anyone else work at home?

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MouseFood
MouseFood Posts: 169 Member
in Motivation and Support
I have been self-employed off and on for 11 years. I am currently a self-employed writer and crafter. I love being my own boss, MOST OF THE TIME ...

The problem is, it's difficult to motivate yourself. Also, working at home means working next to the kitchen, damn it.

Does anyone else find this hard?

Rarrrrrr ...
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Replies

  • Lorraine128
    Lorraine128 Posts: 239 Member
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    MouseFood wrote: »
    I have been self-employed off and on for 11 years. I am currently a self-employed writer and crafter. I love being my own boss, MOST OF THE TIME ...

    The problem is, it's difficult to motivate yourself. Also, working at home means working next to the kitchen, damn it.

    Does anyone else find this hard?

    Rarrrrrr ...

    Yes! I work from home too and was finding any excuse to put the kettle on for tea which also meant a biscuit or two...


  • fatbird73
    fatbird73 Posts: 3 Member
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    Oh, me too. I do IT support at home. It's really difficult, I just try to buy treats for the family that I don't like :) it's just so easy to go and have a look in the fridge...
  • crazykatlady_
    crazykatlady_ Posts: 46 Member
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    I do too, but I've put my business on hold while I focus on getting fit and being happy. Or maybe I just lost my mojo because something I used to love was causing so much stress.
  • kath711
    kath711 Posts: 712 Member
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    I work from home in the kitchen. I have set snack schedules for myself. Kind of reward for keeping working and looking forward to the snack break.
  • fatbird73
    fatbird73 Posts: 3 Member
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    That's a good idea, I find that I don't plan in breaks because it's just me here in the day.
  • Lucyloo2
    Lucyloo2 Posts: 4 Member
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    I work from home too - the only way I can manage food-wise if to have set snack times, like kath711. I have a cup of tea and two Rich Tea biscuits mid-morning and same mid-afternoon.
  • 47Jacqueline
    47Jacqueline Posts: 6,993 Member
    edited February 2015
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    I worked from home on and off as an industrial and graphic designer for over 30 years. My best solution was going out to breakfast so when I came back I was ready to get to work and the kitchen was not a lure.

    Other than that, keeping regular hours helps, i.e., stop at nooon or 1 for lunch, stop at 6 or so to end my day instead of keeping at it for one-last-thing.

    My current home-based business is fitness and most of my actual work is away from home and it's much easier to keep my eating impulses at bay.

  • MouseFood
    MouseFood Posts: 169 Member
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    Wow, lots of us, and lots of different businesses! :) it's really encouraging. I like the idea of going out for breakfast. It would also give me at least a 12 minute walk and get me out amongst the "hoomans." However, to do it, I need to make more money. I need to make more money anyway, though, so maybe that can be a challenge ...
    I would love to add you all as friends if you don't mind :)
  • jenny3008
    jenny3008 Posts: 97 Member
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    I work from home too, I can't say I have too many problems snacking and I find the flexibility means I can work out with my PT most days.

    When I say I don't have many problems snacking that is because there is nothing snackworthy to eat in the house apart from fruit.... I don't tend to have a stop button when I start.
  • SnowBear15
    SnowBear15 Posts: 2 Member
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    I've been working at home for 2 years now. Working close to the kitchen has also been my problem, on top of not having enough motivation to leave the house for the gym. It's tough working at home, I must say,
  • amusedmonkey
    amusedmonkey Posts: 10,330 Member
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    I work as a translator, and only leave the house to meet with clients every once in a while. When I have a particularly challenging project with a tight deadline, I find that if I don't consume something sweet and carb heavy every couple of hours I get antsy and lose concentration, usually bananas or chocolate for the best results. This is surprising to me, because on regular days I eat moderate carbs without issues, usually around 100-180g. On high volume work days, however, my carb consumption is around 250-300 (and calories are at maintenance).

