Staying focused on diet while working from home

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sarahshealthy
sarahshealthy Posts: 42 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Come the middle of January I will be be working full time from home after always having a regular in office job. I'm able to schedule my own hours so I believe this will be a benefit in my weight loss as I can schedule around meals and the gym. HOWEVER, I'm so paranoid already about falling off the wagon (because it's happened so many times before). For any of you who currently work from home, how do you stay focused and motivated when the fridge is so close? Do you prep meals?
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Replies

  • crzycatlady1
    crzycatlady1 Posts: 1,930 Member
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    I'm a stay at home mom (home school the kiddos). What works for me is that I have an eating schedule that I stick to most times. Outside of my designated meal/snack times I'm not in the kitchen and food is out of sight/out of mind :)
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
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    i WFH once a week and it doesn't bother me from a food point of view, (there's food in the office, there's loads of shops near my work if i want stuff other than what i bring in, so its no different IMO) but i am obviously not as active so i try and have a walk at lunchtime and walk some laps of the house throughout the day
  • dbanks80
    dbanks80 Posts: 3,685 Member
    edited November 2016
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    I WFH for the past 5 yrs and I love it!!! I have a scheduled routine of going to the gym at 7 AM. I get on the computer by 9 AM. I have no problems with eating as I log my food on MFP and drink tons of water. The only thing that concerned me was not being able to socialize. Now I hate to go into the office for a meeting or such that's how much i love WFH! LOL!


    And my dogs love it LOL!
  • RowdysLady
    RowdysLady Posts: 1,370 Member
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    I work from home and I happen to eat Keto as my WOE. But I have a family that doesn't eat that way. Everything I keep for them I keep away from any place in the house I'd go to find food. So cookies, crackers, etc stay in their own place far away from the kitchen. That's my first strategy. I also make sure to keep foods in the house that do fit my WOE - for me that's things like cheese and meats.

    Now the big question you have...how do I not over eat those things? That's been a struggle; not because I'm hungry but because I habit eat. I keep sunflower seeds at my desk and snack on those. I keep gum and sugar free mints on my desk and use those. I keep ice water at my desk and drink it often. I try to think when I get out of my seat why I'm getting up. Do I need to go through the kitchen? Am I really hungry? I get up sometimes just to change my scenery because I do sit almost all day. When I get up I try to avoid the kitchen unless it's actually lunch time. I do things like the laundry and sweeping when I need to get up and move.

    I don't prep meals like breakfast and lunch but I usually know by Noon what I'm making for dinner and I try to pre-log that so I can pay attention to my cals and macros the rest of the day. Knowing my dinner will be 500 cals and 4 grams of carbs really helps me figure out what I want to eat in the earlier part of the day.

    It is NOT easy, but it can be done and you can condition yourself. I'm still not there 100% but I'm way better at these strategies today than I was 8 months ago.

    Much luck @sarahshealthy!
  • Raptor2763
    Raptor2763 Posts: 387 Member
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    Two suggestions, if I may. (1) clean the fridge and pantry of crap food. (2) establish and stick to a set schedule (ie. up at 0600, workout from 0630 - 0730, etc). Toughest part of working from home is your having to make your own structure. Once in place, however...it's easy street.
  • peaceout_aly
    peaceout_aly Posts: 2,018 Member
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    I work from home Thursday and Friday during the off-season. Prep meals, pre-log your food and make sure to not snack. Get out and walk as often as you can and don't let the fact that you work from home and can "go to the gym at any time" let you push it off or procrastinate. Jumpstart your day with a gym session.
  • peaceout_aly
    peaceout_aly Posts: 2,018 Member
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    Raptor2763 wrote: »
    Two suggestions, if I may. (1) clean the fridge and pantry of crap food. (2) establish and stick to a set schedule (ie. up at 0600, workout from 0630 - 0730, etc). Toughest part of working from home is your having to make your own structure. Once in place, however...it's easy street.

