[Harrypotterrocks]

I have a very physical job. I stand on my feet for 7 hours a day. I do a lot of lifting, bending, repetive movements and moving around. On the days I work, I average 13,000- 17,000 steps a day, and burn about 2,000 calories a day.

Is this enough or should I be incorporating some sort of exercise? I have not stepped on a scale In awhile, but I've been very stressed and I deal with my stress by not eating a lot. My clothes are bigger too.

I'm just wondering, if it's ok to skip exercise while I'm working.

I have not been exercising all week because of work

I Think a combination of the stress and the low calorie diet is enough, but I'm not sure. I'll be able to weigh myself on Saturday.

People have been in the bathroom that the scale is in when I have to get in there, and then I am at work, and I think it's counterproductive to weigh myself after 10 AM.

What do you think?

[yoyoma]

Well, I have a sedentary job and my employer has a fitness incentive. The normal goal is 7000 steps a day and most people are content of they get that far (and many don't). I have a treadmill set up with my laptop (I am on it now!) and over time I have built up to 14000 steps a day (beyond that, there is no additional incentive from the plan so that is why I picked that number). It takes me about 2 hours throughout the day, and I am pretty sure there aren't a lot of people who reach that level.

I don't do any sort of lifting (I know I should to optimize my health, but I don't). It sounds to me like your job is great from an exercise perspective.

OTOH, the stress is not a good thing. Like stress, exercise also raises cortisol, so you are probably wise to skip piling on extra on top of your job stress. It sounds to me like the stress might be important for you to try to improve (even though it helps you eat less). I know how hard that is, as I have worked on that a long time myself. If you aren't getting enough sleep, make that a priority. Look into adaptogen supplements to see if you might want to try that route. The usual recommendation is to try yoga/meditation/etc, but that is just not up my alley. However, I have found deep breathing is easy and can be useful on the spot. Another quick "hack" for when you have time is to watch something funny on TV -- I try to watch a half hour of comedy "stand up" each day for that reason -- seriously.

I also think that weighing every day can be crazy-making, so maybe you could try just once a week on a day you can get to the scale?

Good luck, I hope you find a way to reduce stress!