Is your job making you fat?

Considering that many of us spend more than one-third of our lives on the clock, our office behavior has a huge impact on our health and our weight. In fact, in a CareerBuilder survey released earlier this year, 44 percent of workers said they’ve gained weight at their current gig—and more than one-quarter of workers gained over 10 pounds. Sure, it’s no secret that office birthday cake can pad your waistline, but watch out for these less-expected culprits too:


You usually go out to lunch

Whether you’re entertaining clients or just loathe bringing lunch from home, eating restaurant food for your mid-day meal may sabotage your weight-loss efforts. In a study recently published, women who ate out often lost less weight than those who didn’t—and the strongest link was with eating lunch out. Those who ate lunch out at least once a week lost about five fewer pounds than those who did so less often. The effect may be a combination of eating less-healthy food and also bigger portions.

The fix: The obvious solution is to bring lunch from home more; an easy way is to make bigger dinners and tote the leftovers the next day. When you do eat out, do your homework in advance: scope the healthiest options on restaurants’ online menus so you know exactly what you’re eating.


You have a horrible commute

It’s becoming increasingly normal for many of us to spend an hour or more each way in cars or on trains or buses, which strikes a double blow: It makes us cranky, tired, and stressed, priming us to eat more food for comfort, and it also steals some precious free time we could spend exercising.

The fix: Since exercise is a known stress-fighter, find little ways to bake more movement into your commute. If you take public transportation, could you get off a stop earlier and walk for 10 minutes? If you drive, park as far away from the office door as possible. And if you’re like me and tend to feel famished and ravenous when you walk in the door at home after work (it’s a recipe for pre-dinner pigging out), keep a healthy snack on hand to munch while you ride.

You log long hours

Working overtime can send your stress levels soaring and eat into your sleep time; which is a bad combination for your hunger hormones. It’s been well-documented that people who sleep too little have more junk-food cravings and are prone to weight gain.

The fix: This is a tough one, since today’s economy has many of us working extra hard to keep up. One thing is just to be extra aware of possible junk-food hankerings and plan in advance. You’ll be better equipped to say no to the office candy bowl if you have a shiny red apple and a jar of peanut butter at your desk.

You type and talk all day long

“Sitting disease” is a serious matter—it’s associated not just with weight gain, but cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and early death. If your fingers are the only body part that consistently get a workout during your work day, it’s time to make a change.

The fix: Find a like-minded coworker so you can help keep each other active. Make a point to get up from your desk and walk over to hers to chat a couple of times a day, and take a 10-minute (or more if you can) walk at lunch time. I’ve also seen colleagues stand during short-ish meetings to avoid sitting down or take some phone calls standing up.

Boost your immune system

Are you secretly sabotaging your immune system? Some common lifestyle habits can have a detrimental effect on your ability to fight off infections like colds and flu – as well as your overall resistance to chronic illness.

If so, you need a lifestyle tune-up. Replacing bad health habits with good ones can improve your immune system health. Check the list of immune system boosters and busters to see where you’re doing well – and where you could use some improvement.

Lack of exercise: Sitting at your desk all day can not only make you feel sluggish, it can leave your immune system sluggish, too. Studies show that regular, moderate exercise – like a daily 30 minute walk -- increases the level of leukocytes, an immune system cell that fights infection. Being inactive can weaken your immune system indirectly, too. A sedentary lifestyle can interfere with sleep quality at night and can lead to obesity and other problems that increase your risk of illness.

Eating foods high in sugar and fat: Consuming too much sugar suppresses immune system cells responsible for attacking bacteria. Even consuming just 75 to 100 grams of a sugar solution (about the same as in two 12-ounce sodas) reduces the ability of white blood cells to overpower and destroy bacteria. This effect is seen for at least a few hours after consuming a sugary drink.

Experiencing constant stress: Everyone has some stress in their lives. And short-term stress may actually boost the immune system – the body produces more cortisol to make ''fight or flight'' possible. But chronic stress has the opposite effect. It makes you more vulnerable to illness, from colds to serious diseases. Chronic stress exposes your body to a steady cascade of the stress hormones cortisol and adrenaline, which suppress the immune system.

Get more antioxidants in your diet: A diet rich in antioxidant vitamins and nutrients can boost immunity to help fight infection. Your body produces free radicals -- molecules that can damage cells. Antioxidants help neutralize free radicals so they can’t do any damage. Researchers believe that when the balance between free radicals and antioxidants is upset, it can contribute to the risk of developing cancer and heart disease, as well as age-related diseases.

Protein for vegetarians

A vegetarian diet is a healthy choice. But you need to pay close attention to nutritional requirements and follow a balanced eating plan. Protein is the key nutrient in non vegetarian food. And vegetarians need to ask themselves if they are getting enough of it. The good news is that plant sources provide adequate protein for a vegetarian diet. Here are a few tips to ensure that you are getting enough protein in your diet.

Prepare main dishes or sides using beans and legumes. Beans and legumes offer a flavorful, inexpensive and protein-rich alternative to meat. One-quarter cup of beans or legumes contains the same amount of protein as 30 gm of meat. Luckily beans and lentils feature heavily in Indian cuisines.

Substitute soy for your favorite meat-based dishes. Soy contains as much complete protein as meat. Soy products like textured vegetable protein give the feel and flavor of meat to sauces, casseroles and stews. Tofu works well in soups and stir-fries. Soy milks and beverages give vegetarians -- particularly vegans -- another protein-rich alternative.

Eat plenty of whole grains. Whole grains also offer a source of protein, although you should take care not to rely on them exclusively to meet your protein needs. Whole-grain breads and pastas, or brown rice, can form the basis for a grilled vegetable sandwich or a vegetable stir-fry.

Add moderate amounts of egg and dairy, if your type of vegetarianism permits. Although these foods provide protein, they are often high in fat and cholesterol. Whenever possible, choose low-fat options.

Snack on nuts and seeds with foods like trail mix, sunflower seeds and shelled nuts. Nuts, seeds and nut butters provide protein in a form that makes a quick snack for on-the-go vegetarians. Don't discount nuts and seeds as an added dose of protein in your main meals, though. Nuts and seeds make tasty additions to salads and Asian noodle dishes, for example.