At the beginning of this year, 5 months ago, I became the control room operator for my shift. This means I generally spend 8-12 hours a day sitting in a chair at a bank of controls pushing buttons. The only time I have to get up and walk around is to piss or go to the snack machine. I really try to avoid the snack machine. Still though, I used to be a field operator. I walked around the plant, went up and down stairs and lifted things heavier than my coffee cup. I used to sweat. Now I only sweat when the AC breaks or I have a dozen high powers crowding around me and my controls are wigging out. "Well make it work!" Even then, I'm pretty cool. I don't rile easily under the pressure.

In these 5 months, I've probably gained 20 pounds. This is not good. My co-workers all said I'd "look like control soon". The last designated control room operator also gained weight. Chiefs, who spend a lot of time riding a desk, also fall to this affliction. We call it "chief build". It's also called dunlaps disease. Your belly done lapped over your belt.

I'm not a vain person. I'm wearing stripes and plaid right now. This weight is worse than looks though. I was a little thick 5 months ago. Now, I am overweight. No two ways about it. I can feel it on me. It's more difficult to move in the ways I used to could. My clothes don't fit right anymore.

I also don't do the other things I used to do. It's been nearly 3 years since I went canoing or hiking. I rarely fish now days and haven't hunted in ages. I need to get back into this stuff. It's just hard for me to find people I want to do these things with. Then there's the time. I work a lot at the plant. We have a fixer upper house that needs a lot of work. Regimented exercise is out of the question. I hate it.

These are all valid reasons for my condition, but still, something must be done. I weighed less when I was smoking pot, cigarettes and eating several Big Bufords a week. My increased beer consumption probably isn't helping either.

Speaking of the food. It used to be that if I ate fast food or large portion restaurant meals it was during work. At home, it was a drive to get that stuff. Now, it's all around me. We find ourselves grabbing a bite out much more often than before. I say we, but am not about to mention her weight gain. I'm fat, not stupid. Not even the deep fried food of the deep south did this to me. Seafood is at least low fat until it hits the fryer. At least we're doing pretty good on soft drinks. We nearly quit them a few years ago and still don't drink them very often.

Anyway, I'm also a 30 something now, not a spry 20 something with a hummingbird metabolism. My waist is going to be 40 something before I'm a 40 something if I don't do something.

I'm not sure if a few hours of bike riding or the occasional outing to the woods is going to be enough to undo this. What do you other desk jockeys do to keep in shape? Those hokey office exercises don't look like enough either.

Edit- In a few weeks I'll probably be back in the field since the senior operator is pushing 60 and he has put in his time and deserves the more comfortable job of the control room during the summer. Besides, he's a cool old guy and no one wants to see him stroke out in the heat. But come fall...

Well, you're brave to recognize you have a problem, admit you have it and don't like it, and ask for help with it. The trouble is, you'll get a thousand conflicting answers about how to lose weight, since anyone who's been successful at it has approached it in a highly personalized way.

Whenever I've found the pounds gaining up on me, I've found that I tend to get very logey and loathe to exercise. The very thing that would help is the thing I feel least like doing. So for me, personally, before I embark on any excercise plan I need to cut waaaay back on food first. And stupid fad diets don't work for me either; it's all just portion size. I never drink a sugared drink because, well, adding sugar to your water is just stupid when you're feeling fat. Diet drinks taste foul and are loaded with poisinous cancer-causing chemicals, so I either drink water, 1% milk, or nothing. Always drink a big glass of water before eating -- it helps your body realize when you are full. Use the small desert plates instead of the big dinner plates, and cut your portion size waaaaay down. And skip the desert. If you feel hungry when you walk away from dinner, just have another big glass of water and go play WoW for a while till the distraction makes your stomach stop whining.

Your mileage may vary, everyone is different. I always need to lose weight *before* I feel energetic enough to start running or lifting weights or whatever. Let us know what works for you!

Do you live too far away from the plant to ride that Montana Mongoose to and from work? Commuting is something you have to do anyway. Unless you carpool, it would be a good way to kill two birds with one stone.

I know it's something you hate to get started on, but once you do, you'll look forward to it. Besides, the activity has a neat way of jumpstarting your metabolism AND depressing your appetite. It also gives you a clearer clue as to when you actually NEED to ingest food. Big difference between 'hunger' and 'appetite'.

Hi Aint:

You wrote: Being 50 something myself, 40 something is a humming bird metabolism on steroids by comparison.

Having been raised on the farm I worked like a horse and ate like one too but remained slim with sports, primarly hockey. Now I leave the heavy work for the younger ones but still eat much the same. Hockey knees and collapsed lungs put a kibosh on sports. Weight is a constant battle as a result.

