As I'm sure most of you out there do too...I work in a typical office. It's a call center taking all incoming calls for the law enforcement/public safety industry. I find it very hard to maintain a diet in this atmosphere. I'm lirerally sitting at my desk for 2-4 hours at a time without getting up once. Usually I sit here and snack - with me being addicted to salty foods, I eat either sunflower seeds or pretzels. When it comes to lunch, we would usually go to a close fast food place or I would warm up some soup or left overs from dinner the night before.

How do you all who also work in offices stick with the plan? How do you resist snacking all day when you're sitting there with idle hands? I've heard of people doing those "chair exercises" - but I don't want to look silly in the workplace and wonder if they actually work anyway.

Any thoughts?

Plan, plan, plan! There may not be a whole lot you can do about not moving much in 2-4 hours (can you at least take a 5 minute "breather" and stretch a bit? I know that some movement to get your blood flowing is better than none and every bit helps!). Also, I'm more of a chocolate freak and have a hard time with the vending machines, but if I plan enough, I can usually thwart it. There are simple things you can bring and eat that isn't necessarily "rabbit food". For me, that can mean portioned nuts, low fat string cheese, yogurt, pudding, fruit, turkey pepperoni and yes, carrot sticks and other veggies, too. To me, it just sounds like you aren't planning enough. We all get into habits, but with some foresight, it can be quite easy to overcome. What kinds of things do you like to eat at home that could be healthful to incorperate into lunch at work? You could also try setting small goals for yourself to ease into it. For example, if you get fast food for lunch 4-5 days a week, try to reduce that to 2 days a week. The more you do it, the easier it gets.

And I have tried those chair exercises- I agree, I looked absolutely ridiculous It sounds like you have a stressful job! It can be hard to shake up the routine under those conditions, but you can do it!

how about taking your food into work each day in a cooler bag? We eat breakfast and lunch each day and while we have a big canteen I prefer my own food.....the added advantage is that you don't know whats on offer until everyone sits down together, by which time its too late as you have already started eating your own food.

I'm in the same situation. I chew gum and drink water (lots of both). I usually drink 8-10 cups of water in my 7.5 hour work day, and chew about 6-10 pieces of gum (I'm an ex-smoker, too, that's where that habit came from).

I am also in this situation: I drink lots of water and make tons of herbal tea. I also bring a huge bag of celery sticks in case i'm in need of a stressful crunch. I leave it in the fridge for the week. I also keep granola and nuts, etc in my drawar in my office in case I'm really hungry or forgot enough food or whatever. I find planning really helps. I pack my food the night before (usually while I'm making dinner or after dinner when I'm full) that way I'm thinking about what I'm eating as opposed to just grabbing whatever is around.
Another problem in my office is the treats. People go on candy runs or out for other treats as an excuse to escape for 10 minutes. Also, the receptionist and the admin staff always have treats in their drawers paid for by the company. They are always offering them and finally I asked them to not tell me about them or offer me any. They probably think I'm crazy but it helps me not crave them.

Planning and calorie free liquids definitely help.
It's definitely tough in an office!

I am funny because work means I definitely stick to my plan. I only bring the things I should be eating according to my diet and vow to eat lunch in. You would be surprised how many girls would start joining you...office girls love to diet together (and cheat together but that is a different story!) The only time I am tempted is when we have office potlucks or catered meals by the company.

Oh and one more thing, get your walk on. Especially with call center work going out and walking around the building on break or lunch can be a mental break as well as good for your body. Lets you see sunshine and get outdoors. It really adds up too! Try buying a pedometer and trying to get the 10,000 steps/day. Walk to talk to friends instead of email, take the stairs, park father away etc...Works for me.

I feel your pain!

The company I work for doesn't have a vending machine... we order snack bags of everything you can imagine... yikes! When I first started working here I was sooooooo excited about that and the free coffee, not having to waste money going to Dunks (oy ve!) And to make it worse, the cafeteria downstairs is absolutely phenomenal. But since I've started my plan, I avoid the kitchen unless I know EXACTLY what I'm going to get.

In the morning, I go back only to fill my 48 oz water bottle. Then in the late morning if I'm hungry, I'll go and get a bag of pretzels or pirate's booty. I always bring lunch, but I'll let myself go to the caf once every two weeks or so on a Friday, depending on whether i'll be home for the weekend (if I'm away, no caf for me).

After awhile, it just became second nature. I don't want to sit here and binge in front of a bunch of people anyway, especially women who are twice my age and skinny minnies. I try to drink two of my bottles of water, and it keeps me from snacking. Then if I feel like I want to keep eating and I've already eaten my lunch, I'll have a cup of tea or sugar free hot chocolate.

The key for me is to not let myself get soo hungry that I'll eat anything in sight.

