Working From Home

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So I've got the worst of both worlds - I'm an artist so I'm sitting down all day, & I work from home so I don't even get the exercise of getting from my house to the office. I make my own schedule, which means that I eat when I'm hungry, not when it's mealtime
I have tons of self control when it comes to art, but not so much in the kitchen D: I find myself missing meals, eating the wrong foods, & snacking throughout the day (popcorn for lunch? Sure, why not!)

Although the fact that I don't drive & the closest grocery store is about 2km away helps (although there's a couple pseudo-grocery stores about 2 blocks away that carry about 75% of the stuff I need on a weekly basis)

Replies

  • finchest
    finchest Posts: 245 Member
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    you know, i'm in the same position (same profession, actually, too - i'm an artist also) and I've started logging when i'm eating in the day. (meal times as well as what i'm eating.) i find that once i held myself accountable to recording everything (and times, too) i started making better choices, and really thinking about whether or not i was hungry before i ate anything. (ie, "i just ate an hour ago...i can wait it out another hour or two and just have some water for now")

    i think you could look at it another way and see it as an opportunity to have the best of both worlds rather than the worst. eating at home means you can make the healthiest options available to yourself 24/7...and being a self-employed artist usually means working ridiculously long hours to make ends meet, but maybe it could also mean choosing a time of day to take a break to be active for 30 min or an hour... now that i incorporate exercise into my work day, i feel less stress, and happier overall.

    anyway, just a few thoughts from someone in the same position. i understand your frustrations & feel that the more you use the tools on this site (food logging and community) the better you'll feel about the options you have available to you!
  • ThePunkHippie
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    I've only been here at MFP for 2 days, but I have noticed that I'm eating better (& more conscious of what I'm eating) now that I'm logging it here :)
    I actually just picked up a DDR mat & I've been doing that for 15 minutes a night (trying to work up to longer, but my ankles start to hurt after just a few songs)
  • Alex_is_Hawks
    Alex_is_Hawks Posts: 3,499 Member
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    I work from home also, however I'm not an artist. My partner however is an artist and he works from home too.

    I work in the financial industry and I have been blessed with working at home as it fits into my schedule much better with all the back and forth that I do for the kids and their various activities.

    I haven't found that my eating habits are terrible being at home, mostly because we don't have bad foods in the house. I was the worst when I was actually working at the corporate head office as it was downtown and every food court, little hole in the wall restaurant and baking goods store was within a block. We would often go out for lunch every day and then out for treats again during coffee break. MY god, we would buy snacks for the office when we went clothes shopping on breaks.

    So to be honest, I find working at home makes things easier for me, but firstly, we put in a few rules.

    We don't bring home bad foods. This is paramount. My husband has a popcorn and chips addiction, if he brings it into the house, its HIS...he bought it, its his. that kind of mentality helps me to leave it alone.

    Secondly, being at home gives me more time to work out. I am religious about working out. I do 5-6 days a week and sometimes when I'm really restless I will do 7 days.

    But you have to commit yourself to these things.

    The first thing I said to myself when I was offered the opportunity to work from home was "now that I don't have an hour commute to and an hour commute back from work, I will use that time to be active and be with my kids"

    I have kept faithfully to that. It's important. You don't realise how exhausting that commute was until you no longer have it, and the only way I could pay it forward was to promise myself better and my kids better.

    Now that I haven't been eating out as much, I find it harder to do. I had thai take out (one of my favorites) over a month ago and I was SO SICK from it as my body wasn't used to the processed aspect of it.

    Hope this helps.

    L
  • fmbomzo
    fmbomzo Posts: 382 Member
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    I telecommute once a week. I love it. I actually eat less when I'm at home. I will often forget to eat lunch until late afternoon. I think it's because I'm more relaxed... I'm an emotional eater and tend to overeat when stressed.
  • Showcats
    Showcats Posts: 32
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    I am an audiologist and do tech support over the phone from home. So I am at my desk for 8 hours except for a 30 minute lunch and 2 15 minute breaks. Yesterday I was given the idea of working standing up. I rigged my desk so I can work standing up and am able to move around more. So far I like it and am getting lots of steps in walking around while on a call and I can still sit if I want a break from standing.
  • mjterp
    mjterp Posts: 655 Member
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    If you are at all like me, busy people tend to look for EASY (fast?) food.
    I have eliminated the tempting bad stuff from the house. and am adding in easy to eat healthy stuff. (NOT compltetely there yet...but it is a work in progress.)

    My hubby helps by having cut up fresh pineapple in the fridge to nibble. (watermelon during watermelon season is WONDERFUL!)
    A quick "meal" for me is to wrap a bunch of mixed greens (I buy the spring baby greens from costco) with a drizzle of dressing or a splash of balsamic vinegar in a tortilla. I can eat it while driving if I have to leave early (I know you are at home...) but it takes less than two minutes to throw it together and I alternate flavor by using different dressings. (hummus is good, pesto is too...) If I need the texture I add a tbsp of french fried onions. (the kind that are supposed to go on top of the green bean cassarole at thanksgiving)
  • arisher
    arisher Posts: 15 Member
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    I work from home as well. I'm in IT as a tester. My trainer told me to sit on an exercise ball while at the computer. She says it'll really work my core. I haven't done it yet, mainly because I need more air in the ball. You might want to try it:)