Office workers unite!!

[MissLisaC]

Hi All,

I'm a 25 year old female and have worked in an office since I was 17...guess what...I got fat!!! Sitting on my backside for 8 hours a day and being too tired to do anything when I get home, oh, and of course when its someones birthday in the office and they bring cake...it would be rude not to right?!?!?!

I'm now trying to turn my life around and lose weight and get fit and healthy, looking for friends who have the same problems and aims as me...

I also use my fitness pal to keep track of what im putting into my body, my username is LilMissLisaC

Thanks xx

[freetobeme97526]

That's an awesome way to look at it. I try to tell myself the scale is
going to move up but that doesn't motivate me. If I remind myself that I'll
feel Luke crap then that may do the trick to get rid of sugar

[MRose]

Ah, sugar is a beasty. It's literally addictive, and there's a vicious cycle involved with it. The Whole30 is what helped my finally kick my sugar addiction. A friend of mine has been doing everything Paleo as well, and that's been great for her. A coworker does Weight Watchers and the ability to have 1-2 small sweet treats per week is a good reward system for her. Just find what works for you and run like the blazes with it!

[freetobeme97526]

Thank you. Right now I am focusing on morning exercise and once I make that
a habit I will definitely look into the whole 30. U used to work nights now
management so lots of adjusting to do

[crazygoatlady]

I read the other day that the best day of the week to weigh is Wednesday.  So now that is the only day I weigh, scale has been more consistant I must say.

[johnr]

I've heard that Monday is the best day to weigh, because then you're more careful about what you eat and drink in the weekends.

[Steph1222]

I've not only worked in an office but in an office of a Food Court on a local college campus. I've gained about 30 pounds just working here let alone the other 20 i had gained before working here. I would love to drop off the 30 but between coming in at work at 6 and getting off at 3pm then running my 2 girls everywhere i'm having a hard time not only finding the energy to get out and work out but also the time. I found that when a friend of mine challenged me into the work week challenge that helped me get up and get moving. If any of you would like to add me feel free. I would love the help and support i'm tired of hovering around the 200 mark 😞

[Rhythm]

This thread has gone quiet the last few days. How is everyone doing with their goals? Any stories of successfully resisting temptation for those office snacks?

I went for a walk at lunch today through the buildings since it was cold outside. I smelled all the fast food and found myself thinking that it doesn't smell good at all! Some of it does, which tends to be the healthier stuff but really I just smelled a lot of deep fry and was happy to say that I wasn't tempted at all :). I did have to walk quickly past the candy store, but I made it!

[saraj91]

Hey @Rhythm! 

Done well this week avoiding the work tuck shop completely (full of crisps, fizzy drinks & choccy bars) & snacks bought in by colleagues, which this week included one of my old favourites - chocolate brownies! But I resisted temptation & had my apple instead lol!

Yet to hop on the scales since last Saturday but after having salad for lunches this week instead of sandwiches & pushing myself a bit harder during my workouts I'm hoping to see a little change in the right direction!

How have your goals been going?

[Steph1222]

I'm actually down 1.6 pounds in a week. I have found that i still get that sweet tooth like none other however if i endluge in it in the mornings with my breakfast then i have all day to work harder to get it off. This way i'm not denying myself the sweet tooth which will get tremendously worse but not keeping it either. Also yesterday for the first time ever threw away about 1/4 of a mt dew bottle in the trash yesterday. 

I hope you all are doing well too!

[Rhythm]

Hi @saraj91

Thanks for asking - I was happy to see a loss of 0.5kg this week, since I had nothing last week.

I know what you mean about the brownies. That used to be (and probably is) still one of my favourite desserts and has been the item I decided to stay away from since it's sooo bad and sooo good! It may be the only thing I truly miss, but if a craving for something deliciously chocolate-y strikes, I have some dark chocolate. Since I haven't had them in a very long time, it's gotten easier. You sort of forget the taste after a while and the cravings decrease.

[saraj91]

@Rhythm congrats on the 0.5kg! 

Yes after a while the cravings get easier to manage & finding a substitute is handy. Dark chocolate sounds nice! My replacement has been a small pack of cinema sweet popcorn from a local shop, the bag has less than 100 calories & satisfies my sweet tooth, so double win! 