And walks on a lunch break are great, if weather permits! Even just a little stroll will clear your mind and give you some nice exercise.

I agree with what everyone else is saying.
Drink a lot! Water, crystal light, tea, diet coke.
As for lunch I'd definately suggest brown bagging it. It keeps you on track and saves you money!
Turkey sandwiches, yogurt, carrots, fruit, etc. All very healthy and filling!

I have the opposite problem - I do fine all day at work, its at night and weekends I have problems staying on track!

I have a little of both problems. I can usually be really good at work because i bring stuff for the whole week. that way I can sorta be mindless and grab whatever, but "whatever" is fruit, nuts, yogurts, weight control oatmeal, and deciding which Smart One I want to eat (which i am trying to get away from). So I do really well because there is nothing else there to eat. Sometimes.

With that said, I work in an office with two other people. One of them, the boss, is a Krispy Kreme fanatic, and loves to share. So, since I started this little journey of mine I can't tell you how many times i have had to walk away from a dozen fresh doughnuts, with extra raspberry filled because he and I both like them best. I just try to remind myself that as much as I want that doughnut, I want to see a difference on the scale 50 times more. And to date I have not had a single doughnut since I started this.

I completely understand the problem with an office. I have been trying to stay on track since the beginning of the year and every month it seems to get a little harder. My biggest thing is water and bringing my own snacks. Everytime the rest of the crew orders out for lunch I am very tempted but try to limit myself to only once a week if that. I'll completely agree with everyone else planning saves me.

I am almost the opposite. I think sometimes I do my best dieting at work. In the office I only have to keep myself from the vending machines, anywhere else there's an endless supply of fastfood and junk food and it get's a lot easier to make excuses.
Drinking a lot of water does help. I use to drink a lot of soda at work, I thought it was helping to keep me awake and was a good excuse to get away from my desk for a minute. But recently I've kinda made a deal with myself that if I drink 20 oz of water first, then I can have a diet coke, and it's helped me cut down on soda quite a bit.

i agree wholeheartedly - plan, plan, plan.

my attitude at work with food has changed dramatically in the last year. i used to smoke, didn't eat throughout the day or have breakfast, drank copious amounts of coffee throughout the day (up 5 cups before midday) and then when I got home I ate until going to bed.

now, i no longer smoke, i don't drink coffee (which I believe is a result of stopping smoking) and have replaced it with green and peppermint teas, i bring my snack meals and most of the time my lunch to work. if i get take away lately I have been getting sushi. i work at a desk also and getting take away is often the only time I leave my desk so it is a welcome change.

I find preparing meals in the evening before cleaning up from dinner is the easiest way to make sure it gets done. If I leave it until morning there is always the chance I might be running late and then I am unprepared without healthy snacks at work.

When I quit smoking I found that was the hardest time to avoid bad snacks from the vending machine. I got myself a litre bottle of water and always had that full on my desk. I would drink it throughout the day to aleviate the cravings and chewed nicotine gum. Eventually that became regular gum and now I no longer need it. Those two distractions may also help you.

The food I bring to work are vegetable sticks with hummus (portion controlled in a little tub), at least one type of fresh fruit, perhaps a low fat muffin if I make them on the weekend, maybe some almonds but I find it too easy to graze on nuts so they are a last resort.

My best advice is to keep it simple. Don't run yourself ragged coming up with brilliant ideas - just stick with the basics of wholegrains, nuts, fruit and vegetables and you will find you don't need all that salty stuff.

I find packing foods for the office a constant struggle myself- and I have a really hard time saying no when people bring in donuts, candy, etc....

I have or bring to my office- Kashi Bars, Instant Oatmeal, fruit, individual soups, and today I brought in a loaf of bread, strawberry jelly and all natural pb so I can make pbj sandwiches a couple times a week. I've realized something like a PBJ sandwich makes me feel satisfied, where as if I eat a salad, I end up getting pretzals or something later on and snacking for the rest of the day.

Also, try planning out your snacks, one mid morning, one late afternoon, in portion controlled sizes.

And definately keep some sugarless gum nearby and water- I usually drink lemon sparkling water, because a little flavor helps me to crave less...

All great tips, guys!

I've also discovered this past week that when I go to the gym before work, I dont want to eat snacks or salty foods once I get to work (mostly because I dont want to ruin all the work I just did!)

My problem IS the planning - which apparently is the key. I rarely eat dinner at home - usually a friends house, or something - so I dont have the opportunity to pack up left overs. I have a drawer full of granola bars, soup, pretzels, etc at my desk so lunch isnt an issue if I stay here in the office - it's only when people want to go out to eat that all my will power goes out the window.

My "cubicle partner" just recently had gastric bypass and is big into eating healthy and working out, so it's helped a lot to be able to talk to her.

It's just another thing that you have to learn to change once you make the decision to change your life, ya know?