Tips to Staying Fit in the Workplace

From birthday cake to leftover Halloween candy to pizza, the workplace seems to be designed to expand our waistbands. Add in the high number of hours we spend parked at our desks, and it is easy to see why we can steadily pack on the pounds over the years. I seem to pick employers who feed their employees more than anyone else I know.

One boss I had loved socializing so much one of my brothers thought I was an event planner. As everyone knows, no company social event is complete without plenty of good food. Another had catered events from morning to night with so much food on offer that days without free food were a disappointment. Although I never partook of one of the most astonishing items I ever saw offered since I do not drink alcohol normally and never on the job, this company served up mimosas along with its catered breakfasts. Completed projects and awards were celebrated with a vast expanse of food that in most cases were shared with everyone in the building and often everyone on the campus. Many people showed up for extra, optional training just to participate in the anticipated feast that came with attending the lectures.

How is it possible to maintain your weight in light of company-sponsored temptations such as these? How do you avoid your coworkers' candy dish, their children's school chocolate and popcorn sales, and their freshly baked cookies and muffins without seeming to be unfriendly? How do you avoid the vending machines when the potato chips start calling your name at 3 o'clock in the afternoon? On the other side of the staying fit equation, how do you incorporate enough activity into your day to offset any extra calories that you are picking up? I found using several strategies helpful in my own quest to stay fit in the workplace.

Take the stairs. If you have to go from floor to floor throughout the day, avoid the elevator when possible. I did not like this one at first, but I used this one at the company that provided the most food as well as the richest food. I lost twenty pounds within the first month despite eating much more than I normally did.