Staying In Shape vs. a Busy IT Job Schedule? 865
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timothy
from the no-not-the-regular-hacker's-diet dept.
from the no-not-the-regular-hacker's-diet dept.
tnok85 writes "I started a new job ~7 months ago at a very large company working a 12-hour night shift (7PM-7AM) in a fairly high volume NOC. Our responsibilities extend during the night to basically cover everything but the most complex situations regarding UNIX/Windows/Linux/App administration, at which point we'll reach out to the on-calls. I live 1.5 hours away as well, so it turns into 4-5 15 hour days a week of sitting still — throw in almost an hour to get ready to leave, and a bit of time after I get home to unwind and I'm out of time to work out. Unfortunately I'm pretty sure I have a very slow metabolism, ever since I was a pre-teen I would gain weight fairly quickly if I didn't actively work out, regardless of how much or what I eat. (Barring starving myself, I suppose...) So, how does somebody who works a minimum of 60 hours over 4 days, often adding another 12 another day, and sometimes working 7-10 days straight like this, stay in shape? I can't hold a workout schedule, (which every person I've talked to in my history says is necessary to stay in shape) and I can't 'wake up early' or 'work out before bed' because I need sleep. Any thoughts/opinions/suggestions?"
CrossFit (Score:4, Informative)
Walk (Score:4, Informative)
Re:Its not rocket surgery... (Score:3, Informative)
regardless of how much or what I eat
Thats bullshit. Yer doin it wrong. There is nothing magical about the metabolic process. More calories will add more weight if you don't burn them.
2 solutions (Score:5, Informative)
I've been in your situation and there are only two possible solutions:
-get a new job
-move closer to your existing job.
A few simple things.. (Score:5, Informative)
Workout over your lunch break. (Score:3, Informative)
Do what I do. Bring a workout bag and run or crossfit during your lunch hour. Find a shower in your building or nearby and use it. Or use wet paper towels. Don't laugh it works. Eat your lunch back at your workstation after you workout. I was in a similar situation to you about two years ago and was slowly turning into a slug. I made friends with some one in the building who ran every day rain, snow, or shine. I hurt for about two months but it got better.
Wait, you say you don't have a lunch hour, work in a city can't run, or a myriad of other excuses. It's all B.S. and I used them all too. If you are working 60 hours a week and being productive you get at least an hour break in there unless you work in a gulag.
It's worth it, and life is short. I wouldn't trade the fitness I have earned for just about anything.
Re:Its not rocket surgery... (Score:5, Informative)
Not entirely true.
Ok, yes, you can't just eat what you want. However, it's not as simple as just "more calories".
Fiber will flush calories.
Protein builds muscle, and muscle burns more calories than fat.
Small snacks throughout the day, and especially a proper breakfast, help your metabolism go faster.
Hacker's Diet - 15 Minute Plan WFM (Score:1, Informative)
Look up Hacker's Diet, in that book, there is a 15 minute workout routine that works great for me. It starts out easy, but it gets much more difficult as you progress, however it only takes 15 minutes, ever, if you do it right.
incorporate exercise into daily routine (Score:2, Informative)
1. No elevators, no escalators - ALWAYS take the stairs if you can.
2. Go out to lunch, don't bring your own. This might be hard when working at night; at least walk to a convenience store to buy coffee on your food breaks.
3. If you drive, park in the farthest place on the parking lot. Walk fast or even run from/to your car if you can't spare the time to walk.
4. Exercise while at your desk. Get those "stress balls" to exercise your forearms. Do some sit-ups when no one's looking. Go to the bathroom or another floor so you have an excuse to use the stairs. I made a habit of walking up and down 4 flights of stairs every day at work (in addition to using stairs for legitimate things like getting to work)
5. Drink black coffee, tea, or diet soda. Caffeine increases your metabolism.
6. Do fast but intense workouts at home: push-ups, sit-ups, stuff that will tire you in 5 minutes if you can't spare more time.
7. Make up your lost workouts on the weekends.
It's all in what you eat (Score:5, Informative)
Weight loss is a matter of willpower, but it's also a matter of having the right technique. All the willpower in the world won't help you if you're doing the wrong thing. And weight loss isn't about exercise (at least for me), it was about eating right.
I spent two years running 30 miles a week, and eating bad foods. I lost 15 pounds in 2 years (and wore my knees out in the process).
I spent six months eating healthy food and weightlifting 2 days a week. I lost 30 pounds in 6 months.
Notice the difference.
1. Cut out sugar, flour, bread, pasta, rice, potatoes from your diet. They spike your insulin and give you that gnawing hunger.
