Long hours and trying to focus

superhoopsgirl

What are some suggestions when working long office hours to keep up energy.How does one maintain the focus and energy to keep working without cheating on diet?

LenGray

It's not easy. A few of the things I've found that help me are:

Logging food the day before. At first I did it each morning but when I got transferred to a morning shift, I had a built-in excuse to eat whatever I wanted and not log when I came home. I've also heard of people pre-logging a whole week in a row (especially useful if you have a meal plan/eat roughly the same things each day)

Crock pot meals. There's a lot of great, tasty options for the crock pot that are also really healthy! Put it on before you leave and you'll have a meal waiting for you when you get home. If you work the morning shift, prepping all of your veggies and stuff the night before is a life-saver.

Working out is necessary (though not for weight loss). Working out helps you maintain energy and lifts your mood, as well as giving you more calories to eat each day. For me personally, I find it very easy to make excuses not to exercise, which range from 'I'm already below my calorie goal' to 'But I don't wanna!' so I workout in the morning before work to make sure I put in my time. Make a workout schedule that keeps you accountable and stick with it.

Reward as necessary. There's going to be times when you slip and that's okay. The important thing is to keep going and to celebrate the victories you have along the way. Whether that's with a piece of chocolate or soaking in a bubble bath, remember that you're trying to build a loving relationship with yourself.

jayv85

That's what I've had a problem with. I work 2 jobs, 1 is full time. The full time one is 4 10HR days starting at 6:30am. Plus a 90 minute drive one way. I've started meal prepping my food. I bought those 3 compartment containers for lunch and ensure that healthy stuff is in it (sometimes I sneak wheat thins in the small part though). For exercise I've been having to drink pre-workout drinks because I have no energy or motivation to do anything after work otherwise. And I tried the 3am thing before work and it's just too early. I also use an app called aaptiv that's $10/month that helps me with workouts. But you don't need to purchase anything, there are a lot of free resources

kimberlydickey922

Hi superhoopsgirl! I hear you loud and clear! So my recommendation isn't going to be about diet tricks or exercise regimen (that's a whole different discussion and I'm happy to help there too if you are interested). The thing you have to realize and accept is that it absolutely is not NATURAL to be stationary for ten hours at a go. You didn't share your work/profession but regardless, we ALL experience ultradium rhythms that dip and rise on an hourly basis. Whether you have a desk job or you have long commutes to meet with clients. You've probably heard about circadian rhythms and proper sleep (night and day), etc. ultradium rhythms are your body's natural ebbs and flows throughout the day. You won't win if you fight them. You will get undesirable results if you eat around them or use caffeine to stave them off. You MUST find ways to give yourself 2-5 minute breaks every hour to keep your focus in a fresh way. Take a walk to the bathroom (naturally eliminating toxins) or drinking fountain. Stand away from your desk and do some stretching. Head outside your work premises and breathe in a few minutes of fresh air. Sit back and close your eyes to rest them. You get my point. Find ways to fit in a few minutes every hour to break up the chemical buildup and essentially reset your focus in a refreshed way. Once you label these dips for what they are, your mind is Reset on how to deal with them! Hope this helps!

JeromeBarry1

When that happens to me, I move some of my scheduled calories from "home" to "work". That is, I eat less at home because I plan to eat more at work. My macros go to hell with that plan, but it gives me the ability to get some food every 4 hours while at work, even if it is a 150 calorie bag of potato chips. It also lets me switch my home evening meals to something less time-consuming. A 300 calorie burrito takes 2 minutes in the microwave, and can easily be all the remaining calories in my plan after such a day.

Lizzy622

I agree with meal prep and crock pot or programmable cooker to insure you have a healthy meal waiting for you when you get home. Knowing this helps keep me from grabbing cookies or cake from the break room. I also have water or herbal tea on my desk at all times.
Taking a 5 minute walk outside especially if it is sunny can give you afternoon a real boost. At night I listen to some meditative music as I am falling to sleep. I t helps me unwind and get into a good deep sleep.

superhoopsgirl

Thanks for the advice everyone. Yes, I work a office job for long hours. I have to meal prep better and carrying more snacks and will give a try to some of these tips.