Commuting, physical strength, and diet

Commuting, was it you who made me exercise...?

At the end of 2019, my child was born, and I started parental leave. Two months later, the COVID-19 pandemic began. After finishing parental leave, I spent three and a half years working remotely.

A typical day of remote work looked like this: I wake up, get ready, and my wife takes our child to daycare. After taking out the trash, I begin work. I work at my desk until evening, then pick up my child. After dinner and a bath, we put our child to bed, and eventually, I go to sleep at a suitable time.

Besides picking up and dropping off my child, I hardly walked, so I rarely moved my body on weekdays. On weekends, walking to the station was the closest thing to exercise I did.

When I moved back to my hometown, where life was more car-centered, I distanced myself even further from exercise. The drop-offs, pick-ups, and weekend outings were all by car, drastically reducing my walking opportunities. I spent two years in that state, walking barely 1,000 steps a day, if that.

Then, just a month ago, I started walking to the nearest station and commuting to work. If I’m not lucky enough to get a seat, I remain standing all the way to the office. My daily steps range from 6,000 to 7,000—more than six times what I used to do. The first month left me exhausted, completely drained of energy. Although I've gotten somewhat used to it, I still feel too worn out to move on Saturday mornings.

I was aware of the importance of incorporating exercise into my daily routine, but I’m shocked at how immobile I became due to remote work. Even though I went to the gym twice a week, the difference from commuting daily is like night and day.

There’s no clear 'good' or 'bad' between remote work and commuting; I think it’s about choosing what fits your profession and lifestyle. But for someone like me, who has no habit of moving my body, commuting might actually be far better for my health.

I guess commuting has been helping me build physical stamina all this time. Thank you, commuting...! But sometimes, I wish I could go back to remote work...

Also, thanks to the increased physical activity, I get extremely hungry between lunch at the office and dinner. The moment I get home, I can’t wait for dinner, so I rummage through the snack cupboard. I eat snacks until I’m satisfied, which means I end up overeating at dinner. This leads to indigestion, and I struggle to sleep, waking up still tired in the morning... It’s a vicious cycle.

Plus, I’ve gained weight. Of course, I have.

Since commuting is still new to me, I’m putting this issue on hold for now, but soon I’ll need to come up with a solution. And once I do, I’ll need to make it a habit, quickly.

For now, I’ll stop eating snacks to satisfy my hunger and switch to protein shakes. I’ll also start by halving the amount of rice I eat at dinner.