2. Give yourself 3 skip meals a week where you violate the first rule, but not too much. Only a bit.
3. Eat a portion of white meat two meals a day. It slows your digestion, and keeps your body from starving itself of protein.
4. Eat salads, fruits, vegetables, beans, nuts until you are full (but only after eating your protein.
That's really all there is to it. No secrets. For the first two months, my "exercise" was reading the newspaper in the sauna and I lost 15 lbs in that time. I did start weightlifting after a few months, and have almost doubled my benchpress and legpress weights in only 4 months. My waist has gone from a fat 40" to a loose 34". I feel like a million dollars.
Re:Its not rocket surgery... (Score:2, Informative)
And stay away from carbohydrates, they get turned right into fat.
Re:Its not rocket surgery... (Score:1, Informative)
Well... not entirely true, either...
Not entirely true.
Ok, yes, you can't just eat what you want. However, it's not as simple as just "more calories".
Fiber will flush calories.
No it doesn't. A calorie is a unit of heat. Fiber may prevent absorption of certain carbohydrates in the intestines, etc, but nothing can "flush heat".
Protein builds muscle, and muscle burns more calories than fat.
Protein doesn't build muscle, muscle is made of protein. That's like saying bricks build buildings. Working out stimulates your body to build muscle, and having more available protein makes it more efficient. If you don't exercise, that protein will just be turned into fat like anything else (just less effiiciently).
Small snacks throughout the day, and especially a proper breakfast, help your metabolism go faster.
That one I agree with :) Though aerobic exercise in the morning will do a lot more.
Anyway, sure, what you eat makes a difference, but the OP is right that in the end the number one way to lose weight is to ingest fewer calories... there was an AMAZING study (scarcasm) done this year that came to the conclusion that given a half dozen different diets, in the end WHAT you eat is completely secondary to HOW MUCH...
Re:Its not rocket surgery... (Score:4, Informative)
Disagree. His job (the hours in particular) sounds stressful, and if stress by itself is ungood then it's doubleplusungood if you're not getting any exercise. Recipe for an early grave, basically.
Re:Its not rocket surgery... (Score:5, Informative)
Actually I'm going to have to strongly disagree with the content, though the idea is on the right track. You do need to stick to it, get over the initial 'oh this hurts/sucks', and not make excuses why you're too tired/busy/etc.
That said...
Cardio is the WORST way to work out - especially in this situation. Cardio trains your body to efficiently use calories (how else can a person run 20+ miles or 4-5 hours straight). In this situation you do NOT want that. You get the short-term benefits while you're running than then nothing else. In the end it actually works against you. To use an extreme example - take someone an anorexic that eats less than 1000 calories a day yet runs on a treadmill for 2 hours a day. The raw math seems impossible but yet there are people who do this for years. (unhealthy, extreme example but it does make a point).
*however* 30-40 minutes a few times a week *IS* all you need. Replace that job with weight training every 2-3 days. You don't have to compete with the bench-pressing muscle heads but if you do the math, lifting 100lbs from floor to above your head takes a LOT of energy. And your body can build muscle to make it easier, but all the muscle in the world does not lessen the amount of work it takes to lift that weight. PLUS (and this is HUGE for sedentary people) your body needs to recover from lifting those weights. It needs to rebuild the micro-tears in your muscle (which, btw, is how you build more muscle too) and that takes MORE energy over the next 1-2 days. So if you have a good muscle training session you're metabolism is elevated for a DAY OR TWO AFTER your work-out. Cardio? Meh. Hardly a few hours later and your metabolism is back to where you started. In addition, you don't need a big set of weights. A couple dumbells, a step, and a yoga ball (while kinda gay) can give you a shockingly difficult workout.
If you're the type who likes to run then skip jogging. Alternate sprints (as fast as you can for 15-60 seconds) with walking to recover (easy pace to partially recover heart rate for 30-60 sec). This will, of course, vary greatly from person to person but it helps avoid training your body to use minimal calories over long-term but low impact work.
An equal body weight that's mostly muscle mass will burn significantly more calories than one that's largely fat.
Oh, and yes - drink water not soda. Avoid junk food as much as you can and go for protein over sugar. A bag of peanuts is WAY better than a pack of MnM's even if the calories say differently.
Re:Its not rocket surgery... (Score:5, Informative)
It has worked...and I'm sticking with it, although will bring back more veggies and fruits and all. I will stay away from highly processed foods, that's not a problem. I like to cook and I've had no problems coming up with fun and good meals.
I've also been working out as regular as possible too...
I've found that through this, and eating smaller meals 5-6 times a day, my voracious appetite has been controlled, and I've been able to pretty easily start watching portion control.
