Software Developers Must All Be Fat, Right?

Let’s be honest here. When most of you think of an IT professional, you get a picture of a fat, nearsighted, socially awkward guy. The last picture you get is someone with a well-trained body. But why is that? I was thinking about this question, and from a rational standpoint, it just doesn’t make any sense! Here’s what I think.

The worst about this prejudice is not how others picture a developer, but that developers themselves believe they are destined to fit into that box. If we think that about ourselves, we will become just that. Let’s tackle this question from a rational point of view.

What does it take to build muscle?

To build muscle, it takes three things:

Lifting heavy weights.
Caloric surplus.
Sufficient rest.
Are any of these impossible for a software developer?

Firstly, a software developer has as much time to workout as any other worker. After all, our weekly work hours are generally the same.

Secondly, our idle lifestyle makes our metabolism slower, thus reaching a caloric surplus is easier. This of course also means we can get fat easier as well, though it all depends on our relation to food, not profession. Just because you sit (or stand) at a desk for eight hours a day, does not mean you have to gulp down five cans of soda, three servings of cake and a bag of chips. in fact, if you are smart, you would instead have planned you nutrition and timing, thus turning a disadvantage to your advantage. A construction worker has to work with tools and gets his hands dirty. He cannot put everything down and wash his hands to grab his 14 pm low carb protein meal. You can! And you can do it while your code compiles, how about that?

My point is, working at a desk is a blessing in terms of availability of nutrition. What food you decide to put in your mouth, is your decision.

Thirdly, we do not become big and strong by heavy physical work all day. Most bodybuilders workout 1-2 hours a day, and then rest for the remaining day. You have access to this rest at work, since you are working with your mind, not your body. A construction worker does not have this privilege. So why do we picture construction workers as big strong men, while we consider developers as the opposite?

We developers have access to all the conditions needed to build muscle. But what about the other end of the spectrum? Yes Osman, what about cardio, and what about loosing weight?

What does it take to loose weight and better your cardiovascular endurance?

To loose weight only one thing is required:

Being in a caloric deficit.
Whether you are archiving this by eating less or doing more cardio, it doesn’t matter, but you certainly have access to both as a developer. It is true that combining having easy access to food and an idle lifestyle can lead to gaining fat. But as I said earlier, you decide what you eat and how much. Again, use this to your advantage not disadvantage.

To build your cardiovascular endurance you also only need to do one thing:

Do any kind of aerobic exercising for 20-30 minutes a day
How much you have to do depends on your fitness goals. But to maintain a healthy cardiovascular system, only 20 minutes of HIIT training a day is sufficient!

Nobody is so busy, that they cannot set 20 minutes aside in their day. If anything, just wake up 30 minutes earlier. I know that you also have to account for showering and changing clothes. But you can do your cardio in the morning, before taking a shower (yes, I assume you shower every morning already, stinky!).

Please note, this blog post is not a rant on software developers. I wrote this, to make you think twice before settling for the unhealthy choices in life. Also it is a reminder to myself of before I became a developer and when I promised myself, that I would stay fit even though I will work at a desk. It is a reminder that I have broken that promise. Yes, the examples given here are inspired from my own life and mindset. I did and still do engage with these logical fallacies. I settled for unhealthy because everyone else did, so it was okay, right?

It’s not, and I am aware of that. I want you to be aware too, so we all can take action for ourselves and become who we want to be.

Not what others are telling us we are destined to be.