How do you workout and maintain weight as a first year analyst?

I'm a first-year analyst and have gained a bunch of weight since starting. I love to work out, and I think I eat relatively healthy. I haven't, however, been able to work out for weeks, and it's killing my body. How do other analysts or more senior people find the time to work out and cook or eat well? I would work out early in the morning, but I also value sleep. I find it difficult when working super late to get up and work out while running on 4 hours of sleep. Would appreciate any advice 

14 Comments
 

Fucking quit this horrific industry and find a path that is actually fulfilling and makes you happy. This is a god forsaken career with the hollow promise of materialistic wealth that will leave you depressed. Quit as soon as possible and restart your life under your own terms.

 
Most Helpful

take more often the stairs and walk whenever possible

have a kettlebell at home to do some quick compound movements, not for gains, but to maintain yourself

no sodas or any processed food/beverages, avoid sugars

eat more protein to keep yourself fuller and avoid snacking

just doing pull ups and pushups x3 per week (15 minutes in total per session) is more than enough to keep (or even add a bit) of front/back muscles. for legs that's why you have the kettlebell (squats, 1 leg romanian deadlifts, etc.). Kettlebell swings are also very good for posture and legs.

I also had a bar on the door at my place to stretch whenever I got home because you risk getting rounded back from sitting so much on the desk. 5-6 minutes stretched with intervals is perfect

just sleep as much as possible on weekends/etc. and I cooked all my meals in advance for up to 2/3 weeks. You can make home burritos when you have more time, but them in the freezer, and have like some healthy burritos for +2 weeks. 

coffee also kills hunger, so I used and still drink 4-5 black coffees per day

showering before going to sleep also helps ur brain know the day ended, so improves sleep

also use supplements: creatine/magnesium/zinc/etc.

could go on and on reaching probably +100 tips, but if you are able to follow those, prob is more than enough. 

 

Black coffee = espresso shots of 25/30ml which makes me reach the ~ 400mg of caffeine limit recommended daily. and I usually have my last coffee at 2-4pm to leave 10-12 hours of space so it doesn't interfere with sleep. no sugar, no milk in it, nothing. raw. and I also don't drink caffeinated sodas to push my daily limit. 

Here are some benefits of black coffee.

the only downside is that coffee makes you piss more which removes more minerals from your body compared to a non-coffee drinker, so need to have a good diet to counterbalance this potential drawback

 

Restless

take more often the stairs and walk whenever possible

have a kettlebell at home to do some quick compound movements, not for gains, but to maintain yourself

no sodas or any processed food/beverages, avoid sugars

eat more protein to keep yourself fuller and avoid snacking

just doing pull ups and pushups x3 per week (15 minutes in total per session) is more than enough to keep (or even add a bit) of front/back muscles. for legs that's why you have the kettlebell (squats, 1 leg romanian deadlifts, etc.). Kettlebell swings are also very good for posture and legs.

I also had a bar on the door at my place to stretch whenever I got home because you risk getting rounded back from sitting so much on the desk. 5-6 minutes stretched with intervals is perfect

just sleep as much as possible on weekends/etc. and I cooked all my meals in advance for up to 2/3 weeks. You can make home burritos when you have more time, but them in the freezer, and have like some healthy burritos for +2 weeks. 

coffee also kills hunger, so I used and still drink 4-5 black coffees per day

showering before going to sleep also helps ur brain know the day ended, so improves sleep

also use supplements: creatine/magnesium/zinc/etc.

could go on and on reaching probably +100 tips, but if you are able to follow those, prob is more than enough. 

Hey bro I always like your posts and your English is really good as a Spainard. I found out recently that I will be going back to Spain (most likely) in Spring 2027 for a master's program. Should be epic as I used to live in Spain for 6mo in undergrad and loved it.

"If you always put limits on everything you do, physical or anything else, it will spread into your work and into your life. There are no limits. There are only plateaus, and you must not stay there, you must go beyond them." - Bruce Lee
 

perfect choice, congrats! I'm based in London, so I'm only in the summer around Madrid. but if u need anything let me know

 

you wont have much time to exercise, so you gotta control ur weight with diet. surely this is the only way? at least this is what worked for me.

definitely not impossible to control your appetite, but being hungry sucks. however much you overate to become overweight, you will have to do the equivalent, just fasting / being in a calorie deficit. pleasure for pain is how i see it. 

 

So one thing I've taken on recently is a vibration plate for my WFH standing desk. It really is a total body workout and I got on Amazon for $79.

"If you always put limits on everything you do, physical or anything else, it will spread into your work and into your life. There are no limits. There are only plateaus, and you must not stay there, you must go beyond them." - Bruce Lee
 

Just pick cleaner meals, high protein with side of vegetables. Get more movement in. Walk as much as you can 10k steps a day. If you can do quick 45 min workouts, just basic shit like compound lifts, that'll probably be enough. 

 

Nothing you can do about not having enough time to work out - but you don't need time to eat healthy. Almost every major fast food place can be a decent enough option if you pick the right low calorie and high protein items

 

Lots of low cal protein shakes (I like to mix vanilla with half black coffee and a few drops of a stevia chocolate flavoring), avoid binge drinking like the plague (once in a while is ok), try to fit in 20-30 minutes of zone 3 or higher cardio a day, slip in some pullups/pushups after you wake up/before you go to bed. It's great if you can get in a 30-45min workout 3x+ a week but that can be tough as an analyst, train till failure to minimize time and maximize results. If you're ok with nicotine - Zyns and other brands like Zone are great because it's an appetite suppressant, helps with focus/cognitive functioning, and won't give you cancer like cigarettes. A padded facemask when you sleep is a game changer to block out light and helps register it's time to sleep as does showering before bed. 

"The obedient always think of themselves as virtuous rather than cowardly" - Robert A. Wilson | "If you don't have any enemies in life you have never stood up for anything" - Winston Churchill | "It's a testament to the sheer belligerence of the profession that people would rather argue about the 'risk-adjusted returns' of using inferior tooth cleaning methods." - kellycriterion
 

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