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How to lose weight at a desk job?

Curious those of you chained to your desks, how you lose weight. I am a sys admin, work crazy hours, unsupportive environment health-wise. Even considering changing my job.

Thu. Oct 19, 12:30pm

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Take a wolk or run at lunch. I know people get all worked up about being sweaty in the afternoon, but it will be fine in most places. My co-workers all eat lunch together in the conference room and watch game shows and Cosby re-runs at lunch. I just couldn't stand wasting my time after a while, so I started getting out for a walk. After a while I did the whole couch to 5K running program, which builds you up to 30 min of running...all on my lunch hour.

Thursday, October 19, 2006, 12:36 PM

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The first thing I do when I get home is take a half hr+ walk. It helps me de-stress from the day & lets me blow off some steam. The best way to get started with this is to go with a friend, significant other, co-worker, pet, anyone willing to go. If I don't feel like going, I promise myself I'll just cut it a little short, but I still go.

If it becomes automatic, you don't even think about it. You "just do it," as the tag line goes!

Thursday, October 19, 2006, 1:10 PM

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A sys admin...that means you probably dress casually, work late hours, and you often have gaps of time waiting for one thing to finish before the next can start. This is so workable! Absolutely walk walk walk, can't say that enough, any time you've got 15 minutes to spare. Also, most office stairwells are empty places. If that's the case where you are, you have a boatload of options for moves that are half-cardio, half-toning like lunges, squats, incline push-ups. Once you're more comfortable with the idea, sneak a towel in and do stuff on the floor like sit-ups and leg lifts. Chances are you won't sweat (though you might get slightly clammy), but your heart rate will be elevated enough to burn fat.

No one caught me doing this until I'd already lost a noticeable amount of weight. At that point, no one could find my efforts laughable. Honestly, you'd be surprised how people react if they "catch" you. The men *want* you to look better - duh - and in my experience, the women are very impressed with commitment, perseverance, and proof that "little" things really do make a difference.

Thursday, October 19, 2006, 1:45 PM

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Drink a lot of water!!!

Thursday, October 19, 2006, 5:07 PM

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i second the going for a walk during lunch! i usually eat my lunch at my desk then go walk around to digest the food and stretch my feet.... also the gym near my work has 30min ab classes ( so you dont get all sweaty) and yoga classes! These are awesome to do during your lunch break!

Also keeping a water bottle and sipping water all day at your desk helps keep you full.... and if you must keep snacks at your desk make sure they are healthy! or bring enough for an individual snack so you dont go overboard with the snacking

Thursday, October 19, 2006, 7:04 PM

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I like to get in a workout before I go to work! Helps start the day off on a good note.

Thursday, October 19, 2006, 8:06 PM

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I walk to work, and although it's only a 20 minute walk I take the long route and walk up to an hour in the morning, then I walk at lunchtime, and I joined a gym near my work, so I can also call in at the gym on my way home.

Thursday, October 19, 2006, 9:24 PM

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Sometimes I'll do leg lifts (while seated at my desk) - you can lift the leg straight out, turn your foot to work the inner thigh more, lift out to the side to work the outer thigh.
Or tighted and loosen your glutes while seated.
Concentrate on tightening your abs.
I'll sometimes do 10 squats or some leg lifts when I'm in the ladies room before I go back to my desk.
I also will do some standing leg lifts while waiting for my lunch in the microwave (ours is in a dedicated "cube", not in a big lunch room, so if I see someone coming, I stop)
I also send some of my stuff to a printer that's farther away than the one right outside of my cube so I have to get up and walk a ways.
I've even gone on a "mental" break now and then - go up and down some stairs and a few hallways before coming back to my desk.

None of this is making me lose tons of weight, but I think it does at least help tone up muscles if you do enough of it!

Thursday, October 19, 2006, 11:12 PM

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I have to be very disciplined and do lots of evening preparation. If I don't have things planned out and taken care of I will throw all inhibitions to the wind and feel aweful later. I usually eat breakfast and lunch at my desk - I make all my breakfasts on Sunday and take them for the entire week. Lunches i make the night before and it's usually a low-fat soup and sandwich on lite whole wheat bread or leftovers from dinner. I simply cannot eat at the work cafeteria - I got extremely sick of the couple token health items long ago and it will damage my progress if I eat there. There are a couple places I'm willing to eat out - Subway, the vietmese place and Red Robin who will serve steamed veggies instead of fries and I only eat 1/2 a sandwhich. I second what everyone else has said about walking at lunch. It's not really so much exercise for me as just a way to clear my head. I stay the heck away from the vending machines - out of sight out of mind. I pack South Beach bars and keep my water bottle full.

I go straight to the gym after work because I am NOT a morning workout gal and it feels good to work off some of that stress. I go at it for 45 minutes and if I'm having a hard time I allow myself to quit at 40 and do some extra stretching. However if I don't work out every day I don't sleep as well and I am sluggish. I shower after the gym and then I make dinner and have the evening to relax. Roasted chicken is one of my secret weapons. As long as I keep that on hand with some veggies I have tons of quick healthy recipes that I can make with it in 15-20 minutes. TJ's vacume sealed frozen salmon is my second fave. You can thaw it out in warm water in less than 10 minutes and i love it poached in seasoned veggie broth with a chopped salad and TJ's Santorini dressing.

I have learned the hard way that if I don't stay on top of meal planning and snacks that i will not be able to resist unhealthy food if it's in front of me and I'm feeling stressed from work, so I do my planning on Sundays and I stick to it.

I totally resisted ice cream at our afternoon meeting today and am feeling pretty good about that. May seem wierd that the promise of a south beach bar enabled my to do that, but I was able to resist becasue I love eating my SB bar after my workout on the drive home and I didn't want to miss that because I had blown my afternoon (and evening) calories on ice cream, but if I hadn't had a snack with me I would probably have had an entire bowl with fudge and caramel and nuts. Instead I sipped a cup of lemon tea and did not feel the slightest urge to join in the feeding frenzy.

Good luck to you - it ain't easy but it is worth it!

Friday, October 20, 2006, 12:46 AM

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I recently changed my chair out for a balance ball. Now I have to get up to answer the phone or get a file - I can't just roll the chair over or rotate to the other desk. I also am bouncing when listening to music when able to not have to read the screen. It all helps is my attitude.

Friday, October 20, 2006, 6:03 PM

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I too have a desk job. I recently saw these little bike pedal things (kind of like bike pedals on a tripod frame) you can buy for under your desk (I saw one in an Avon catalog but you can also get them at exercise equpment stores). I'm seriously considering buying one. Maybe that would help. You could use it while you were on the computer or working at your desk.

Sunday, October 22, 2006, 10:39 AM

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lose weight at your desk!

I focus a lot on what I drink at work. The more water I drink, the less of other things I drink. And the more water I drink, the more I go to the bathroom.

I usally grab 4 bottles of water from the fridge in the morning, and make sure they are empty when I leave. I recommend this highly!

Thursday, November 01, 2007, 10:53 AM

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I found a gym close to work and joined. I go 2-3 times per week at lunch and squeeze as much as I can during that time. I have finally been able to reach certain goals that I don't think I could've met without working out.

Thursday, November 01, 2007, 11:35 AM

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A biggie for me? No TV. There's no way I can sit most of the day at work and then sit most of the night in front of the TV and expect to lose much weight unless I am very rigid with the calories. I am active in the evenings. I work out, go out with friends (doesn't have to be some calorie-laden activity), play with my nephew, walk with my husband, go to shows, do projects around the house, work in the yard (when the weather is nice), go to the library, etc..

Thursday, November 01, 2007, 11:48 AM

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