Ok, so I have mentioned in other posts that I have a very active job. I work at a boarding kennel and if I am not exercising dogs I am on my hands and knees scrubbing dog runs, floors, vacuuming, etc. It is very physically demanding and requires a great deal of physical strength. Not to brag, but I know I'm good at the job and I can almost always control even the biggest, wildest dogs. That said, when I get home from work I can't bring myself to exercise any more. I have been on my feet for hours at that point and a somewhat petulant part of me feels like that should be enough. More to the point I am extremely tired when I get home, as well as sore and just...drained. I tend to listen to my body pretty well and I can tell when I'm home from work all it is begging me to do is rest.
Any other girls out there with very active jobs? How do you reconcile it within your WOL? Thanks everyone!
The thing about having an active job, is that if it's something you do regularly, your body becomes adapted (to some degree) to that exertion and it becomes less effective as a weight loss tool.
Doesn't mean it's not good for you, though.
One thing in your post really stood out to me and is something I can relate to:
Quote:
I am extremely tired when I get home, as well as sore and just...drained.
I'm a photographer and my job involves periods of intense and long term work, interspersed with sitting on my butt in front of a computer. I used to come back from a wedding or a shoot feeling like I'd been run over by a truck. Hubby used to tell me to exercise and I never wanted to (the petulant part of me is a GREAT way to describe it! ). I felt like I was already "working out" at my job and why should I do more of it and feel worse.
However, I decided last year to start working with a trainer and was VERY specific about what I wanted. I described what I do when I shoot, the kind of equipment I carry and how much it weighs, the kind of movements I do, etc. and he designed a workout that helped me to build stamina and strengthen muscle groups that helped me with work.
Now when I shoot a 12 hour wedding or chase 3 toddlers around for 4 hours with my camera (heh), I don't come home feeling wiped out any more. I'm still tired, but I am not totally drained.
So I have to say that for *me*, exercising helped me to do my job better and to recover from my job better.
I've had some amazingly active jobs in the past, ones where I dropped when I got home, too tired to even put on my pjs. I worked my formal exercise in early in the morning. Not everyone is a morning person like me, but I know if I don't get to the gym early, I just won't do it. Perhaps working out before you go to work would help. At first you might be tired before work from from the exertion, but as your body becomes stronger, you'll find you have more energy at work, and often after!
I was an in restaurant trainer for a number of years and was on my feet and running for 10-12 hour days, came home beaten down and not willing to walk more than the distance from my car to the house. I had to exercise on the days I didn't work, I also was able to get some time in a couple of days a week before work.
Honestly, I didn't stick with exercising until I had a job that didn't have me on my feet all day... Wish now that I had stuck with it then.
I work 10 1/2 days in car rental, and while my job isn't anywhere as physical as yours, we are outside cleaning cars a few times a day as well as running around helping customers, so I find myself exhausted a lot as well. Sometimes you just have to push yourself to get to that next level. I know I need to do more of that myself still.
I work 8.5 hours a day in a retail store. I'm not walking dogs...but I am chasing after children, lifting heavy inventory boxes, running from one end of the store to another...I think the worst part though is the standing, my feet are exhausted at the end of the day!
I recently got a stationary bike, and it's been AMAZING. I can get a really killer cardio workout without putting any pressure on my poor tired feetsies! I set it up in front of my tv after a long day at work. I get the best of both worlds: watching my favorite tv shows and having 'me' time while pumping away my frustration at stupid coworkers!
Hey, I think that if you have an active job, you should not have to go to the gym every day like us office workers.
I use to be a waitress a few years ago, and always went to work armed with a step counter - I use to take 15,000 (!!!) steps in ONE shift. I ate whatever I wanted back then, was slim and beautiful.
It was only when I got an office job when my weight rocketed. If I don't work on it, my average step count is less than 3,000 steps a day (compare that to 15,000 steps in 10 hours).
My bank account is so much healthier - but my health is so much poorer.
I think that we should incorporate exercise into our daily life - and in your case it involves an active job. In my case, as I sit at a desk all day - it involves the gym. Believe me, I would have loved to trade the gym for a more active job.
I think that if you really want to step up your weight loss, you can do exercise on you off days, but as you already have an active life style, your diet will be 95% of the solution.
I work as support in a school....
running up stairs, down stairs, along corridors, across campus all day....
some days its more tiring than others....
especially the stairs!....
Hey, I think that if you have an active job, you should not have to go to the gym every day like us office workers.
While I understand what you are saying Snoozles, I don't agree. We ALL need to do some sort of workout 4-5 days a week to lose weight and be healthy. Of course, it's up to each person in the end if they want to go the extra mile.
I think that all depends on what your job actually IS. I am a dance teacher/performer, so I actually count the time that I am teaching class as PART of my exercise, because it IS. I would say that a mail carrier with a long walking route could also count their route as part of their exercise.
I think that it depends on what you actually DO for a living, whether or not the activity should be counted as your exercise. However, I do think that even with an active job, that you should at least try for formal exercise on your day off.
I'm maintaining 115 pounds, down from my all time high of 145(I'm short so 115 is a good weight for me.) I attribute my never being more than thirty pounds overweight directly to the fact that I've always had very active physical jobs. When I was working and eating sensibly I usally lost weight; when I was working and eating badly I maintained.
So, how did I get to be 145 pounds? Easy: I ate badly and didn't exercise when I was between jobs and stressed about being out of work. Eventually I'd get a new job, be excited and somewhat happy, would eat better without really trying to and start losing weight. Then reality would set in, I'd see the negative aspects of the job and would stop being so careful with my food choices. And the weight loss would stop. In this way, gaining weight between jobs, and losing some, but not all of the weight and then maintaining when I had a job, I slowly worked my way up to 145 pounds and a size 14.
This time around I made a conscious decision not to let job stress send me into an eating tailspin. Instead I took advantage of the built-in daily exercise, added more exercise outside of work and made a real effort to be careful with my food choices. The result has been a slow and steady thirty pound weight loss which I have maintained for the last two years.
Last edited by Magrat; 10-11-2008 at 01:04 PM.
Reason: punctuation
Active jobs and weight loss
I set it up in front of my tv after a long day at work. I get the best of both worlds: watching my favorite tv shows and having 'me' time while pumping away my frustration at stupid coworkers!