However, recumbent cycling, that is great. In cold weather a stationary works well as it leaves the hands free to operate your wireless notebook so you can keep up with FoolMoon.

The great thing about recumbents is that they are very comfortable unlike regular two wheelers and because you are using the largest muscle group the calories burn up quite quickly. I find I can do 1000 calories an hour without breaking too much of a sweat. And if you are doing something with your hands, that hour goes by very quickly.

Now in the warmer months my wife and I have each a tri-recumbent cycle. They're like an easy chair on wheels. They are ultra-stable and move along very well. We have miles of roads/paths in parks here that make their use very enjoyable. And the calories can be controlled with them as well but somewhat less that on the stationary for some reason. They are quite a novelty too. EVERYONE turns their head to get a look.

Recumbent trikes are a bit pricey perhaps but I'd never ride a bicycle again. We have put all kinds of kilometres on the trikes though. 700 kms in 7 weeks when I first got it. The hockey knees will flare up on it but only when I push them really hard - bursitis, though, not the joint problems hockey gave me. If interested, goggle 'Sidewinder' for a trike for starters.

The eating part is a matter of psyhcing yourself out but if you can get into recumbent cycling, eating sort of takes care of itself. Two words though - porridge, lentils. Two great basic foods that are packed with energy and fiber. A breakfast with porridge and a lunch with a hearty bowl of lentil/lentil-veggy soup really makes a difference.

Windy, so far, has the best idea--if you can get back and forth to work on your bike. That isn't exercize, that's commuting, helping the atmosphere, etc., etc. Unfortunately, most people can't do that. It would take too long, or they'd have to use a freeway at least part of the time, and so on.

But I do have one or two suggestions. Cut way back on starches and sugars (bread, pasta, potatoes, corn, etc.,) avoid processed foods like the plague, since they are full of sugars and chemicals, and don't fry your seafood--grill or bake it, instead.

Eat five times a day and try to eat your meals and snacks at around the same time everyday. Drink water--lots of it--and decaf green tea (it helps your digestive system) and have plenty of fresh fruits and vegies (also good for your digestive system)--mixed nuts can give you the fat you need. So can low-fat cheese and whole grain crackers.

There should be a site that'll give you 'chair' exercizes--see if you can google one that you can do, and that you like.

Finally, you might try ankle weights while you're gardening, mowing and working around the house.

Good luck!

PS I really don't expect you to do anything we've suggested--unless you really want to.

Hi Aint, good that you have realised that your gaining and doing something about it. Obviously exercise is best for losing weight, cycling to work, as Windy suggests is perfect if the distance is not too great. Also, I find exercise first thing in the morning gives you a day long energy boost, so you are more inclined to be active throughout the day also.

Sometimes when you have been very active and change to a sedentary job, your metabolism adjusts accordingly, but your food intake remains the same. It usually will settle down with time, but the trick is to not let weight gain take hold in the first place.

Good luck!

Heh heh heh... duh, I forgot to say that not only would the bicycle commute help to trim the girth, but it would also save money on gasoline.

It's too far to peddle to work. If I could though, I would. Loose weight and stick it to the oil company? Hell yeah!

The problem is definitely fuel taken in versus energy expended. I still take in fuel like a Mac truck, but I'm expending energy like a moped. That extra fuel gets stored somewhere. I keep mine in my shirt.

Get a bike rack and take your bike to work with you, Aint, and don't drive all the way to work. When you get about 5 or 10 miles away from work, park the car and cycle the rest of the way. At the end of your shift, cycle back to the car and go on home. At $4+ a gallon of gas, a 20-mile round trip on the bike is gonna save you about a hundred bucks a month, providing you're working a 5-day workweek.

AND you're gonna feel better... and trimmer. Pretty soon you'll be eating like a light duty pick up instead of a Kenworth.



Are you saying you're a stuffed shirt?

Great idea, Windy--there should be a Park and Ride somewhere not to close to where Ain't works.

How about putting an okra and seafood gumbo in the thread--or have you already done so?

ARE YOU PSYCHIC??? How did you know that was what I was working on yesterday?? LOL I'm in the testing process right now, but coming soon though.

I also have one I'd like to try. The problem for Aint and his wife, both of whom work, is the time involved. They'd have to make it beforehand--(on the weekend?)--refrigerate part and freeze the rest.

There should be other fish stews that don't take 2+ hours to make.

Windy, it's two great minds, not psychic abilities. I'll worry when you start finishing my sentences for me--as my husband and I do.

If that reminds you, rejoice in the memory. It's a very special one.

Fish contains high levels of heavy metal. If you don't mind eating mercury, then have at the fish.