    THIS. Don't keep unhealthy food in the house at all.
  • JoannaZahorska
    JoannaZahorska Posts: 4 Member
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    I've been WFH for 5 years now, but I tend to maintain my weight (I gain weight a bit only in winter, when I prefer to get comfy & cosy with my laptop and a cup of hot chocolate instead of exercising, but that's a self-discipline issue). I also have a problem with compulsive eating (sweets) when I'm stressed out. All in all, a focus on managing your emotions makes bad food less tempting, I guess.
  • sarahshealthy
    sarahshealthy Posts: 42 Member
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    Thank you everyone for your advice! I think I'm just overly paranoid. I'm not surrounded by bad food while working in the office but my coworkers are not supportive.
  • ew_david
    ew_david Posts: 3,473 Member
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    I plan my meals out so I know exactly what I'm eating for the day (this goes for the days I have to come into the office, too). I actually eat better when I'm working from home; I tend to make things for lunch that I normally wouldn't because they don't reheat well. I also work out during my lunch hour and watch a lot of Housewives.
  • GottaBurnEmAll
    GottaBurnEmAll Posts: 7,722 Member
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    Have you thought about prelogging your meals?
  • CaladriaNapea
    CaladriaNapea Posts: 140 Member
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    I work from home. The first thing I had to do once I really buckled down to losing weight was clean out the crap. My fridge is much less full now. :wink: I don't really prep my meals, but I do have a plan for what I eat most every day, and it doesn't vary too much apart from dinner. Breakfast is oatmeal, an egg, and sometimes some fruit; my morning snack is some Greek yogurt and almonds, lunch is tuna fish, etc. I eat meals really frequently because I know that I am a snacker, so I purposely try to head that off with pre-planned, healthy, and appropriately-sized snacks that will keep me from grazing.

    Also, I second the scheduling thing people above were talking about. That's something I need to work on, myself . . .
  • iofred
    iofred Posts: 488 Member
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    I work from home, and I take 5 - 10 minute breaks every hour and run around home and clock up steps as an activity (in addition to my workouts) ... you are burning calories, don't become a couch potato, and it aids the step-count
  • dbanks80
    dbanks80 Posts: 3,685 Member
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    I pretty much eat the same exact thing daily (salmon salad, yougurt w/ berries, brussel sprouts protein shakes) and give myself a treat lunch on Friday mostly sushi or chik fil a. It is my set routine. You get used to it.
  • sarahshealthy
    sarahshealthy Posts: 42 Member
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    Emptying out the fridge and pantry is not an optional considering I live with others who don't eat the same way I do. I pretty much need to stay with the current routine of logging and exercising regularly and not get lazy. Thanks everyone!!
  • GottaBurnEmAll
    GottaBurnEmAll Posts: 7,722 Member
    edited November 2016
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    sarahshealthy wrote: »
    Emptying out the fridge and pantry is not an optional considering I live with others who don't eat the same way I do. I pretty much need to stay with the current routine of logging and exercising regularly and not get lazy. Thanks everyone!!

    It wasn't for me either. Things I found helpful were prelogging and buying things for them I couldn't eat (I have celiac disease)/didn't like all that much.

    Prelogging is really helpful because it gives you a roadmap to follow. Prelogging combined with weekend mealprep is magical if you feel up for going that route. Everything is laid out for you... no tripping up. Your meals and snacks are prepacked almost. You have a plan in place that way. You just have to stick to it.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,372 Member
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    I'm a SAHM and I lost 78 lbs, and been the same weight for 2.5 years.

    The key for me is 1) not to keep in the house what I can't moderate on, 2) plan my meals around what I really want to eat, so they are satisfying (I'm less likely to want to raid the pantry if I have a tasty and satisfying meal), 3) make time for exercise.

    I follow my hunger cues for meals and snacks and always log before I eat.
  • hapa11
    hapa11 Posts: 182 Member
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    I work from home. I work from 8 to 10 or so, then work out for about an hour. I eat my first meal at noon. In the afternoon when I start wanting to snack, that's when I generally try to get my errands done (shopping, bank, etc) to keep me out of the kitchen.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,912 Member
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    I find eating pretty much the same breakfast and lunches to be very useful. They satiate me and I'm not inclined to graze. I save my creativity for dinner.

    I had to work harder at becoming disciplined about exercising during lunch time, and leaving for lunch on time. This is also very important to prevent the afternoon munchies. It also gives me more energy throughout the afternoon and early evening. I make a plan in the AM about what I'm going to do for lunch and stick to it. Desiring to exercise is easy for me when the sun is out - I walk - but I have to get more creative on rainy days.
  • successgal1
    successgal1 Posts: 996 Member
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    I'm far better at dieting from home then at a traditional job.

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