Preventing those added pounds when working from home

So many people are working from home because of the pandemic.  Many people worked one day a week or more from home but often not full-time.  After a few weeks working from home, the weight scale may not be your friend.  This morning on the radio I heard a salesman for exercise equipment saying he was busier than ever selling exercise bikes, weights, treadmills.  People have found that working from home with gyms closed, can result in added pounds when stepping on that scale.

What are some tips to avoid those extra pounds when working from home?  A number of articles have been written on this topic and maybe one or more of these suggestions may work for you.

Some hints from How to stop overeating while working from home during coronavirus outbreak, and How to Avoid Getting Fat When Working From Home as well as: Easy Solutions to Prevent Weight Gain While Working from Home. 

1.       Stick with your same schedule you had when going to the office

Eat breakfast, lunch and dinner at the same times as you always did.  Don’t sleep in, skip breakfast and munch your way to dinner.  Avoid skipping meals as that leads to snacking, munching and usually on junk food and not real food.

And schedule in your exercise.  Yes, gyms are closed but go for a walk.  Put on some exercise videos, try a free exercise class online.  There are many free exercise routines online.  Schedule a time for exercise every day:   “Schedule times for meals, snacks, and exercise, it will help you stay trim and give you a clear head for work-related matters.”

2.       Hydrate

One doesn’t have to drink water to hydrate ( see  Is water the best for hydration?).  Drink water, enjoy a glass of real milk, or a glass of 100% juice.  All are hydrating drinks.  Drink your water or other beverage not just between meals but also during meals.  I drink real milk with meals and this is hydrating.  Why? Because the food you eat with the milk helps your body retain the water in the milk. 

How does staying hydrated help keep those pounds away?  When your body is dehydrated, you might think you are hungry and start eating but what you really need is to boost your fluid intake.  

Drink some 100% real juice for hydration.

3.        Enjoy some healthy snacks

Stock up on fresh fruit and vegetables and other healthy snacks like a handful of nuts, whole grain crackers, whole grain chips like Sun Chips or some popcorn.  Have a bowl of fresh fruit siting out on the counter.  Have some baby carrots, green pepper strips, easy to grab cut up veggies ready to eat. And, most fruits and vegetables are full of water so this helps you stay hydrated.   

Keep fresh fruit out for an easy to grab snack.

4.        Stash the junk food

As they say, “out of sight, out of mind”.  Keep the junk food away – way back in the pantry, high on a shelf.  Not the first thing you see when you walk into your kitchen.  I had some great “Milano” cookies in a bag in the pantry.  I ate a few then totally forgot about them.  A week or so later, my husband found them and polished them off.  But once those cookies got buried in the pantry, I had totally forgotten about them.

5.       Eat lunch

You brought your lunch to work or bought some take out but you ate lunch.  Set a time to eat lunch when working from home and stick with it.  Pack your lunch if you need to, but plan for lunch, take a break and eat your lunch at a set time each day.
 
6.        Move more

Take movement breaks throughout the day.  My watch tells me to get up and move throughout the day.  Walk to the kitchen to get a glass of water.  Do a small chore like take out the garbage.  Build some movement into your work at home day.    

It is not easy keeping the weight off when working from home.  I was surprised how easy it is to put on a few pounds when sheltering in place.  Adding in more walks, more movement breaks can really pay off.  Try some of these hints to see what works best for you.

Sources:  from, and, as, day, Is water the best for hydration?, dehydrated, Milano,  Move more   Image sources:  Juice    ,  schedule, Fruit bowl