Everything we eat seems to have some level of 'bad stuff' in it. Antibiotics in beef, pesticides on fruit, etc. Look it up and post it on your refrigerator. Read labels. It is a most effective diet aid.

Exercise is good, but when you're feeling fat it's the last thing you want to do. I noticed that you said you eat a lot of fast food, that in itself isn't good for you. I do agree with the 5 small meals/snacks a day. My doctor put me on a diet eating 6 small meals a day, and I find that I'm never hungry. Eat only if you are hungry. Often we think we're hungry, but in reality we are thirsty. Get a nice big drink of water before eating, if it doesn't take away the hungry feeling, then by all means eat, but eat slowly. It takes a while for our stomachs to be able to get the message to our brains that we're full. Eating to quickly more often than not by the time that our brain has received the full signal we've actually over eaten.

Raising 5 kids and working I find that I don't have a lot of time for cooking either, and it's very tempting to just grab something on the way. Thank goodness for my slow cooker/crock pot. I get everything in the pot before going to work, and when I get in usually around 6:30 it's only a matter of cooking pasta or rice and making a salad.

Drink lots of water, and the use of ankle weights is a very good idea. I frequently use them just walking around in the house.

Aint, get up an hour early (go to bed an hour earlier if needed) and take a walk/bike ride or do one of those exercise videos before heading out to work. Take your own low cal snacks in a container, a few bottles of water, and some sugar free gum to keep you away from the snack machine. I think there are some simple exercises that you can do just by standing up beside your chair (not missing any work that way).

I think going to bed hungry and eating grapefruit in place of donut or something would certainly help. If you try and it works let me know and maybe I'll take your advice.

Getting up earlier and exercising sounds good but, there is no way I'm doing that. The roosters are still dreaming when I hit the road. It would be a fine idea if I were a 9-5 guy though.

I've got my bicycle fixed to where I like it now, the gears shift better and the handle bars are better adjusted. I ride almost daily now after work.

I'm also changing the number of times I eat a day and how much per sitting. I would eat breakfast, eat an early lunch, eat when I got home, eat when my wife got home and usually eat again sometime before bed. This was fine when I was younger and had a more physically demanding job. These were not always snacks. They were 4 small and one normal size meal. The goal now is a late breakfast at work, a snack when I get home and a meal with my wife.

As far as exercise goes, a co-worker who is a former US Marine and built like a pitt-bull gave me some good advice. Don't exercise for X number of minutes or do X amount of a certain exercise. Exercise until it feels like you've been exercising. Then, exercise some more. The Marine Corps theory, and it makes sense, is that all the exercise one does up to the point they really begin to feel it is all warm up. One has to hit that point where the body is really out-putting some work before it even starts to count. The most calorie burning, fat melting and muscle building kicks in after the warm up, so after that point is when one really has to push it. Not too much of course. If you go till you drop, that's too much.

Since my original post, I don't feel like I've gained any more weight. Hopefully, I'm leveling off and am about to start loosing weight.

So I took a company physical. We who are First Responders take one each year. For two years it's the 'small one' I took today. Every third year after the first year it's the 'big one'. The 'big one' has a treadmill stress test and hernia check.

My initial results are pretty good. Hearing, good. Vision, no worse and fine with my glasses. Sugar in the urine test, good. Blood pressure 110/70, good. Lung capacity, good for an ex smoker. I pulled the 50 pound weighted sled and did the 85 pound 75 foot carry just fine. Balance, good.

Personal body weight... 220 pounds at 5'7". I should weigh between 150-170 pounds for my height, age and frame. I count as medium frame.

This puts me at between 50-70 pounds overweight. The doc said that given the overall results of my physical, the weight is not hurting me, yet. He warned that if I don't loose the weight now, it will be harder later when I have to in order to stay healthy. He also said that 150 may be a bit light for me if I were replacing fat weight with muscle weight. He wants me under 200 pounds. 180 would be healthy so long as I'm active and don't feel physically stressed by the weight.

Most of my weight is in my gut. This, he said, is classic middle age weight gain compounded by a decrease in physical activity. If I were gaining all over my body, like I did once before a few years ago, and exercise with a diet more in tune with life didn't help, I'd be going to a urologist to check for kidney stones. Kidney stones caused me to gain weight all over once before and cutting grass 40 hours a week didn't phase it one pound.

So'k, 40 pounds to loose. Honestly, I haven't been skinny since my mid teens. Even when I did lawn care and worked offshore, both physically demanding jobs done outdoors, I wasn't skinny and it wasn't just the stones. I can do 40 pounds.

Stop drinking beer.

Stop being ridiculous.