A few years ago, some wag wrote a fake news story with the headline “Unemployment Among Hot Young Women Hovering Around Zero.”

It was funny because it’s true.

The fact is that if you’ve put on a few pounds from eating too many lunches at your desk, and you’re out of work now, reclaiming your body might be one of the most important things you can do not just for your physical health, but for your career health as well – especially if you are a woman. And before anyone takes offense, it’s not just me saying that. I’m just pointing out the obvious: The data are in. Across the United States and Europe, obesity correlates negatively with income. The more overweight you are, the more likely you are to under earn relative to your peers, and the longer you can anticipate staying unemployed.

Consider:
• 42 percent of women in households with incomes of below $29,000 per year are obese; Only 29 percent of women in households with incomes above $77,000 per year are obese. (There was no statistically significant difference for men, however.)
• Women are 16 times more likely to report weight discrimination than men (Caliendo, 2011).
• A study by Mark Roehling, published in the Journal of Business Ethics in 2002, found evidence of workplace weight discrimination “pervasive” and “overwhelming.”
• 15.9 percent of employers surveyed believed that obese job applicants should be “barred from employment,” while 43.9 believed that obesity was a valid medical reason for not hiring an applicant (Roe, Eickwort).

Furthermore, employers are increasingly adopting wellness programs, and even requiring employees to be non-smokers as a condition of employment. The reason: When employees get sick, it costs the company money not only in absenteeism and lost productivity – it also costs the employer real money in health insurance premiums. This is because most health plans assess premiums based on the company’s actual claims experience the prior year. If claims rise, so do health premiums.

If companies are overtly screening out smokers, it’s hard to imagine they aren’t covertly screening out the obese. And because of social media, chances are pretty good they don’t even need to bring you in to the interview before you get screened out because of your weight. You won’t get called for an interview, and you’ll never know why.

Take Charge
Being between jobs is an ideal time to take charge of your body again. Habits are your best friend and your worst enemy at the same time. If you are significantly overweight, you probably have some bad habits. Losing a job breaks up your routine, but it also gives you a chance to design a better, healthier routine.

Here’s what you can do:

Eat out less.
Restaurant entrees are calorie bombs. Restaurant chefs load up their meals with tasty but calorie-dense oils, sauces, cream, butter and fatty cuts of meat. One restaurant entrée can easily send you soaring over 1000 calories. Make a sandwich at home, and you’re eating for half that.

Be Aware of Stress Eating
Joel Garfinkle, an author and and career coach who has worked with hundreds of people in career transitions has seen it happen: Stress, food in the fridge and time on your hands spell trouble. “It’s always a good idea to maintain proper nutrition, but especially so during stressful times. Being at home and having easy access to junk food or leftovers make for an unhealthy combination.”

Consider a Gym Membership
The recession has been terrible – but gyms have been forced to drop their membership prices substantially in response. You can get a full membership to a gym for less than a dollar a day. What’s more, if you shower at the gym in the morning, instead of at home, you also cut your hot water bill. If you do it a lot, the net cost of your gym membership could go down to nearly nothing!

In addition to the health benefits of regular exercise, you’ll also expand your social circles and networking opportunities. And meet people with good habits, just like yours. Your next job could well come as a result of a contact you make while working out.

Try Group Activities
Pumping iron solo can give great results if you’re focused and you have good form. But the more group activities you pursue, the wider you cast your net for employment contacts as well. Try taking classes, team sports, basketball, racquetball and volleyball tournaments, yoga classes, tennis lessons. The main thing is you do something you enjoy and that you’ll stick with over time as you build new habits.

Can’t Splurge on a Gym Membership?
You don’t need to. You can get a terrific workout using nothing but your own body weight! For ideas, try Bodyrock, at www.bodyrock.tv. Zuzana Light has scores of self-contained exercises and workouts that are useable and challenging for any fitness level – absolutely free.

You Are In Control
You can’t control who calls you back for an interview. You can’t control what employers do after they interview you. You can’t control the economy around you. But you absolutely can control how you take care of yourself, and you can control whether you leave the couch and work out, and you can control how hard you push yourself to improve. Unemployment can be stressful and depressing. But it’s very hard to be depressed when you’ve set a personal record for a one mile run, or lifted more than you could a week ago, or you lost two pounds last week from exercising and eating right. That lift can carry you through the day, will give you energy and confidence as you navigate the challenges of a job hunt, and the process will help you get better jobs sooner and make more money in the long run. It may be that your biggest challenge will be buying new work clothes, because the old ones don’t fit anymore!

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