Originally published on June 21, 2010 in our free BigLaw newsletter.
Staying fit and healthy is tough even if you have lots of free time and a stress-free lifestyle. Throw in a law firm's punishing hours, pressure-cooker culture, and unpredictable schedule and you have a recipe for … well, a big gut. When I started at my ex-firm, most of my fellow first-years were spry and trim. By the time I left two-and-a-half years later, many were bloated and doughy. I maintained my weight, but not because of luck or a "fast metabolism." I knew that entering a law firm meant signing up for a sedentary, stressful lifestyle, so I approached the situation with a plan of attack. Below I share some practical tips for fighting (and winning) the battle of the biglaw bulge.
1. BYO
Noontime CLEs mean sandwich and pasta stations. Practice group breakfast meetings bring baskets of baked goods. Law firms are notorious for their catered spreads. True, it's all free, but just because it's there doesn't mean you have to eat it.
Fend off temptation by bringing your own meal or snacks to catered firm gatherings. This way, you'll be less likely to nosh on those tantalizing cookies or overload your plate with catered fare. You may receive jibes from your coworkers (I certainly did), but you'll have the last laugh when they pack on the pounds while you remain at your fighting weight.
2. Commit to Working Out Three Days a Week
Magazines such as Cosmo and Men's Health routinely suggest that people who don't have time to workout before or after work fit in a quick workout during lunch. Hitting the gym during the middle of the day is usually not feasible for most biglaw attorneys.
Fortunately, it doesn't matter when you work out … as long as you commit to doing it three days a week come hell or high water. Personally, I often worked out twice on the weekends and squeezed one workout in during the week after work. Sticking with this routine will keep your metabolism up and help maintain muscle tone.
3. Control Late Night Binging
Nutrition gurus always warn us not to eat late at night, but working — and eating — after hours is a reality for biglaw attorneys. While you may be forced to chow down at 10 pm, you need not spend (and eat) your entire dinner stipend just because you can. I've seen plenty of colleagues pile their cafeteria trays high with more sodas than they could possibly drink in one evening or order repulsive quantities of sushi just to wring the most money from clients.
Unfortunately, nightly $30 binges hurt your waistline more than they hurt the client's wallet. A good rule of thumb is to order for dinner only what you'd eat if you were paying for it out of pocket. You'll eat less and refrain from buying impulse items like Nutra-Grain bars at the cafeteria register or scallion pancakes on Seamless Web.
4. Counter Your Stress
Lawyers sweat the small stuff — good for your clients and your career, but not for your body. High blood levels of cortical, the hormone you produce when you're under stress, slows down your metabolism. Of course, telling lawyers to magically stop agonizing over typos is useless since they're paid to do so.
But an important part of keeping your weight in check lies in counterbalancing biglaw stress with relaxing activities that give your body a rest from the days' constant adrenaline rushes. That may mean forcing yourself to take a vacation every six months, drinking a beer or two (light, of course) in front of your TV, setting aside time each night to read for pleasure, or committing to bi-monthly massages. Whatever works for you.
5. Don't Blame the Dry Cleaner
When you put on a few pounds, you probably reach for your "fat pants." Though the urge to buy larger clothing or blame the dry cleaner for shrinking your clothes may make you feel better, larger clothing is a gateway to complacency and further weight gain. If you feel comfortable in your upsized wardrobe, you're also more likely to overindulge because there's room to spare in your clothing.
Instead of accommodating the weight gain, I recommend wearing your too-tight, extremely uncomfortable clothing as a reminder to eat healthy and hit the gym. You're less likely to grab that second lemon square if you feel like your belt is strangling you.
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