I think my profession makes it difficult to maintain a healthy weight because it is a desk job. Before I entered the workforce I did not watch what I ate (not really eating crazy though), but never really monitored calories or limited this or that and I was still in a health weight range. Why? Because I had to do ALOT of walking. When I started working full time I did not really change how I ate but the pounds started QUICKLY piling on simply because I pretty much spend 9.5 hours behind a desk every day.
The flip side is that I will say my organization TRIES to be pretty "fit friendly" and we do have the option of working out during lunch (although we have to make the time up at the end of the day so this is not all that motivating for most of us.)
As others have stated when you sit behind a desk for HOURS at a time, it's so easy to engage in mindless snacking or to start dwelling on a craving for certain foods you would not normally crave. I curtail this by sticking to a very regimented eating regime and making sure I don't allow myself to "starve" and reach for the nearest vending machine in sight. But I will say it is VERY difficult. I don't think if I stopped working out that I could lose weight unless I went into ketosis or something, that is how low I believe my daily activity level would be without exercising.
I have a desk job, and my desk is located in the upstairs office area over a quick service restaurant... Two things working against me... I'm sitting most of the day and every time the door opens from downstairs I smell onion rings, fried pies, chili dogs, etc... And I get to eat here for $1 per day, so it is definitely the most cost effective meal choice. Like midwife, I set rules - I bring in healthy snacks to keep at my desk, I eat a grilled chicken salad or grilled chicken on whole wheat bread with lettuce, tomato, sometimes bacon every day. I don't allow myself to have the other items - I try to look at them as belonging to the customers, and the grilled chicken as my food option. Grilled chicken isn't one of our specialty items - it is a plain piece of chicken with a little pepper that they cook on the grill with no oil or added calories, the salad is pretty simple. I brought my own dressing because ours is bad for you. We do have pretty good whole wheat bread as we sell pimento cheese sandwiches, which I also avoid. I occasionally let myself have a 'treat' item but my rules are either entree or side item, not both, and if I get a dessert item it is my only afternoon snack or I split it with someone else here. No chili cheese dog/onion ring/pie blowout anymore.
I find myself sometimes falling into the mindless snacking - when I'm stressed, when my computer is acting up, sometimes when I smell food from downstairs... I have to be careful to log everything. I have a water pot on my desk so have hot water on demand - I make a lot of tea, and have considered getting a french press for coffee, but I like a little cream and sugar and that might get me in trouble. I use Stevia in my afternoon teas most of the time.
Unfortunately, I did just learn that the whipped ice cream we carry is only 120-160 calories for a serving depending on flavor... I try not to go down to that end of the counter...
Midwife-THANK YOU for saying what you did about drug rep catered lunches!!I come from a family of physicians who all feel like you and I.I am glad that recently some of those rules have changed....I could go on and on about that, but I wont.
Shannon-OMG.I dont know how I would do working in your situation....the smell of food is a major trigger for me.
I work for a bunch of restaurants and my office is above one. Food is free and always available (and not many healthy options as restaurants tend to go...).
I have a reasonably nutritious, prepared just for me meal every single day (I love having a job where a man cooks for me daily )
Ironically, my problem is the 7-11 across the street.
Slurpees, chocolate, the doughnut case (I haven't cracked on that one yet!!)... THAT is my weakness and I try to stay on my side of the street. It's the place where all the packaged stuff lives that could do me in. It's been a real eye opener.
It's funny, but I only work with one person who is overweight (even though we all eat restaurant food all the time). I suppose it's the industry I'm in where people sit down together to appreciate their meals and when they are up... they are moving. By this, I mean when lunch time rolls around we all stop what we're doing, sit around a table and eat together. No one eats alone hardly ever.
It's wild how much that has cut down on my mindless eating outside of work. Food is hardly worth it if I can't sit down and appreciate it, you know?
I also sit at a desk all day and answer phones, deal with clients, monitor operators, etc. Everyone is always ordering take out or going to get fast food. So YES my job hinders my weight loss.