    Yes, it is harder to have access to food at all times. I find that outside of high-stress days creating a food routine works best.
  • MouseFood
    MouseFood Posts: 169 Member
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    I used to be really, really good with a food routine, the first time I lost all that weight. I think it helped that I lived with 5 other people at the time, though. It's easier to give in to temptation when I'm alone. But I'm definitely going to incorporate the ideas here.
  • MouseFood
    MouseFood Posts: 169 Member
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    jenny3008 wrote: »
    When I say I don't have many problems snacking that is because there is nothing snackworthy to eat in the house apart from fruit.... I don't tend to have a stop button when I start.

    I have the same problem, which also made it easier when I was living with my parents, because they simply didn't buy junk food, at least very rarely. But even when I don't my husband sometimes does, and I'm only a short walk from a convenience store.

    I really do miss the days of having to drive 25 minutes to get to a grocery store ... that helped my diet a lot lol
  • MouseFood
    MouseFood Posts: 169 Member
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    kath711 wrote: »
    I work from home in the kitchen. I have set snack schedules for myself. Kind of reward for keeping working and looking forward to the snack break.

    what do you do in that kitchen :)
  • jpaulie
    jpaulie Posts: 917 Member
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    I work from home but plan all my meals day in advance so I don;t even think about eating because I have a plan to keep myself satiated during the day. I plan for 3 meals and 2 snacks and enter my food the night before
    Being at home also allows me the flexibility to get a workout in a lunch time. so it can work for you as well.
  • tlacox1
    tlacox1 Posts: 373 Member
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    I don't work from home, but I am a teacher and the summers are hard. Three months at home with nothing to do but eat. I try to stay as busy as I can so that I don't!

  • dsimmons107
    dsimmons107 Posts: 387 Member
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    I have been working from home for more than 3 years and I find it easier to manage the diet. I keep healthy snacks and make sure I have set times for eating. I usually eat about every 2 hours and that keeps me from being hungry and when I do get hungry it is time to eat anyway.
  • AviBZ
    AviBZ Posts: 23 Member
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    I work from home too. Staying away from snacks is hard. On the up side, I can usually work in a walk or a bike ride during the day.
  • shaynepoole
    shaynepoole Posts: 493 Member
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    I work from home = part of the reason I got even heavier than I was beforehand was because it is just so easy to eat at my desk in front of the computer - Now unless something is pressing, I try to keep to a schedule - I tend to make breakfast and lunches beforehand and portion them out so that they are ready when I am - and I keep a variety of 100-150 calorie snacks on hand so that if I get a snacking urge, they are preportioned and ready to eat
  • lynndot1
    lynndot1 Posts: 114 Member
    edited February 2015
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    My schedule is off and on but I am home more often than not lately doing work from there, and I find it hardest to stick with calorie goals when I have the entire afternoon to myself at home, mostly because of snacking. I notice it's even worse if I'm bored - I will get up and look for stuff in the kitchen to kill time. When I'm out in meetings or whatever I obviously don't have that option so I don't eat as much.

    I think the best advice I can give is to 1) always have water or maybe hot tea on hand and 2) set rules for the kitchen that you can stick with. I try to drink a lot of water but I find hot tea easier to drink more of...I have caffeine and decaf herbal tea that I switch between so I don't kill my blood pressure with too many cups of caffeine haha. But if I always have water of some kind on hand I'm less likely to feel the urge to snack.

    And then if you DO want to go snack, make rules. My newest rule I'm trying to stick with is "snacks during the day = only fruit and veggies." I'm bad about granola bars, cheese/crackers, etc, for snacking, so during daylight hours now my only allowed snacks are fruit or veg with hummus. Even nuts are off limits during the day for me because they are so calorie dense. Then at night when I want a real snack (read: chocolate) I haven't eaten too much earlier in the day. But if you tell yourself only fruit/veg or something else very low calorie during the day you aren't as likely to go over. And the fiber from those foods will help with cravings.

    Unless of course you NEED a high calorie snack. If you're really hungry, don't starve yourself. You just need to recognize the difference between "I'm bored" and "I'm hungry"

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