After a mere 4 months or so...it is now pretty easy. I can see the 32" waist in my gunsights before end of summer.
I'm also hoping with my next Dr. visit...my triglyceride count is down, as well as blood pressure.
My advice to the guy who posted this article...do what the first few posts have said. You have to figure some way to change the lifestyle that is obviously NOT working for you and your health.
You are given 24 hours in a day. It is up to YOU to figure how you're gonna spend them to accomplish whatever goals you have in life.
If this job is in the way...well, maybe look for another job with better hours. I hope you are getting PAID for 60 hours if you are working that many. If you are just salary..you are a chump for working that extra 20 hours for free. It is one thing for an occasional long stretch with a deadline or emergency, but, it sounds like they're working you 60+ all the time as a normal part of your job??
I know the economy is bad, but, it ain't that bad and there are other jobs if you are qualified.
It sure isn't worth your health man...
Some ideas (Score:2, Informative)
It doesn't take any time to simply not overeat.
Overeating is taking in more calories than you burn. The guy who created the company AutoDesk made this great free e-book ( he sells nothing ) for geeks to control their weight that way. It is called the Hacker's Diet:
http://www.fourmilab.ch/hackdiet/ [fourmilab.ch]
I have a fuel efficient system too. I used the Hacker's Diet to take off 48 lbs and I have kept most of it off for several years.
Maybe you can combine managing your calories with a brisk walk or a run for 30 minutes everyday on meal break?
Off the bat, learn to drink water, diet soda, plain tea or plain coffee while you are at work. Regular soda, tea & coffee condiments, juice, milk and sweet drinks can easily pack on weight. It only takes an extra 250 calories a day ( typical of most drinks ) to put on 52 pounds a year. Most of those other drinks easily have that many calories.
Good Luck
Re:Its not rocket surgery... (Score:4, Informative)
This is all bullshit. Reduce stress. As long as you're under stress, your body is making itself ready to flee whatever predator is causing you stress. It never got the memo that we have firearms now and are thus on top of the food-chain.
As long as you work yourself into the grave, your body will ramp up the calorie-consumption and put it in storage for the bad times it assumes are right around the corner.
You people with your "Fat is bad, mkay" are forgetting one thing: The calories that go into your body are not necessarily processed altogether. Like cars don't have all the same efficiency, neither do our bodies. Some of us will react to stress by gaining weight, others lose it. In a healthy situation, where you do get out of stressful environments enough, your body will adjust fine on its own, unless you put every next best thing that looks edible in your mouth.
And again, this is science. This is not me wishing it were so. German speakers should consult Udo Polmer's books. They're on Amazon.
Re: Mod parent up (Score:1, Informative)
"3500 kcal (aka Calories)..."
AKA a dietary calorie = kilo calories; that is, 3500 kcal = 3500E3 calories.
You can work it in... (Score:2, Informative)
Fit in mini-workouts (Score:2, Informative)
Use a ball (Score:2, Informative)
Re:Its not rocket surgery... (Score:2, Informative)
Losing weight and keeping it off is not as easy as burn more calories than you take in. For the reasons above and also, not all calories are created equal. Calories from fat are different than normal calories, as the body has to work (takes longer) a lot more to break down fat.
Also, consider simple carbohydrates versus complex carbohydrates (whole wheat). Simple carbohydrates which are not immediately metabolized go straight into the mid section (for most white Caucasians). More complex carbohydrates don''t have this property and are healthier for you as they contain nutrients simple carbohydrates do not (read up on flax and wheat processing).
Also, for working out. There is NO excuse not to. Do one set of 5 for 5 exercises, 5 times a week. Its a myth you need to do 3 sets of x, perpetuated by the American body building community (read up on Pavel). Do this for two months then switch exercises. I guarantee you will become stronger than someone who does multiple sets -- and you'll lose fat too. You need to do both cardio and weight lifting. Period. But lifting weights burns more fat than cardio and keeps your metabolism higher longer. When weight lifting, the bigger the muscle the more calories you burn. So doing squats and dead lifts versus working out your biceps and triceps is going to burn a lot more calories.
Re:Its not rocket surgery... (Score:5, Informative)
12 hour work days + 1 hour of exercise basically describes my entire time in the military, and I was never in better shape or felt better. I'm pretty sure I've shaved more off of my life expectancy as an 8 hour desk jockey and couch potato in the years since.
