Sedentary Work and weight loss
 

Does anyone else here work shift work sitting at a desk?

How do you deal with weight loss? What are some of the main points that help you with your loss.


abit about me: I'm currently 23, 211lbs and i work for tech support.. stuck at a desk all day long.. irregular work hours..latest i work is till 12midnight and earliest is 730am

Can you rig your workspace to allow you to stand? I opened the second drawer down on my tall file cabinet, put a Xerox box lid on it and use that as my desk. My computer fits on it and is a good height for me.

Otherwise, make sure you're getting in a good workout during the day and remain as active as you can when not at work. I try to think of extra active activities to do often.
I know some people will eat in 10 minutes and walk for 20 at lunch or take walking breaks during break time.

I have a desk job, but I exercise regularly (5xs a week). You just have to make it a priority. That said weight loss can happen without exercise, you just have to set your calories accordingly. I choose to exercise because 1. It makes me feel great 2. It tones my body, hopefully over time I'll be less flabby and 3. It allows me to eat more:). Oh and 4. It's good for your health. Good luck with whatever you decide.

Another tip I've heard is to get balance ball/stability ball and use it for a chair.

Standing rather than sitting at your desk can burn up to 50 extra calories per hour. Do that for just 4 to 6 hours per day, and you've significantly raised the number of calories you're using in a day.

Sitting on stability ball may burn a few extra calories, but not significant quantities.

Even getting up from your desk and doing an errand once per hour will help to burn more calories.

But I highly recommend standing if you can--I've been doing it for going on 2 years, and I know that it's an important factor in my weight loss and maintenance. I put on my headphones and rock out to music (70s disco today!) while I'm working to burn even more calories.

I have sat at my desk my whole time through losing weight - sitting about 10 hours a day including the drive. Had no problems. I just make sure to get in exercise. Sometimes I even go for a little walk at lunch just to move. Overall it hasn't been a problem. I find coming to work good because then I don't have to access to all the food like I do at home!

I bring lunch and snacks. Sometimes I bring breakfast too. No problems here. :)

No way would I stand while I work, sit on a stability ball maybe. Designing and standing would be a pain and I am lazy.

I do want to add that when I was teen I worked fast food, so I moved all day and ate crap - it wasn't until after I stopped working fast food that I did gain some weight (was still like 170-180 when working fast food). It was to do with my eating, but it was also because I went from standing/running around all day to sitting all day. So standing really does help, but still not worth it to me.

This is what I've been doing. I have a Gowear Fit so I see my calorie burn and I try to make sure I'm getting up and moving enough to keep my burn where I want it to be. Even just stuff like walking back and forth to the copier or to a co-worker's desk adds up over the course of the day (although I try to hit hourly targets to stay on track).

Not only is my job sedentary, but I work from home so I don't even burn calories getting ready for work (stumble from bed, walk down hall, sit at desk, put on headset attached to computer).

The good news is this meant I had an established work out habit before I even attempted weight loss, as I figured if I didn't get to the Y 5 days a week, I was going to die. At that point I followed the recommendation of 30 mins of exercise 5 days a week (2.5 hours total). When I decided to try to lose weight, I bumped my exercise requirement to 6 hours a week. Even though I'm not a naturally athletic person, I crave movement after sitting at desk 9-10 hours so I don't really have to motivate myself to work out.

I'm a full-time student, so I get the pain of feeling like you sit at a desk all day.

That being said, I think those old stand-bys of weight loss can really help. Park in the last spot when shopping, take stairs not the elevator, make sure you take a lap around the office once an hour, etc.

I work a desk job- receptionist. The way my office is configured, there are 4 conference rooms around me that are hardly ever all being used, and are often all empty. No one's desk is anywhere near the front. So, you guessed it, I walk around the empty rooms. I know. It's wierd. I don't care. I try to do 10 minutes 3 times a day. This way, my heart rate is a bit elevated throughout the day, instead of once. I remember reading an article recently that dealt with how quickly inactivity drops your metabolism to zero. It was like within 2 hours of sitting, your metabolism drops 80%. Completely made those numbers up, but it was insane. Essentially, getting up and walking to the bathroom or watercooler, or going down the stairs and back up once an hour will help a lot. That is, if you're not as lucky as me to be able to wonder around and get some walking in whenever you want!

This is awesome guys!!!! I think there is alot of people out there (obviously) that are/were in our boat. These tips awesome!

LOL Gold, no im not.. being in tech support im teathered to my desk.. with a head set. :(

I agree, people don't know what "stuck at a desk" means until they've had the joy of being wired to the desk!

Amen. LOL it sucks.. ALOT.. we didnt use to because our phones would ring, but now.. its just a BEEP in our head set so its stuck there on our heads all day.

Walking during a lunch break is good.
Any chance that you can get any exercise in during the business hours? I typically swim 2x a week. Usually, I stay only 30-35 minutes in the pool because some time is spent on getting there, showering/drying my hair after, and getting back to the office. It takes more than hour but on many days I work through lunch so it evens out.

If you commute by car - any chance of bringing a bicycle with you and going for a ride at lunch break?

I do my best to get up when I can AND I walk on my lunches 3x a week. :)