Solutions to the Disadvantage of the Bodybuilding Lifestyle

I just finished reading the Disadvantage thread and most seem like minor annoyances, but I see this lifestyle as hurting people in their careers.

I started this thread to give some of you guys who have found ways around the limitations of your lifestyle to share them with the rest of us so our hard work might be less of a problem in our careers.

Or to put it in corporate speak: Lets leverage this social network to become the Change agents creating our own success and prevent our lifestyle from being a Career Limiting Move.

I for one got in trouble on an old job (not executive or networking related just retail :O ) for spending to much time in the break room. Apparently eating my lunch at work and eating on my short breaks in the break room created the impression among my subordinates that I was always just hanging out in there. I thought that by eating lunch in house and being available to answer questions during my lunch hour was helping the business, as it turns out it hurt my job rating. My solution was to eat in my car and just disappear for my breaks, kinda sad that not doing my job created a better impression than doing it but sometimes that's the case. Not much of an example but most jobs I've held are more physical and looking like I lift has been more of a help than a hindrance.

I find lowering frequency of meals to be a great solution.

Twice or thrice a day, have a heavy breakfast and don't eat again until after leaving work. Maybe sip on a protein shake, disguised in a coffee container, a few times at work. Problem solved.

All the best.

[quote]Apparently eating my lunch at work and eating on my short breaks in the break room created the impression among my subordinates that I was always just hanging out in there. I thought that by eating lunch in house and being available to answer questions during my lunch hour was helping the business, as it turns out it hurt my job rating.[/quote]

TIM: a 1000 apologies for slightly derailing your thread, already, but hearing this makes my blood boil and is one of the many reasons why I chose a profession where I would be my own boss....

When I did have issues back in the day with managers complaining about meal frequency, etc. I just ate when the other guys were outside smoking. A tuna sammich takes less time than a Marlboro Light.


Also, Texas Pete makes everything taste better.

;)

I think stereotypes are the biggest problem (at least for me). When you hit a size, you are sometimes labeled a meathead or people think you are self-centered. I interact with a variety of people, at both the individual level and large group settings. What I have found to work is to tell people (in a non-centered way) about yourself. I go into my education background, company experience, drop names of people I know in the industry, and tell them of my lifting background and accomplishments (as limited as they are). And self-deprecating humor always helps.

[QUOTE=JOHN GARGANI;805783461]TIM: a 1000 apologies for slightly derailing your thread, already, but hearing this makes my blood boil and is one of the many reasons why I chose a profession where I would be my own boss....[/QUOTE]

If you can pull it off its the ultimate solution, so not really a de-rail at all.

Corporate America where perception is far far more important than reality. Any tips out there for altering perception?

One I thought of for those who brown bag it, or only join in the office outings for lunch to get a small salad, is to simply say "cholesterol". I'm betting you would get props for being dedicated and sticking to the doctors orders rather than the dings you get for doing it for "fitness".

I work from home now so there are no problems. But when I worked in an office, I always talked to my manager about my lunch. Since most of my jobs I had a 1 hour break I worked it out with them that I would not take a 1 hour break but instead, eat at my desk for 10 minutes. Since it was a 9 - 5 I got to eat twice (sometimes 3 times depending on the day) as I ate every 3 hours.

I was lucky enough to have managers that always agreed on it, as long as my job did not suffer. The only thing that got bad was when I brought in fish, then the whole office would be pissed at me :)

Other than a few random steroid comments from dip**** co-workers, I've never really had and issue with this in the workplace. I eat during scheduled breaks and lunches so that isn't a problem. I've actually gotten a few positive comments from upper level management guys, VPs and such. Those guys are all really driven and that's how they got to where they are. Many of them keep fit and although none are into bodybuilding, I think they appreciate and respect the work and discipline that it takes and that reflects positively on me as an employee. One thing I will never do is lie or make up excuses/stories for the way I eat and live my life just to blend in better with the crowd at work. I'm proud of who I am and how I live. I'd find another job before I sell myself out like that.

Now that the meal frequency idea has been debunked, all of the above problems are solved:D! Eat a big breakfast, eat a big lunch, done!

[QUOTE=Rowyn;805812271]Now that the meal frequency idea has been debunked, all of the above problems are solved:D! Eat a big breakfast, eat a big lunch, done![/QUOTE]

qft... ;)

hmmm...works ok for me most of the time
breakfast before school
shake: first recess
lunch
shake or a snack: last recess

not unusual for teachers to have coffee in their rooms so I use my insulated coffee cup.
now, the looks you get for what you might be eating? I hear..'you eat a lof of tuna fish and chicken dont ya?'


claim blood suagr/diabetes if you choose to eat every few hours

[QUOTE=latebloomingmom;805824691]hmmm...works ok for me most of the time
breakfast before school
shake: first recess
lunch
shake or a snack: last recess

not unusual for teachers to have coffee in their rooms so I use my insulated coffee cup.
now, the looks you get for what you might be eating? I hear..'you eat a lof of tuna fish and chicken dont ya?'


claim blood suagr/diabetes if you choose to eat every few hours[/QUOTE]


All this time you let me blather on about becoming a principal, and you are a teacher???? How the heck did I miss that.

