day moving them to the table across the lobby because by noon, the smells would start to make me sick. Now, since I am the title clerk and work upstairs, it isn't so bad. But RV sales people have got to have the worst eating/life habits that I have seen in my co-workers. I don't know how they can eat fast food every day, not to mention the smoking/chewing tobacco that they all do, and still be alive. Just thinking about it makes me sick. Thank goodness for the stairs I climb multiple times a day. :)
  • Zalli
    Zalli Posts: 132 Member
    Wow that would be hard for me too if I had to smell food everyday lol. My job is actually making it quite easy I work at a daycare so im always chasing around the kids. But currently I am working in the daycare's kitchen for another 2 weeks and I found it's HELPED my weight loss because there is a lot of healthy food in the kitchen and barely any junk food.. the only version of junk food in there is like digestive cookies and vegetable thins.. :) But I start a new job in August and it is located BESIDE McDonalds... and behind KFC which is going to make it more a challenge time to bring lunch to work!! :)

    I work at a daycare too and I agree it can be a very active job because those kids can have a lot of great energy and keep you busy, but unfortunately a lot of treats come through our doors on a regular basis---Forty children bringing their birthday treats in over the year, staff members celebrating birthdays, baking muffins, parents bringing us chocolate at Christmas, family potlucks---its a lot of food and a LOT of it is not healthy,

    Fortunately I've gotten pretty good at avoiding it but eeeeeek!
  • ashlgh82
    ashlgh82 Posts: 6
    I work in a grocery store and I'm surrounded by food, sodas, beer, wine, candy, and other things for 8 hrs a day. I have been doing really good to either take stuff with me to snack on or eat on my break, and drinking lots of water. I haven't had a Mt Dew in 10 days and feel really good about it. But it is really hard to stick with something when you are in the midst of it. I also had a cubicle job for a little over 3 yrs, and I think that's where a large portion of my weight gain came from. It wasn't the most exercise friendly job and we were always having carry-ins for everything. I've put myself up to a challenge and I am going to see it through.
  • GiGiBeans
    GiGiBeans Posts: 1,062 Member
    I work an 8 hr a day sales mgr. job with no break at all. If it's slow I can sometimes manage to eat a full meal but quite often I'm stealing bites over the course of the afternoon when I'm not dealing with customers or inventory. It's a rather stressful way to eat and use to lead to a lot of overeating when I got home.
  • LittleNicci
    LittleNicci Posts: 284 Member
    Yup, overnight desk job. Havent had a desk job in 10 years, have never worked overnights. Actually I have 2 jobs, the full time is the desk job, the part time Im up and walking around but I only work about once every 3 months (both pharmacy jobs) Im not allowed to leave my desk often and they're cracking down on what we can eat at our desk ie: if we have to use a utensil we cant so no yogurt :'( but chips are ok!? So you want us to get fat? Ugh...
  • LittleNicci
    LittleNicci Posts: 284 Member
    I work in a grocery store and I'm surrounded by food, sodas, beer, wine, candy, and other things for 8 hrs a day. I have been doing really good to either take stuff with me to snack on or eat on my break, and drinking lots of water. I haven't had a Mt Dew in 10 days and feel really good about it. But it is really hard to stick with something when you are in the midst of it. I also had a cubicle job for a little over 3 yrs, and I think that's where a large portion of my weight gain came from. It wasn't the most exercise friendly job and we were always having carry-ins for everything. I've put myself up to a challenge and I am going to see it through.

    Good job! Keep it up :-) Ive had tons of friends that work at grocery stores and they drank tons of soda and ate tons of snacks but now they're eating fresh fruits and veggies and drinking water or tea, you can totally do it!
  • DarqueChocalitLover
    DarqueChocalitLover Posts: 12
    I drive truck for a living so having an option to "choose" healthy foods is and have been and will be VERY difficult in this business. 9 times out of 10 my choices for healthy foods are an apple or a banana. Let's face it, I can not pull my rig into a Kroger and go shopping for salad mix. I have to eat a truck stops which has 12 rows of candy bars and chips, but only two options for fruit.

    So, yes my job makes weight loss dang near impossible.
  • Masterofnone40
    Masterofnone40 Posts: 9 Member
    OMG Yes!!! I manage/supervise a kitchen in an assited living facility...being in a Nebraska farming community these are meat, potato, and gravy kinda folks, though we serve a balanced diet, and exercise portion control for our residents....ol fat girl here has one heck of a time leaving the potatos and gravy alone!!! I literally have to stay away from the kitchen on days when I know the menu will suck me in and disolve my willpower!
  • Cambury108
    Cambury108 Posts: 13
    I drive truck for a living so having an option to "choose" healthy foods is and have been and will be VERY difficult in this business. 9 times out of 10 my choices for healthy foods are an apple or a banana. Let's face it, I can not pull my rig into a Kroger and go shopping for salad mix. I have to eat a truck stops which has 12 rows of candy bars and chips, but only two options for fruit.

    So, yes my job makes weight loss dang near impossible.

    I feel your pain, I work in a Pilot Travel Center so I am surrounded by it ALL day long as well. I have an Arby's attached to mine and let me tell you....Arby's is NOT healthy food I learned that after I ate a JR roast beef and a potatoe cake for lunch one day when I forgot my lunch at home. I bring ALL my food from home for the whole day and IF I have to break down and buy something at work I buy a banana,oatmeal or a power bar type item. Being stuck with chips,candy,pop and all the other goodies all day is HARD!!!! Keep up the good work, I for one am proud of you!!! Just shows that if you can do it from a semi-truck I can do it from daily home living!!!! You've given me some motivation! :) Thank You!!
  • OnMyWeigh464
    OnMyWeigh464 Posts: 447 Member
    Yes. And No. And Yes again lol

    I drive a school bus so while I AM sitting on my big butt for my job, I also only work 2 hours in the morning and 2 hours in the afternoon so in between my bus runs I have all day so I take myself to the gym. And for the last yes...I am also a driver's trainer so when I'm training in between my bus runs I don't have time to get to the gym during the day. So I have to rely on the evenings. And that kind of sucks during the school year because after my kids' after school activities, I'm exhausted.

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