The Office!

..Unfortunantly I am not talking about the show "The Office" (friggin' dwight shrute).

I am talking about the, sit-in-your-desk-for-8-hours kind of office. The one where you only get two 15 minute breaks a day?! (Is that right??lol)  I am more so talking about a frickin' cubicle here! Ugh. Dirty smelly closed in no privacy cubicle.

I know I won't be getting that much exercise done, so I really need your help! When I use to work as a waitress not only was I running around, I''d go to the bathroom and do some squats lol. I read some advice though, tighten abs, sit straight, squeeze bum in and stuff, I just want to know if you guys got anymore advice?? And if there's anyone here that works in a office/cubicle and managed to lose weight? :D

Take up smoking...  Your lungs will be shot by the time you're 50 but all that getting up and going outside to light up would add to your exercise.

lol that's actually a really good plan.  i used to work in a busy bar/food place and the smokers seemed to disappear out the back once an hour for a puff... so after discussion with management i used to take fresh air breaks (better for my lungs) since they didn't want to take smoking time away from smokers they gave it to everyone equally.  now i work in an office and go the smoking shelter for 5 mins every couple of hours, it's at the furthest away place on the grounds from my desk... and it's where all the gossip hides during the day!

I feel your pain!  My stinky sedendary cube life has the ability to put me in a rut big time.  I have fought back by making sure that I am ACTIVE after work no matter what.  For me it was always easy to just feel too tired, run down and blah after sitting all day.  Therefore, I would just go home and potato out to "relax".  That is a vicious cycle though b/c we all know that the more you exercise, the more energetic you become.  I just made myself start moving after work and now it is a part of my daily life.  You have to "Just Do It" like the old Nike ad.   Good luck to you.

"Just Do It" hey? Smoke hey?  I think I'll stick to the Just Do It. I had the same problem working in a restaraunt, "why the hell do these people keep leaving me during supper rush?!?!" yup, devastating. So I started taking "smoke" breaks. So unfortunantly, I only applied to 2 (out of like 25 active jobs) sit at your desk jobs, and I got one.

Sitting in my lovely cube as I type this, seriously this has been a huge concern for me.  I get an hour break during the day but I'm usually too busy to take it and by the time I get home I'm tired....but I've done nothing but sit all day.  I decided to join a gym in about two weeks (recovering from surgery now, otherwise I'd do it today), there's one by work and another by my apartment so I can join that gym and have no excuse.

Original Post by j9gwen:

Sitting in my lovely cube as I type this, seriously this has been a huge concern for me.  I get an hour break during the day but I'm usually too busy to take it and by the time I get home I'm tired....but I've done nothing but sit all day.  I decided to join a gym in about two weeks (recovering from surgery now, otherwise I'd do it today), there's one by work and another by my apartment so I can join that gym and have no excuse.

Seriously, since I started back in cube world (a few years ago) I've gained about 25 pounds.  It really is ridiculous.  I'm not sure if the tiredness we feel has to do with the mental exhaustion from being in a cube all day or from the fact that we barely move.  Whatever it is is real though and it is not good for the body.  You just have to stay active after work.  Even on days (yesterday for me) when all I want to do is go home and veg out, I MAKE myself do something.  I did 30 minutes of aerobics and 20 minutes of strength training yesterday and did feel great afterwards.  About 10 minutes into the workout the funk of the day starting coming off.  It's just making yourself do it sometimes.  That is the hard part.

I use my two fifteens to walk around the buildings at work. If the weather is not pleasant I go inside our onsite fitness center.. which I know not everyone will have one. But I also go after work.. I also wiggle a lot in my desk *laughing* I am in the process of losing the weight I gained since getting my desk job almost 3 years ago. Before this I was working at a grocery store and was running around all the time getting carts and bagging groceries and sweeping the whole store every hour! Then I was at a desk job.. its going good tho ;)!