I work in a technical field so maybe my view on this is colored by my profession. If I ever had a boss worry over me eating at my desk, I'd quit. If my boss worried about my break time, I'd quit. My experience is companies with a million stupid rules and petty tyrants in middle management are not around long.

But, technical professions are different maybe. I've never seen a programmer that did not eat as his desk or keep odd hours.

[QUOTE=Brackneyc;805828991]All this time you let me blather on about becoming a principal, and you are a teacher???? How the heck did I miss that.[/QUOTE]
taking some time off to get certified special ed

[QUOTE=BillReilly;805831481]I work in a technical field so maybe my view on this is colored by my profession. If I ever had a boss worry over me eating at my desk, I'd quit. If my boss worried about my break time, I'd quit. My experience is companies with a million stupid rules and petty tyrants in middle management are not around long.

But, technical professions are different maybe. I've never seen a programmer that did not eat as his desk or keep odd hours.[/QUOTE]

Ditto. We eat and show up pretty much whenever we want (barring meetings or other scheduled events) and I always eat at my desk. The idea of a lunch hour is completely foreign to me. No way I'd want to give up that precious hour to kill time eating in a break room or going out.

[QUOTE=latebloomingmom;805832201]taking some time off to get certified special ed[/QUOTE]

Good plan. I don't know one special ed teacher who is out of work. Really creates some unique opportunities too.

I work for my provincial govt. helping kids in an office of 15, 13 women, a ghey guy, and me.
They ALL support me and my supervisor even gives me special allottments like eating at my desk on non-lunch hours. In exchange, I lift heavy stuff for them when needed and answer the security door.

My supervisors are well aware I take less sick time and my job perfromance is untouchable.
I also make my bosses aware when I'm dietting for a show so they can be prepared for some spaciness on my part.

When I worked front line with kids I was also encouraged to do my thing. The kids saw what I ate, saw the fat loss and muscle gain and started asking questions about eating healthy, which I gladly shared with them. As did my co-workers.
When the sh*t hit the fan and we had to restrain/escort 1 of the kids due to out of control behaviors I was usually called upon first not because I like doing it but because of my size the kid usually sh*t his/her pants and got their act together and we avoided the restraint.

I know I don't work in corporate America but if you point out the benfits to the employer of you looking after yourself they will see it as a commodity and hopefully give you some more freedom.

I have only had this issue once ... took to HR and it was solved. Remember on a 8 hour shift your job is required to two 10 minute breaks paid and a lunch period. That is three meals while at work.

For me on my very first job, besides being harrassed for having my meals prepared, my coworkers would complain of the smell when I warmed up my shark steak.. So to accomidate them management talked to me and I had to move microwave outside to warm my food up so break room would not stink like fish..

I am mid-level manager with St Govt. I start work at 7. By 10 I am starving, so I eat something so I can re-focus on work. I also eat lunch at my desk quite a bit and will sometimes have a pre-workout snack if I didn't get much for lunch, so people see me eating at my desk all the time!

I get comments about how often/much I eat from time to time and my size from time to time, but it doesn't bug me at all. It means they are paying attention to positive changes.

Working in a professional environment, no one has ever insinuated that I was not capable of doing my job. It would reflect poorly upon them.

[QUOTE=bodyhard;805802401]I work from home now so there are no problems. But when I worked in an office, I always talked to my manager about my lunch. Since most of my jobs I had a 1 hour break I worked it out with them that I would not take a 1 hour break but instead, eat at my desk for 10 minutes. Since it was a 9 - 5 I got to eat twice (sometimes 3 times depending on the day) as I ate every 3 hours.

I was lucky enough to have managers that always agreed on it, as long as my job did not suffer. The only thing that got bad was when I brought in fish, then the whole office would be pissed at me :)[/QUOTE]

LOL just read didn't mean to repeat about fish.

[QUOTE=Wildtim;805777651]
I started this thread to give some of you guys who have found ways around the limitations of your lifestyle to share them with the rest of us so our hard work might be less of a problem in our careers.
[/QUOTE]I've found that wearing baggy shirts two sizes too big, and walking with slumped shoulders and a slack jaw has reduced the number of "Hey, you look pretty strong! Come help me lift this 600 pound box up onto this high shelf!" incidents. And I've also found that it helps to keep a stale piece of cake and some old cookies in a box near where I eat my lunch. When people clutching greasy pizza in their chubby mitt come over to criticize the chicken breast and brown rice I'm eating, I just grab the box, open it up, pretend like I'm smelling it, and go "Mmmmmm, cake!" And hold up a fistful of cookies. And when they ask for some cookies, I tell them, "No, you're too fat as it is! I have the right to eat these, because I'm not fat yet, like you!" at which they waddle away, cursing under their salami-reeking breath.