[MRose]

I am down another 4 lb from last month, but my %body fat has gone down by nearly half a percent, and at my last doctor's appointment they measured muscle/fat, and my lean muscle mass is up by 3 lb from a few months ago! Been hitting 10k steps every day but it seems to take much more effort with it being over 100F every day!

Also... When people are planning on doing a potluck or something like that, I usually volunteer to make desserts (sugar is my weakness). That way, I make paleo desserts (yes yes, it's a bit of an oxymoron, but if you're going to eat it anyway, might as well minimize the cruddy stuff) and get to satisfy my love of baking 🙂

[Raviv]

I had lost 26 pounds since May, then went back up a couple of pounds and got stuck there for more than three weeks.  It really sucked.  As of yesterday, it looks like I'm heading back down again.  Patience has never been my greatest virtue.

And I ran my first 5K this past weekend.  I did better than I thought I would, running it in 36:59.  I had been hoping for 40 minutes, so I was thrilled to beat that by 3 minutes.

I think part of my problem with the weight stall was that my body was trying to figure out what I was hoping to accomplish.  "You mean you want to have a caloric deficit AND be able to run for half an hour straight???  Don't you think that's a bit much to be asking of me, especially considering the whole menopause and being 50 thing?"

So I sat down with my body and we had a long discussion about prioritizing things.  

Weight loss - don't care.  I'm 30 pounds from my goal, which isn't horrible.

Running endurance - pretty high priority right now.

Muscle building - pretty high priority too.

And if I'm able to increase my endurance and muscle mass (while eating healthy foods reasonably, just not worrying too much about a deficit) then the weight will eventually resolve itself.

[MRose]

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@Raviv wrote:

And I ran my first 5K this past weekend.  I did better than I thought I would, running it in 36:59.  I had been hoping for 40 minutes, so I was thrilled to beat that by 3 minutes.

I think part of my problem with the weight stall was that my body was trying to figure out what I was hoping to accomplish.  "You mean you want to have a caloric deficit AND be able to run for half an hour straight???  Don't you think that's a bit much to be asking of me, especially considering the whole menopause and being 50 thing?" 

---

Heck yeah, congrats on the 5k! I can only hold a 10-minute mile for 1-2 miles... okay so it was a 14 minute mile. You crushed that!!!

Also, something that might be helpful: I asked my amazing family doctor why my weight loss had plateaued so much, and why I had put a couple pounds back on even though I hadn't changed my diet and was still exercizing, and she had a few things to say:

If you are losing weight too quickly, depending on how much weight you had to lose and what your diet was like before, it might be releasing a lot of toxins into your body that is being metabolized by your liver (toxins from your diet can be anything from alcohol to artificial sweetener. "Healthy" is not always healthy... I didn't like learning that as I really love Splenda!), so the weight loss has to slow down so your liver doesn't get the entire short end of that stick. Drinking a seemingly absurd amount of water helps immensely, and makes you feel wonderful! In essence, you need your intracellular water levels to be higher than your extracellular water. 

[Raviv]

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@MRose wrote:

Heck yeah, congrats on the 5k! I can only hold a 10-minute mile for 1-2 miles... okay so it was a 14 minute mile. You crushed that!!!

Also, something that might be helpful: I asked my amazing family doctor why my weight loss had plateaued so much, and why I had put a couple pounds back on even though I hadn't changed my diet and was still exercizing, and she had a few things to say:

If you are losing weight too quickly, depending on how much weight you had to lose and what your diet was like before, it might be releasing a lot of toxins into your body that is being metabolized by your liver (toxins from your diet can be anything from alcohol to artificial sweetener. "Healthy" is not always healthy... I didn't like learning that as I really love Splenda!), so the weight loss has to slow down so your liver doesn't get the entire short end of that stick. Drinking a seemingly absurd amount of water helps immensely, and makes you feel wonderful! In essence, you need your intracellular water levels to be higher than your extracellular water. 

---

That's an interesting point.  I hadn't thought of it that way before.  I just figured your body sometimes needs to stabilize after a significant change and then it can continue its progress, which may also tie in to what you said.

