Need some dietary/exercise help

[Aerozord]

For awhile my weight had been a minor concern. I wasn't at an unhealthy weight, only about 20lbs over and it was stable. But since I got a job I have gained 10lbs in the last two months. I suspect its because, thanks to my job, I am forced to eat out alot more. I try to make "healthy" choices when I do but even the healthiest fast food is still a few hundred calories more than you need.

In addition my irregular schedule has kept me from exercising like I used to. While I still technically have the time it makes it hard to get into a habit. I cant for example always do it before work because I sometimes need to get up at 6am, other times I work till midnight, and on bad days I can work till midnight AND have to get back up at 6am.

So looking for any advice on how to eat healthier when unable to cook (at a reasonable cost I get just abit over minimum wage) or some psychological tricks to make it easier to work out at variable times. I kind of want to get back to a good weight before this spirals out of control.

[phil_]

Peanut butter sandwiches are cheaper than fast food, inoffensive, and relatively stable in a sandwich bag environment. However, nut allergies everywhere, so might not be suitable, depending on how micromanaging your bosses are.

Mickey D's sells one dollar salads, so that's cheap and leaves and not meat.

See if you can avoid sitting or standing still at your job to squeeze a little exercise into life, but, again, micromanaging bosses and your position as a replaceable cog might prevent this.

Have you considered a life in the jungle, living off plantains and manioc and wild game? You'll probably die before you're sixty, but that could happen anyway, and you won't be fat.

[rpgdemon]

Subway has their $5 footlongs, and you could probably get one that's pretty healthy. Or, half a footlong, which is less food.

[Bells]

Subway is actually a pretty decent option if you have it around... if the menu there is the same here, they have that Grilled Chicked sub which is just fine and cheap. Just go with a full salad, take it easy on pickles and olives (salt) and go with the low fat or no sauce at all, you can mix it up with a BLT or a full vegetarian option from time to time so you won't get sick of the thing.

[Aldurin]

Subway is actually a pretty decent option if you have it around... if the menu there is the same here, they have that Grilled Chicked sub which is just fine and cheap. Just go with a full salad, take it easy on pickles and olives (salt) and go with the low fat or no sauce at all, you can mix it up with a BLT or a full vegetarian option from time to time so you won't get sick of the thing.

Yeah, vary up what you order from time to time or you might find Subway's food a bit overwhelming. Still a great option to lose weight, especially since a 6-inch is a good diet amount. And if you can try to find a drink option along the line of juice, since Subway primarily serves soda that's too expensive. Sobe is a great option to take since their different flavors come with different herbs and extracts that provide multiple side benefits to your health.

[Grandmaster_Skweeb]

Dont underestimate how useful almonds are. They're natural appetite suppressants! And healthy too. A small handful between meals does the trick for me since they're very filling for their size and keeps metabolism a chuggin along. That's the key there.

Keep that metabolism at a steady burn!

[pochercoaster]

Do you have to eat out, or are there some days where you can bag your own lunch? If you can make your own lunches, tuna or egg salad wraps are quick to make, and you can make a couple at a time and wrap them in plastic wrap. They'll keep for a couple days, but don't make the salad excessively soggy.

Not sure about tricking yourself into working out- it mostly comes down to willpower at that point. I'm not saying it's easy though; I used to work an extremely random schedule and fitting in time to go to the gym when I was exhausted was pretty much impossible sometimes. No way was I gonna bus myself to the gym after working a ten hour shift with a ten hour shift the following day. Take advantage of your days off to work out, at least. If you have 2 days off, work out on those days, and then pick 2 more days during the week to work out- preferably ones with shorter shifts, or shifts that don't interefere with your schedule as much. Even if you only work out a couple days a week it'll help, though.

Also, can you run to work? I found that was an easy way to get my exercise in- turn it into a mode of transportation, instead of another chore. It's effective because you don't want to stop for too long lest you be late for work. If you do this make sure to get there a little early so you can change, reapply deodorant and/or clean up if you have to- you don't want to be all sweaty when you start work. Also you might need a comfortable backpack.

Edit: Or, you could bike to work!

[Aerozord]

Well biggest issue with sandwiches is, well I am not a huge fan of them. Kind of the problem with subway, that and 5 dollars a day is abit more than I'd like to spend. Maybe if they have like some toasted version I dont know about.

I was thinking of more fruits and veggies but someone keeps throwing peoples food so I want to minimize how much I store in the fridge. So technically there is a fridge just, I want to avoid it.

We do also have a microwave but I cant think of anything health I could nuke. I think there is a toaster

Oh and why is salt a problem? My body handles it just fine, unless there is some connection to weight retention I dont know of

[pochercoaster]

How about a thermos with thick soups or stew? And you can bring along some dipping bread in a sandwich bag. No need to refrigerate. Also some fruits keep fine without refrigeration. Bananas, apples, oranges...