It's pretty much like the First Post'er said: Either you make time, or you don't. The OP said he can't get up early or work out before bed, which is nonsense. Everybody's a little different, but I found that I actually needed less sleep, slept more soundly, and felt more refreshed in the morning, when I exercised regularly, particularly when I did so shortly before bedtime. Exhausting my body also helped to keep it more in sync with my mental state, whereas after an 8 hour day I can feel mentally drained, but not get sleepy for hours after a normal bedtime.
Don't get me wrong, I'm as lazy as anyone, and I will probably go home tonight and do some 12 ounce curls on the couch instead of hitting the weights or going for a run, but I know that's a choice I make every day. On the other hand, maybe I've just talked myself into making better choices.
Re:Its not rocket surgery... (Score:3, Informative)
That's bullshit. That's just not how it works.
-) If he begins to work out, he will start to sleep way better almost immediately, very probably more than making up for the hour of sleep he might lose.
-)If he keeps at it, his resting heart-rate (along with recovery time, triglycerides, and many other things) will go down significantly, while his musculature and nervous system will get more efficient. His breathing will get deeper and more relaxed which again positively affects heart rate and the autonomous nervous system, and so on.
-) If he is like most people, exercising will additionally help him get rid of the insane cravings for unhealthy food we all sometimes experience.
Re: Mod parent up (Score:3, Informative)
A true geek would know that anything like BMR (such as BMI) is based on a statistically calculated average value. In this case, the BMR is based on the 3500 kcal value which is calculated based on what experimental results show to be the metabolism of the average person. The problem is that not everyone is even close to that average value. There will always be people that stray towards the extremes of humanly possible values. People with hypoglycemia can eat like crazy and never gain weight. People that make it to being among the world's fattest people, most likely, have the other extreme for a metabolism (it's one thing to get fat, but most normal people would have a hard time reaching 1000 lbs even if they tried). As I alluded to above, this is similar to how many muscular people have horrible BMI values even though they have minuscule percentages of body fat. They break the scale because it's designed to assume that the person has "average" musculature. Specifically, the military is known to make exceptions for this, specific, problem when muscle-bound applicants fail the BMI requirements for entry into the service.
Also, the feeling of "starving" may have more to do with the quantity of food he's conditioned his body to expect rather than any feeling of stress.
Feel free to get behind the OP in the line to turn in your geek card...
Re:Its not rocket surgery... (Score:5, Informative)
Dive Bombers. You mean the exercise that you do by going through a push up motion, except instead of remaining rigid you.. COMPRESS YOUR LOWER BACK?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ttk8RdiIHzA
This looks FAR harder on the lower back (bent backwards in the final position) than a crunch where your lower back never moves or leaves the floor. If you are involving your lower back in a crunch, you're doing it wrong.
Re:Its not rocket surgery... (Score:3, Informative)
If you work in a multi-story building, take the stairs instead of the elavator. I've heard testimonies of people who have lost a few pounds in the space of weeks just by walking up two flights of stairs every day instead of using the elevator. Also, park farther away and make yourself take a walk. Little things like that, together with a healthful diet, can go a long way.
Re:CrossFit (Score:3, Informative)
Anyway, Crossfit is the only way to go. It's a great workout, and it's especially great if you can go to a Crossfit gym. Having people around you pushing you makes you go even harder and get into even better shape. I did Crossfit on my own for a while, and saw lots of improvements in my fitness compared to the normal gym rat stuff I did. Then I joined a Crossfit gym and I saw another round of gains. I can honestly say I'm in the best shape of my life right now, and I only workout for 10-20 minutes a day.
Can you get fit on six minutes a week? (Score:3, Informative)
I think you'll find this article in the NYTimes to be of interest:
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/06/24/can-you-get-fit-in-six-minutes-a-week/ [nytimes.com]
Re:Its not rocket surgery... (Score:3, Informative)
The OP said he can't get up early or work out before bed, which is nonsense. Everybody's a little different, but I found that I actually needed less sleep, slept more soundly, and felt more refreshed in the morning, when I exercised regularly, particularly when I did so shortly before bedtime. Exhausting my body also helped to keep it more in sync with my mental state, whereas after an 8 hour day I can feel mentally drained, but not get sleepy for hours after a normal bedtime.
I get migraine headaches if I wake up before 7 AM. I have a regular headache, all day, if I wake up before 8 AM.
I'm a night owl, and my period of peak alertness and energy is 10PM to 2AM. I can exercise and do any chore at that time, and it doesn't feel taxing or draining at all. You sound like you might be a morning lark.
I've tried for 10 years ( the 10 years since I was 18, had control of my life and schedule ) to "buck up" , discipline myself, stop being a complainer, and all that other bullshit. It was 10 years of pure misery, with no benefit. The fact is, my body and metabolism is just different than yours.