My job is making me fat

[chitowngirl 884]

So I know I've made bad food choices and that is the primary reason for my weight problems. However I've always felt that my sedentary job has been a big contributor. I watched rock center yesterday, they had a report on how bad sitting all day is. I've seen similar reports on various shows, and I agree. I really hate it, I feel like I belong In the movie Wally.

The good news is that I'm in my last year of school, so hopefully I'll be able to leave this crummy job and switch fields. On the show they made a recommendation of getting up at least 10 minutes of every hour. So I'm going to start working on that. Because we all know its the little steps that we make that make a big difference...

[delta_girl 931]

Well....I dunno...

I work a desk job all day and when I'm not at my desk I often have drive for hours and hours at a time to get to a remote location to work.

I am also a doctoral student and am in class from 4-9:30 every Tuesday night and from 9-4 every other Saturday. Then I have to read 4-6 books per class. I'll be doing that for two more years.

It had never occurred to me to think my job or continuing my education were making me fat. That may not exactly be what you are talking about in your post. But the choices that we make or don't make result in an outcome. Sometimes there are things that make choices more difficult, but planning and desire certainly help.

[chitowngirl 884]

Here is the link to the article. Literally sitting all day does contribute to obesity. Of course it is not the only factor.

http://rockcenter.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/01/09/16431050-obesity-expert-says-daily-workouts-cant-undo-damage-done-from-sitting-all-day?lite

[gmanbat 5,889]

Good post, Chitowngirl. You apparently are investigating everything that goes on your life and looking for those things that are allies of obesity. Of course, jobs don't make people fat unless your job is cream puff taster. But sitting all day most certainly can contribute generously to girth and ill health.

I don't need to tell you that your exercise program can offset the effects of your job, I detect a witty mind in you. The 10 minutes an hour advise is good, I think. Do you have the flexibility at work to do it?

[Nicolanz 1,484]

For sure! When I was going to school to be a hairstylist, I also worked at Chickfila. I was always running around. That with dieting helped me lose 60 pounds! A few years later, I tried the same diet but wasn't working at Chickfila anymore and I only lost a few pounds. Being a hairstylist, I'm on my feet all day but standing in one spot.

[chitowngirl 884]

I do feel I can do the 10 minutes an hour especially because I feel it is a priority. Even if it means standing up and marching in place. I've been at my current job for the last 10 years. About half way thru I knew that there was no way I could do this for the rest of my life. I have a typical desk job in a office where I don't get much activity or face time with people. I feel life is too short and valuable to sit at a desk for most of the day. I guess what makes it much more relevant to me is that not only am I confined to a desk, but my office is also very isolated. I got a new lease on life and I refuse to sit back and let it pass me up.

[TheGamer 406]

I've worked desk jobs and non-desk jobs. I've worked all day sitting on my butt and all day on my feet. In both situations I was overweight. Sitting or standing has never made one bit of difference as to my size.

While sitting may be worse for your health, sitting is not, and will never be, what's making you fat. While there are a lot of current studies and speculation as to the role of sitting vs standing in overall health (this is part of the reason we've seen a real surge in "standing" desks in the last few years), the primary reason most of us are gaining weight really does just come down to the dietary choices that we make.

This kind of echoes previous studies about those who fidget vs those who do not. Guess who burns more calories in a day? That's right, people who can't sit still. In short, it all comes down to "the more you move the more calories you burn".

However, this study wasn't really about losing weight, it was about overall health differences between people who sit all day at a desk job vs people who don't.