[QUOTE=latebloomingmom;805832201]taking some time off to get certified special ed[/QUOTE]

Good luck to you. My wife is a Spec. Ed. teacher here in Cali. She has a room full of Autistic children...God Bless her.

[QUOTE=BillReilly;805831481]I work in a technical field so maybe my view on this is colored by my profession. If I ever had a boss worry over me eating at my desk, I'd quit. If my boss worried about my break time, I'd quit. My experience is companies with a million stupid rules and petty tyrants in middle management are not around long.

But, technical professions are different maybe. I've never seen a programmer that did not eat as his desk or keep odd hours.[/QUOTE]

I clicked on the quote button originally with my COO hat on. So, this is coming from a little different perspective and not one from the Tech industry. Most rules and regulations that are put into place by corporate are there for a reason. Usually, it's because 1) there are too many staff to accomodate everybody's wishes, or 2) there have been problems in the past that those rules are trying to address.
Not that there aren't seemingly stupid rules out there. I try on a regular basis to address issues without coming up with draconian solutions. Sometimes, there is no other way. It's the old, "one bad apple spoils the bunch" mentality.
If my entire staff was desk bound though, I would have no issues with folks eating at there desk...hell, I do it all the time.

my 10 AM and 2 PM "meals" are peanut butter so - i have a jar of pb on my desk and get comments like you realy like your pb dont you

I am the owner, so I do what i want. I have caught some flack when at meetings with corporate affiliates and what not. I have stuck with it for three years, and the results have turned the pot shots and skeptics to express support and positive comments. I think it also has looked good that I can follow through, and not give in when there are challenges.

As far as meal frequency, I just eat in my office while I work. If I was working for someone else I would probably do the same. I just prefer to work when I am at work. I think if it doesn't hurt your results, people generally come around to appreciating your discipline.

Shakes would also be a good alternative. It would take about as much time to shake up a drink, as a person grabbing a cup of coffee.

I think the hardest part of this lifestyle is the same in personal, as it is in the work place. When you go against the grain, and do something that is difficult, those who are to lazy to do the same feel like they're not doing what they should. I think many secretly are just waiting and wanting you to fail, so they can feel better about themselves. One thing I have learned is to never discuss my lifestyle with those that are not doing the same. If somebody says something, I just say thanks, and move the conversation along past me. It helps to take some of that edge off people thinking you may think less of them, or their choices in life.

I work on a farm and the bosses don't care how much I eat( as long as I'm on break). Being strong and fit is seen as an asset with this type of work.

[QUOTE=BillReilly;805831481]I work in a technical field so maybe my view on this is colored by my profession. If I ever had a boss worry over me eating at my desk, I'd quit. If my boss worried about my break time, I'd quit. My experience is companies with a million stupid rules and petty tyrants in middle management are not around long.

But, technical professions are different maybe. I've never seen a programmer that did not eat as his desk or keep odd hours.[/QUOTE]

Agreed, they always tend to get 9 hours out of my 8 hour work day...

[QUOTE=litljay;805910491]
I clicked on the quote button originally with my COO hat on. So, this is coming from a little different perspective and not one from the Tech industry. Most rules and regulations that are put into place by corporate are there for a reason. Usually, it's because 1) there are too many staff to accomodate everybody's wishes, or 2) there have been problems in the past that those rules are trying to address.
Not that there aren't seemingly stupid rules out there. I try on a regular basis to address issues without coming up with draconian solutions. Sometimes, there is no other way. It's the old, "one bad apple spoils the bunch" mentality.
If my entire staff was desk bound though, I would have no issues with folks eating at there desk...hell, I do it all the time.[/QUOTE]

No doubt. In my youth I worked at some big companies and there's a need for a lot of rules. That's probably why I gravitated to my profession and why I eventually went out on my own. But, I doubt anyone in the technical trades would stick around long if they had someone clocking their breaks or monitoring their food intake. Most programmers are too weird and too paranoid to put up with it.

[QUOTE=BillReilly;806109611]No doubt. In my youth I worked at some big companies and there's a need for a lot of rules. That's probably why I gravitated to my profession and why I eventually went out on my own. But, I doubt anyone in the technical trades would stick around long if they had someone clocking their breaks or monitoring their food intake. Most programmers are too weird and too paranoid to put up with it.[/QUOTE]


My "hunch" is that most programmers would not need to worry about it. :)

[QUOTE=Rowyn;805812271]Now that the meal frequency idea has been debunked, all of the above problems are solved:D! Eat a big breakfast, eat a big lunch, done![/QUOTE]this