Weight Loss and the Workplace - How to Avoid Beefing Up on the Job

The work place can be one of your worst weight loss enemies if you are not careful. There are a number of reasons for this, and while some occupations make it a little easier to keep the weight off than others, a lot of it has to do with the food you eat at the workplace. While those who have desk jobs might find it harder to keep the weight off compared to those with physically demanding jobs, the battle of the bulge is always a factor at the workplace.

Why is the workplace such a bad enemy when you want to lose weight? Well, it doesn't help that most work place break rooms are filled with vending machines with all kinds of junk food. If you are hungry, you can indulge yourself on candy bars, cookies, and pastries, and when you are thirsty, there is always the soda and cappuccino machines to fulfill your sugar and caffeine needs. This makes it very difficult to maintain self control, especially when you are hungry.

To make matters worse, it is often tempting to go out to lunch at the restaurants and fast food establishments that line the streets, and the catered food doesn't make matters any easier, not to mention the workplace cafeteria. What you end up with are endless opportunities to load your body with unhealthy food that is loaded with calories.

Having said all of this, there are some obvious, yet also not so obvious ways to lose weight while on the job. The obvious one is to bring your own healthy lunch instead of going out to eat for lunch. The less obvious one is to eat something healthy two hours after you start work, which will help you avoid cravings for things like candy bars at the vending machines.

What you may not realize is that eating smaller, frequent meals (as long as they are healthy) will help you speed up your metabolism and curve your appetite away from unhealthy things. So, bring an extra sandwich to work instead of eating a blueberry muffin from the vending machine, and try eating an apple, orange, or banana instead of a candy bar.

One more thing you can do at work to lose weight is to walk on your breaks or lunches, if time permits. Hey, if you have an hour lunch, why not take 30 minutes of it to go for a walk?

Ultimately, weight loss at the work place involves practicing a little bit of discipline, which won't be so easy at first, but pays off when you are 20, 30, or 40 pounds lighter a few months down the road.