I think there's some connection to excessive salt and weight retention (bloating/water retention, actually), but unless you're consuming a lot of it, there's no reason to worry about how much salt is in your diet if it doesn't cause you any problems. </unprofessional opinion> You know your body better than anyone else does (except for a doctor sometimes).

So long as we're talking about salt, though, it's worth noting that most cold cuts have a lot of salt in them. Subway sandwiches can easily be excessively salty. And if you subscribe to the excess calories = excess weight method of weight loss you'd probably want to stay away from foot longs.

Edit: Also I used to snack on almonds a lot at work and found them surprisingly filling.

[rpgdemon]

Well biggest issue with sandwiches is, well I am not a huge fan of them. Kind of the problem with subway, that and 5 dollars a day is abit more than I'd like to spend. Maybe if they have like some toasted version I dont know about.

I was thinking of more fruits and veggies but someone keeps throwing peoples food so I want to minimize how much I store in the fridge. So technically there is a fridge just, I want to avoid it.

We do also have a microwave but I cant think of anything health I could nuke. I think there is a toaster

Oh and why is salt a problem? My body handles it just fine, unless there is some connection to weight retention I dont know of

There -are- healthy things you can nuke. Trader Joe's has a lot of frozen meals for like $3ish, which are healthy, and nukeable.

[Magus]

Some of this probably depends on if you have access to a refrigerator at work in the break room, except the bananas:

Bananas are probably the most filling fruit there is. I've eaten one or two bananas for lunch many times and been quite satisfied.

I wouldn't buy more than five or six at a time, though, depending on if you can eat them in three or four days. Also you shouldn't store them in the fridge, they turn brown for some reason. They look like they would look if they were overripe/rotten, except the fruit is still firm. I'm sure there's some kind of scientific explanation.

Yogurt is another good option (get the low-calorie kind--around 100 calories for 6 oz.), as is a good cereal like Honey Bunches of Oats. Eat a yogurt cup, a banana, and a bowl of cereal--quite satisfying. Even adding in the milk it's not very many calories like a hamburger or something.

If you want some meat hard-boiled eggs are great and low-calorie. They're a good lunch option, too, as long as you have a napkin to catch the shell you peel off. Obviously there's plenty of mumbo jumbo about cholesterol in them, or whatever. Since nobody can agree on it I'd say just go ahead and eat a couple a day and I think you'll live.

[batgirl]

So, you do have a fridge at work...Bring your lunch.

Easiest thing by far. You don't need to rely on sandwiches either in this case too. Grilled chicken breast or fish with some bbq sauce or something, steamed brown rice and some greens and you're set. Filling, veg, good carbs, protein. You can make stir fry with tofu, tuna salad over greens with veggies and avocado (good source of good for you fat). My suggestion is to either bring a canvas lunch bag that will not get thrown out, or label your lunch with your name and the date and a note about not throwing it out (I found that when I worked in my company's office, ppl who didn't date their food got it thrown out real quick). Eating out is almost always more expensive and unhealthier than making your own food. You can also take one of your days off and cook a lot of food, putting them in tupperware and storing them in the fridge/freezer for a few days, so all you need to do is take a batch out with you to work instead of cooking every day.

As for exercise, do you get breaks? If you do, take a short walk around the block. I walk to work 2 days out of 4 (I live 1 mile from my job those days) and the other days I go to the gym. I work very late hours (read: midnight and 1am) and I'm usually sitting on my ass watching tv or gaming until those hours anyways, so I just leave early and go work out. I spend 1 day swimming laps, 1 day doing cardio (like biking or elliptical) and weights for the top half of my body (arms, chest, back etc) and 1 day doing cardio again and weights on my legs.

You need to figure out what you enjoy in terms of exercise and work it into your routine. I hate running, so I don't run. I love swimming and I find it enjoyable, so I swim laps instead of running. If I only had the choice of running, I would never go to the gym at all.

Another possible idea is to look up either exercise classes or something of that nature. Kickboxing, zumba, and even martial arts are all good forms of exercise that could be enjoyable for you. Like a certain sport? Look to see if your community has an adult league that you could join. I used to play in a teenage basketball league 2 nights a week when I was younger.

The main thing to remember is to stick with it. If you fall off the wagon one week, don't give up. We recently had the horrible hurricane here and I wasn't able to go to the gym for 2 weeks due to the gym not having power and then this gas shortage, but I'm not letting it keep me down. I'm packing my bag for tomorrow and I'm going to go and start over. Keeping a positive attitude is key.

[Azisien]

Exercise routine not working for you?

HGZJcqra5RQ