And thanks!

[awood08]

@Raviv 

Congrats!!! That's a great accomplishment 🙂 I hope I do that well when I run mine in December. I plateau'd for a few weeks and finally dropped another 3 pounds. It seems like I drop 2 or 3 and gain back one each time. It's frustrating for sure. I took a few days off from working out, still walking but not the hour long gym sessions and had one high carb day and that seemed to help me. My doctor told me when I went a couple days ago (strep throat has kicked my butt) that sometimes your body needs a quick reset. I allowed my body sort of a healing day and then started back hard at the gym again.

Thanks @MRose for those tips as well! 

[Raviv]

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@awood08 wrote:

I plateau'd for a few weeks and finally dropped another 3 pounds. It seems like I drop 2 or 3 and gain back one each time. It's frustrating for sure. I took a few days off from working out, still walking but not the hour long gym sessions and had one high carb day and that seemed to help me. My doctor told me when I went a couple days ago (strep throat has kicked my butt) that sometimes your body needs a quick reset. I allowed my body sort of a healing day and then started back hard at the gym again.

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I do wonder if any of that has to do with the body trying to do some sort of self preservation - kind of a protective mechanism.  And I think @MRose had a good idea about that too.

[ktkat]

It is super motivating to read these posts.

Great job on your 5K! And good luck to others that are upcoming.

I'm not ready yet to give it another try. I walked one last year (before I started working out or losing weight) and I finished DEAD LAST! It was so embarrassing because even the people that are on the course and cheer you on had left. The cart at the end that picks up cones was literally right behind me.

I believe my body is ready, but my mind isn't yet. It will eventually....kicking and screaming I'm sure!

[Raviv]

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@ktkat wrote:

It is super motivating to read these posts.

Great job on your 5K! And good luck to others that are upcoming.

I'm not ready yet to give it another try. I walked one last year (before I started working out or losing weight) and I finished DEAD LAST! It was so embarrassing because even the people that are on the course and cheer you on had left. The cart at the end that picks up cones was literally right behind me.

I believe my body is ready, but my mind isn't yet. It will eventually....kicking and screaming I'm sure!

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If it makes you feel any better...

Since the race was part of a really large triathlon, and the swimmers don't wear numbers, they just went ahead and wrote everyone's age and event on their calf in addition to their bib numbers on their arms.

So at one point I knew for a fact that I was getting beaten by a 4-year-old.  I wish I was making that up.  A 4-year-old.  But eventually she got tired and decided to walk the rest of the way, so I finally had my chance to pass her. 

You can work up to it.  Try going out on your own and gradually add more and more distance - and run slower than you think you should!  That's really key.  The Zen Labs 5K or 10K apps are really good.  That's what I used.  And most of the run tracking apps are free for a pretty decent version.  They'll let you know if you're making any improvements.

[MRose]

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@ktkat wrote:

It is super motivating to read these posts.

Great job on your 5K! And good luck to others that are upcoming.

I'm not ready yet to give it another try. I walked one last year (before I started working out or losing weight) and I finished DEAD LAST! It was so embarrassing because even the people that are on the course and cheer you on had left. The cart at the end that picks up cones was literally right behind me.

I believe my body is ready, but my mind isn't yet. It will eventually....kicking and screaming I'm sure!

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@ktkat, you've got this, trust me! In the first 5k I ran, I got passed by a lady with a stroller. It was absolutely humiliating. BUT! Harness it! My biggest thing with working out and eating right is motivation, be it health-wise (not wanting to go back to the hospital) for eating, or people-wise for working out. I've found that if I go ahead and pay for the 5k that's happening a few months down the road, I HAVE to work at getting ready for it in fear of being embarrassed. There is very little that embarrasses me, but that's one of them. Peer pressure isn't always a bad thing! It gets a bad rep, sure, but we can use what's going to be there anyway for the better!

One more thing for which you are completely forgetting to give yourself credit: YOU FINISHED! The last 5k I ran (well, shuffled... it was a Bubble Run... don't do one of those... they're awful), there was a part of the course that looped around (and shortened the course by nearly a mile), and most of the people were simply cutting through and ducking under the barriers in order to get out faster. At least you got to the end!