I work in an office as well, in a little cubicle. I either eat my lunch at my desk (not very often, and usually only so I can make more use of my lunch time break). Most of the time I put one of my breaks together with my 30 minute lunch period, and I walk for 30-40 minutes. This gets me out of the office, away from the stress of work, gives me that "I'm free!!" feeling, AND helps me burn calories/exercise. I feel so much better when I get back to my desk, and am ready to tackle the rest of the day (I keep deodarant in my desk drawer, and body spray - so that when I return, I can just go in the bathroom and freshen up). Most of the time, I still have some time left to take a break a little later. I have been keeping healthy snacks at my desk, so when snack time comes, I already have something there that is good for me. Also, just like they say on that show "America's Biggest Loser" - if you have the urge to eat, try chewing on a sugar free piece of gum. I have been done this as well lately, and it has been making a huge difference. Just some thoughts to ponder...or not   : )

Ahhh the cubicle life. Me and my boyfriend used to work in a call center together, so on breaks, we'd walk around in the nature trail and spend quality time together, I know that's out of the question, (he's working somewhere else and I am in the city). Maybe I can "wiggle in my chair" or squeeze my cheeks, or whatever. For some reason I'm thinking I won't lose anything, but I won't gain anything. The never ending dreaded plateau. Eck

I sit at a desk all day and I actually think that this is one of the main reasons I have lost so much weight.  Since I sit here all day I can map out my lunch and two snacks and never deviate from the plan.  Sure I have to get exercise out side of work but the calorie deficit is all that really matter to lose weight (I didn't say to be healthy, just to lose weight)  so sitting here all day makes it much easier to follow my diet err I mean life change.

I work in an office 10 hrs a day 5 days a week. I have searched various ideas to help me get through the day. Below is an link I found one day while surfing through down time. After you open the link, to the right of the video you can find a bunch of videos that offer various desk workouts. They are quite helpful. Another option I have opted for is a physio ball chair. I have one on order, I know this will help me with working my core, while strengthening my back, thighs and Bum!

http://officeworkout.msn.com/

WAIT I have found the solution!!!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8XAHmOA1hTM

Original Post by amberstuckey:

..Unfortunantly I am not talking about the show "The Office" (friggin' dwight shrute).

I am talking about the, sit-in-your-desk-for-8-hours kind of office. The one where you only get two 15 minute breaks a day?! (Is that right??lol)  I am more so talking about a frickin' cubicle here! Ugh. Dirty smelly closed in no privacy cubicle.

I know I won't be getting that much exercise done, so I really need your help! When I use to work as a waitress not only was I running around, I''d go to the bathroom and do some squats lol. I read some advice though, tighten abs, sit straight, squeeze bum in and stuff, I just want to know if you guys got anymore advice?? And if there's anyone here that works in a office/cubicle and managed to lose weight? :D

Wow!! I can't believe how much I'm in the same exact position as you. I work 7.5 hours a day and I'm sitting, sitting and sitting.

Here are some questions for you and then once you answer I can give you the answers that I'm sure can help you.

1) So you have 2 , 15 min breaks, do you have access to get outside? How long does it take to literally walk from your cubicle to the outside? Is there somewhere you can walk?

2) What is your job? What kind of work do you do? Data entry, copies? What kind of stuff is required of you? When is the only time you get out of your desk? Just to go the bathroom or to get some work done?

3) How much weight you wanna lose?

4) How long is your lunch for?

5) Do you bring your own lunch or get food at lunch all the time?

So let me know these things and I'll help you out with some tips.

Andrusca

Yeah! I am working for 7.5 hours as well! (sorry for the late reply ).

I have a plan. 30 minutes to walk to work. That is what I will always do, unless it's dark and scary. My breaks, I will go to washroom, and do squats lol. I always have done this during my work times. I am working in a call center (Blech!!)

I help people in Toronto with their newspaper billing problems (Toronto Star). I deal with bitchy people all day. That's exhausting mentally, so in the end of the day, I will feeel tired, but nothing a coffee can't fix. Mehehehe.

I want to lose 5 pounds to get to my ideal weight. Maybe pack light snacks. What kind of snacks are there out there that are not going to turn into fat while I sit on me arse. Lunch, 30 minutes.

I bring lunch most times. Sandwich, granola bars. Anything that is low in calories, but nutritous???

What do you do andrusca?? I need support! Back up!