I live in a suburb of Manhattan, though I originally grew up in Upstate NY. Now, every time I visit my former home, I see that in general, people are heavier up there than they are down near the city, particularly in my neighborhood -- where there are about four different places to do yoga, one small gym & a personal trainer's storefront all within four blocks, as well as a costly, privately owned natural food store. I also live on a long & popular running/biking trail, so I am always seeing groups of runners & bikers in full gear. I live in a very walkable area (which has a rating of something like 98% on those sites that measure such things) & people walk everywhere, toting grocery bags or pushing upright carts. It's possible to live well here without owning a car, particularly if you take the train into Manhattan for work or to shop on weekends. Tennis is extremely popular here, with private clubs & municipal courts. It's an active culture.
The same is true of my workplace in Connecticut, right on the Greenwich/Stamford border. My company has a gym on site. The CEO is a runner & goes out every day on his route when he's not traveling. We have a sizeable running culture at my workplace -- no trouble getting a big team together for athletic-related charity events. These are all extremely subtle influences, but they're part of where I live & work, and can't be ignored.
I have a sedentary job, working on my laptop all day. But I'm fortunate in that I can work from home two days a week & commute the other three. This means that on my work-from-home days, I can get in some extra time cutting up veggies & cooking, for those nights when I get in at 8 PM or later from work & the gym. My job is stressful, which makes me sip tea & chew gum all day, in an effort to keep from eating. But I also know that exercise helps me burn off the stress & I actually crave it at the end of the day & feel too "wired" if I don't take the edge off at the gym.
I teach high school, Home Ec, so I'm around food all day. I don't sit during the day however so constantly moving has helped me from gaining too much weight. Hard to do when the students want me to sample everything...
I think the stress of the job causes me to become a couch potato when I come home which isn't good for my middle.
Isn't it funny the amount of you who say "my job hinders my weight loss - I have a 9-5 desk job". Yet I wish I had a 9-5 desk job so that I could plan my meals properly (having regular on-time breaks would be lovely!), have time to exercise before/after work, not work weekends, not work nights...you get the picture.
I think sometimes we (myself included) use external excuses that really aren't proper reasons. They're just mind games we tell ourselves, and use as a crutch to not do what we need to do.
So I'm changing my post. I think my job HELPS my weight loss. Why? Well, I'm on my feet all day so I burn more calories. I work 12 hour shifts, so most weeks I have 4 days off. So I have more time to exercise and shop for healthy foods. I don't have access to takeaway or canteen foods overnight, so I'm not tempted.
So there's my attitude turnaround post. How about everyone else?
Primm-Good idea.I work in a hospital so.....cafeteria food is sure not a temptation for me.Our food is really bad!!!!!!!!!LOL>Plus, I walk all day for 12-14 hours a day.I cover all floors of the hospital.Take the stairs when i can.....
I'm a nurse at a hospital too and I see the good and the bad. I work mostly 8 hour day shifts, but sometimes go in at 3am or stay over till 7pm (which messes up my planned food). I can find healthy food in the cafeteria. Sure, they offer a lot of bad stuff, but they also have a wonderful salad bar and lots of fresh fruit. They always have chicken breasts on the grill, oatmeal and eggbeaters in the morning. I almost always take my lunch and am prepared when the drug reps bring their goodies (like Panera or Olive Garden) and politely decline. We get lots of food from patients & from physicians at holiday times. We have monthly potlucks that I avoid indulging in. We also get a tremendous amount of walking in a day. We have a very large unit, that is not always nurse friendly for getting supplies and what not. Our hospital also has a McDonalds and a Starbuck's that I see a lot of people grabbing instead of healthier eats. We do have an onsite Wellness Center that is very cheap to join. The biggest obstacle I see to eating healthy at my job is taking time to get off the floor for a decent lunch and not wolfing down your food, the odd unpredictable hours due to staffing needs, and the constant temptation of the offerings from the potlucks, food gifts and on-site food sales.
Grilled chicken isn't one of our specialty items - it is a plain piece of chicken with a little pepper that they cook on the grill with no oil or added calories, the salad is pretty simple. I brought my own dressing because ours is bad for you. We do have pretty good whole wheat bread as we sell pimento cheese sandwiches, which I also avoid. 
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