Is Your Job Making You Gain Weight?
Healthy Eating 
Consult your physician before starting any diet and/or exercise plan.
Unfortunately, due to many of today's social practices and individual lifestyle choices, many people find it difficult to stay active and stick with healthy eating practices that promote wellness and a healthy bodyweight. If you work in an office environment, it can be hard to stick with your weight-loss plan. Workers who spend their careers in sedentary jobs can generally be heavier than people in highly active jobs. In fact, a study conducted by the University of Chicago in 2001 that examined the combined data presented by 3 major national health surveys suggests that a worker in a sedentary career may end up with a BMI 3.3 units higher than someone in a highly active job. For a height of 5'10", this could mean a difference in weight from 165 pounds to about 190 pounds!
A sedentary job shouldn't be the reason you gain weight. You just need to find new and innovative ways to make your weight-loss plan a priority and a part of your daily routine. Here are 10 helpful tips to help you fight off the extra pounds that often come with a desk job.
1. Challenge your coworkers to a get leaner with you.
Make your weight-loss plan more interesting by challenging each other to get in shape. Invite your coworkers to a workout, or go for group runs at lunch. Make it competitive so people actually feel driven to accept your challenges.
2. Prevent eating out of boredom.
Instead of eating candy or fattening treats throughout the day, stash healthy snacks in your desk drawer. Try having low-calorie energy bars, fruits, or nuts (make sure to opt for the unsalted and unroasted kind).
3. Choose your snacks wisely.
If part of your daily routine is heading downstairs for that midmorning coffee with cream and a bagel, by picking healthier choices such as a low-fat yogurt and regular coffee with skim milk, you can cut your daily calorie intake drastically!
4. Don't forget to eat.
A typical workday can be hectic. With meetings, answering e-mails, and returning phone calls, it's hard to find a moment for yourself. Even though you're busy, it's important to consume balanced meals throughout the day. This might mean brown-bagging your lunch or stashing quick and healthy meal options in your desk or in the refrigerator to give yourself energy to get through your day. If you decide to bring microwaveable dinners with you, don't forget to read the label first. Many frozen dinners contain a lot of sodium and excess calories.
5. Make the right choices.
Whether you usually eat in the cafeteria or go out for lunch, try to stick to your meal plan as much as possible by learning how to eat out to help yourself lose weight. And if you find that your cafeteria or workplace doesn't offer choices that fit into your plan, ask whoever is in charge of food services to prepare healthier options that will benefit not only you but the entire company as well.
6. Keep moving.
If you live close to work, walk or bike to the office rather than driving or taking the subway in every day. If you drive to work, park farther away from the entrance to get in a couple minutes of activity. Or jump off the bus a few blocks early and walk the rest of the way to work or home. This will help burn off countless calories over the span of a year. You should also keep in mind that a study has shown that key ingredients (Garcinia cambogia extract, chromium polynicotinate, and Gymnema sylvestre extract) found in Hydroxycut® may help with daily calorie expenditure.
Bring alternatives to work to stave off those midday cravings for
junk food.
7. Bring appealing alternatives to deter that midafternoon sugar rush.
Halfway through your day, it may seem as though the only thing that can get you through the rest of the afternoon is that glazed donut or that chocolate bar from the vending machine. Bring alternatives to work such as hummus and a pita or some beef jerky to snack on.
8. Stay active even when you're not.
Advances in technology may be making the workplace more convenient, but they're decreasing the chance of physical activity throughout the day. Instead of sitting at your desk sending an e-mail, get up and take a memo over to your coworker or supervisor. Or take the stairs instead of the elevator. You'd be surprised how quickly the little things add up to help you achieve weight-loss success.
9. Join a gym or purchase some home gym equipment.
To keep employees active and healthy, many workplaces have started offering to pay for gym memberships or to compensate employees for part of their memberships. Find out if your workplace offers any compensation programs for joining a gym or purchasing exercise equipment. And remember, once you get a membership, use it. Don't spend your money on a gym membership and use it only a few times.
10. Change up your social networking.
Instead of meeting coworkers at the bar for drinks and wings after work, try some new and fun activities that don't necessarily revolve around food. Try bowling, playing a round of mini-golf, or enjoying some other leisurely team sport such as softball with a bunch of coworkers. You'll still have a great time without the extra calories.
Hopefully this has helped you to change some parts of your daily routine. Don't let unhealthy habits become ingrained. Incorporate these simple tips into your workday, and get one step closer to achieving your weight-loss goals.
