Skip to main content

6 methods for working from home to manage your weight and stay in shape!

 Working from home has unique benefits, but it requires strategies for weight management when food is so handy and schedules are less structured. Read on for 6 weight management strategies, including how to build more activity into your day to set you up for success!

   Image source          

6 Weight management strategies to include while working from home

1. Pack a lunch

Pack a lunch to go from your kitchen to your kitchen table. What's that again? Working from home has advantages like comfy clothes and plenty of dog cuddles. And yet the flexibility may lend itself to skipping meals, mindless snacking, and choosing convenience foods over something nutrient-dense and filling.

Stay successful by packing your lunch the night before, just as you would for a long day at the office. Packing your lunch allows you to make reasonable decisions ahead of time. When we let ourselves get overly hungry or “hangry,” we gravitate towards high-fat, high-carb snacks for convenience and sheer, well, yumminess. Do crackers and cheese with a side of cereal sound familiar?

Preparing your lunch ahead of time allows you to portion out your meal, ultimately helping you get closer to your calorie and macro goals for the day. Tracking those daily budgets can lead to losing weight, and it's easier to do when working from home. Need some lunch inspiration? These healthy lunch recipes take less than 15 minutes to prepare.

2. Build a schedule using planned breaks to refresh instead of snacking

Another weight management and overall life strategy that maximizes productivity is to stick with a schedule. Begin your day with some type of ritual. It is too easy to check the news while lying in bed or go straight to your computer when you first wake up. Instead, make yourself get out of bed and take some time for yourself. Doing some light stretching or deep breathing will help energize you naturally instead of relying on caffeine, sugar, and headlines to get yourself going.

Part of building a work-from-home schedule means blocking your online calendar for meals and breaks so that you aren’t stuck in front of the computer all day. This is especially important when working with people across different time zones. For example, meeting requests may come right through prime lunch hours, leaving you no time to eat lunch or take a break, not to mention the early morning meetings!

3. Build activity into your day

Working at a desk can take a toll on your body. So build in frequent breaks throughout the day. Here are some of our favorite resources to keep you moving.

Easy workout moves you can do at your desk

Stretch and strengthen with this 10-minute workout. Includes upper and lower body exercises that use your desk as a prop, along with energizing music.

10-minute desk stretching workout to promote healthy posture and energy

Great for that afternoon slump, this physical therapy-driven video helps you tune back into your breath and body. If you struggle to find time for regular stretching, you’ll love this one!

15-minute walking meditation

Whether you are walking indoors or outside, this relaxing meditation will help you de-stress while moving your body.

4. Stock your pantry and fridge with healthy items and healthy snacks

Get set to thrive by stocking your kitchen with healthy but convenient items to prepare something quickly. Here are some easy snack ideas:

  • Hummus and raw veggies (2 tablespoons hummus = one serving)
  • Apple slices with almond butter (2 tablespoons almond butter = one serving)
  • Cottage cheese with grape halves (½ cup of cottage cheese = one serving)
  • Hard-boiled egg + whole wheat crackers (read the nutrition label to determine one portion)
  • Air-popped popcorn and almonds (22 almonds = one ounce)

On the other hand, if your pantry contains lots of high-calorie items, it can be challenging to sort past them and choose a lower-calorie alternative. If you are serious about losing weight and being healthy, remove the calorie-dense temptations from your kitchen. You know what we're talking about.

5. Eat away from your screens

Do your best to avoid heating up your lunch and consuming it while reading “one more email.” Did you know that when you are engaged in screen-time activities, you tend to eat more? Research shows that mindful eating is linked to eating less.

6. Don’t forget to establish a shutdown ritual

Working from home blurs the line between “work” and the rest of your life. And when you work all the time, you lose sight of your health goals, such as weight management. To help create some boundaries, establish a shutdown ritual AND an end to your day.

This might include cleaning up your workspace, making a list of to-dos for the next day, and then doing some end-of-the-day stretches.

We hope these work-from-home weight management strategies provide some inspiration to help you progress toward your goals! Implementing these small strategies can lead to improved productivity and a better chance of successful weight management while working remotely.

Take time to maintain your health so you can focus and manage stress. Finally when you take care of yourself, you have more to give to others, and you are less likely to turn to food to manage stress or provide quick energy.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

How to Improve Children's Immunity

Building immunity starts right from birth - breastmilk gives newborns the nutrients and antibodies called immunoglobins, a kind of protein that allows a mother to pass on her immunity to her baby. However, as they wean, you have to consider other forms of food and learn how to increase immunity in children with the right nutrients.                Image Source If you want to know how to increase immunity of a 5 year child, a pre-teen or a toddler, read our list of tips and children’s immune booster foods below.  1. Turmeric One of the best foods for immunity, turmeric has a wide range of benefits and can help provide relief from cough, colds and a sore throat. It can also reduce hay fever symptoms such as sneezing, itching, runny nose and congestion. The active component in turmeric, curcumin, is a potent antioxidant that helps boost immunity. However, for the proper absorption of turmeric and curcumin, it must be combined with fat and black pepper. One of the best way to consume turme

10 Best Natural Immunity Boosters

Let’s be clear: there are no quick fixes to immunity. It’s something that has to be built by following a healthy diet and lifestyle, and taking care to eat whole, unprocessed foods. Some people may be deficient in certain nutrients, which require them to take supplements (like Vitamin D). But you don’t always have to rely on supplements - there are natural ways to boost immune system using herbs, spices and ingredients in your kitchen, along with certain exercises. We show you the best way to boost immune system with the right natural immune booster foods .              Image Source Here’s a list of natural immune booster fruits, vegetables, spices and lifestyle changes you can indulge in, to keep your system in top shape! 1.Turmeric Haldi is a natural immune booster food. Curcumin, found in turmeric, has anti-inflammatory properties, and both turmeric powder and root are good for runny nose, congestion, sneezing etc.  The body does is unable to absorb the active ingredients in turmeri

What to eat when socialising when on an intermittent fasting regimen

Do you struggle with knowing what to eat during intermittent fasting when you go out? This diet plan-where you alternate between periods of eating and fasting-has shown promising results for weight loss and health improvement. Read on to learn some tips for what to eat, particularly in social situations with people who are not on the plan.                        Image Source                                If you want to know what to eat during intermittent fasting, find a fasting plan that works for you, then experiment While there are several different intermittent fasting plans , it takes some trial and error to find the right one for you. The 14/10 and the 16/8 are most common and popular because you naturally fast while sleeping (between 7-9 hours a night). By delaying or skipping breakfast, you simply stretch out the nighttime fasting hours for a more condensed daytime eating schedule.* Common intermittent fasting plans defined 14/10: your eating window is between 10 am-8 pm 16/8: