Here is my situation: I work in a physician's office. I am the only person who can do my job and I sit alone in a cubicle in a scan room. It is the first job in my profession I have had that does not require me to spend lots of time on my feet and/or walking around alot. That is good in one way, but it is also easy to just sit there and veg when I don't have a patient.
We also have food brought in from pharmaceutical reps for lunch throughout the week. It used to be more often before government guidelines of some sort cut back on that. When it is brought in, it is usually a buffet meal of some sort. Sometimes an entire "Sunday dinner" type of meal. Other times it is chinese or mexican or barbeque. Sometimes sandwiches and chips. After I started working there I immediately gained 15 pounds.
At the start of 2010, I began my lifestyle changes and had to cut out the lunches and snacks brought in to the office. I just cannot eat that way! When I do have a big meal, I want it to be something I choose to eat and on my time. So I started taking my own breakfast, lunch and snacks to work. I drink at least 64 oz. of water while there every day. (The trips up and down the two flights of stairs to the bathroom aren't bad for me either.)
Everyone has been amazed at my dedication and have been supportive and complimentary during this process. But it does begin to get tedious when I hear the same thing every day...."I see you're still having your oatmeal for breakfast." or commenting on my salads, etc. Some have even been a bit ugly telling my that my food doesn't look good to them....once from a woman who was heating up a can of Bean with Bacon soup for breakfast!
I do allow myself some things; I had a few treats this week for the holidays and I ate from the Christmas lunch buffet that was provided. But otherwise I sometimes feel a little left out. But I just keep eating my food with the knowledge that I am doing the best thing for myself in the long run.
Having a refrigerator and microwave helps me immensely in keeping to my plan.
Last edited by AnnieDrews; 12-23-2010 at 10:16 PM.
I've posted on this very subject before but I'll chime in again anyway.
My job both helps and hinders my weight loss. It helps because it is a very physical active job that keeps me in constant motion and burning calories. It hinders because due to the hard physical work I have to eat sustaining meals to fuel myself through the work day and that makes it hard to keep my calories low enough to lose any weight. I'm still trying to find the sweet spot calorie level that gives me enough energy to get through the work day but is low enough to lose weight on.
Ooh, another huge way my job can be helpful is in utilizing nap time. I don't get official breaks or a lunch during the day, but since I work with babies mostly they sometimes sleep 3-4hrs while I'm watching them. Especially as of late, I've been using this time to run up and down stairs, do jumping jacks, planks or some easy Pilates moves.
I work at the library and the science museum. At the library I get plenty weight training because A LOT of the books we have are super heavy! lol Plus i get a good workout when i shelve.
At the museum im working with hundred of kids at a time. I spend a lot of time conducting tours, running up and down stairs, and running from building to building. It really helps out a lot!
When I was still working in an office, my weight was pretty much in the healthy range because I get to commute and run up and down the stairs all the time. But when I started working from home, I started ballooning. Basically it's because I'm sitting all the time and don't have the discipline to do workouts on my own, which I'm trying to change now.
i gained most of my weight working in a call center when i was very sedentary. I now work delivering parts for autozone so lots of walking and carrying heavy items and i definitely notice it helps alot, my days off i average about 2,000 steps before the gym and days i work closer to 8 or 9,000
days im off right now are mostly spent sitting doing homework lol
My job itself is not helpful - very sedentary, I am at a desk most of the day. The company site is pretty big and I sometimes have to walk up and down stairs or to meetings, but that doesn't do much.
Fortunately the company offers lots of benefits that do make my weight loss project a lot easier. There is a nice cafeteria so I can get a good salad or turkey sandwich for lunch every day, without having to bring on-plan lunches. There is fruit every day so I always have apples, oranges, and bananas in the office. And there is a gym on site, which I use.
It still takes discipline - there are all kinds of less healthy choices in the cafeteria that I have to resist; I have to take water from the soda fountain and not juice or soda; I skip the Wednesday breakfast spread with its waffles and bagels and pastries; I have to actually go to that gym. But that's where my discipline comes in - I'd rather have all these benefits than not have them, as long as I use them for good and not evil.
Overall my job definitely helps my weight loss. I am a manager at Panera and I move constantly. When I wear a pedometer I average around 10-13 miles per shift.
BUT I also have the side where I work in a fresh bakery and get all I want to eat for free
So, at the end of the day, it's like everything else in this world, it's as good or as bad as I make it.
Jobs have been HORRIBLE for me as I work in University admin. Food everywhere and when I worked for residence halls? I always gain when I'm working. That's another reason I want to get this started while I'm a stay at home mom. Maybe if I'm in the groove, it will be easier to keep the routine and eat right!
I love my job for weight loss! I work in a warehouse for a cable company so I am constantly lifting boxes anywhere from 10lbs to 45 lbs off and on all day. I'm on the 2nd floor with no elevator! I work alone for the most part so in don't run into the "cake and donut" problem either
i just moved to a new house just days before Christimas. my 'job' right now is being a full time mom and cleaning our huge house. our old house/apt was around 1000 sq ft. so it didn't take alot of energy to walk around. it was all on one floor, so no stairs. now it seems like simply adding stairs throughout the day makes all the difference! i haven't kept track, but if i'm running up and down alot, it's like i can eat 3k calories/day.
the downside- i haven't figured out the right amount of cals to eat yet. and on a day when i'm trying to stretch the food in the pantry, like at the end of the month, i need more food than i did at our old house.
in the future, i could be a pre-k teacher or working in a daycare. lots of potential for activity there. i worked for a few weeks at a daycare, bringing my own food. i was losing weight.
Last edited by katy trail; 02-09-2011 at 11:55 PM.
I teaching, so walking around mostly helps. When I'm swamped with marking, however, I can be sitting on my butt for 12 hours a day. There are about 4 months in a year that are super busy when I'm in danger of gaining because it's hard to get out and exercise, especially in the winter.
I don't have a routine - I am casual at the moment so they always call me last minute for any shift. I can work days, evenings, or nights. Lately, I've been mostly working nights. So it hinders me A LOT. If I work nights, I sleep most of the day off and my meals are all at late times. Sometimes, I'll work an evening shift and then the next day a day shift. So I sleep little and don't have much time for anything else. I don't have a set schedule for meals either...
It's pretty hard some days but I'll just keep to it. I hope to have a proper line and a routine schedule soon (I kinda like being casual tho - get to pick my own shifts and go on vacation whenever I wan't)
I work at a warehouse, so I'm on my feet all day. It's great but with it being a early morning shift...Night-time munchies are a battle. I always feel super hungry after work even though I bring lunches and healthy snacks.
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