Remote work is the normality for many businesses that can work from home. That is mainly for people requiring an internet connection for their daily tasks. However, it doesn’t necessarily mean you have to work from home. You can work from wherever you want, as long as you have an internet connection.
If you have decided to work from home most of the week, you have likely noticed it frees up a lot of time. That could be spending more time with the kids and not having to hire a carer for them during the holidays. Although this sounds great, there are some downfalls when working from home.
One of the biggest problems when working from home is weight gain. The reasons why are you will burn fewer calories at home and likely eat more food. However, more flexible time and cutting out commuting time will give you more free time. Therefore, you should be able to train more.
If you are losing track of your weight because you are working from home. We have some tips that may solve your problems.
What Are The Reasons For Gaining Weight Whilst Working From Home?
Many factors play a vital role in your gaining or losing weight. It could be because of the foods you are consuming. You could also be drinking too much alcohol or not training enough throughout the week.
Living A More Inactive Lifestyle?
With you working from home, you probably have noticed you’re not doing anywhere near as many steps as you do when at work. That is because all you need to do is wake up, put some clothes on then sit at your desk. In that space of time, you haven’t even reached 100 steps. Now, you are there for most of the day, with the odd toilet break and making your lunch. At this point, you might not even go over 1,000 steps. Inactivity, this causes you to gain weight.
Eating More Often
Something else that is more common when working from home is that you eat more often. There are two reasons for this. One of the reasons is that it is easier to get your food. Plus don’t have to spend additional money to get these snacks. Another reason might be that you subconsciously think nobody will judge you for the number of snacks you eat. Again, if you are not burning many calories during the day and consuming more, you will gain weight.
Potentially Avoiding The Gym
Something else that people will be doing is skipping the gym. You will be surprised by the effect it has on you mentally when you are not moving much already. One of the reasons people go to the gym now is because they are already outside their homes and the gym is on their way back from their commute. However, when working from home, you should be more motivated to go to the gym because of the lack of exercise you have been doing. Therefore, you know you need to burn the extra calories you have consumed.
How Do You Avoid Weight Gain When Working At Home?
If you have noticed that you have gained weight in recent months while working from home, there are a few things you can do to ensure you no longer gain weight. Here are a few tips to help you change your lifestyle and keep fit and healthy whilst working from home.
Step One – Have Goals To Achieve Throughout The Day
As you know, you will be barely active when working from home. There is no need for walking because everything is already there, in your home. All you need to do is walk to your fridge, cupboard, or bathroom.
Health specialists recommend around 150 minutes of exercise with roughly 75 minutes of intense exercise. Although that may seem a lot to you, it isn’t when you break it down.
You only exercise five days a week, Monday to Friday. That is only 30 minutes of exercise per day. If you only want to exercise three days a week, that will only require 50 minutes daily.
You could also set yourself to do over 10,000 steps a day. That may seem like a lot however that is only 8 kilometres per day. Again, this may seem like a lot but if you exercise throughout the week, you should exceed this number.
Step Two – Keep Hydrated With Healthy Fluids
It is easy to drink drinks high in sugar. However, we advise you to stay away from these because if they are high in sugar, they are likely high in calories.
Water should be your primary supplement throughout the day. This should be your drink of choice and if that is a little tasteless for you, consider putting fruit in a jug of water and leaving it overnight. There are several health benefits when putting fruit in your water overnight so why not try it to see the benefits yourself?
It is recommended you drink roughly 1.2 liters of water per day. Again, this may seem like a lot but only six glasses of water at 200ml. However, if you train a lot throughout the day, you should drink a lot more than this. This is because you will be dehydrated due to sweating when exercising.
Step Three – Prioritise Eating Healthy Snacks
Something else you must do when working from home is eat healthy snacks. It is so easy to have an odd chocolate bar here and there because it is tasty. Not to mention the burst of energy you would receive from it. Sugary snacks aren’t great for your body, especially if you have multiple chocolate bars.
There are different healthy snacks that you can buy from the shop or make for yourself. To get savvy, prepare your snacks at the weekend and consume them throughout the week. Foods such as fruit and mixed nuts are great options for snacks.
Step Four – Plenty Of Sleep
Due to people working from home, they are often working later at night as well. This isn’t a good idea because it doesn’t give your brain enough time to relax before you go to sleep.
Sleep can also affect your metabolic activity which can then affect weight gain. You will be surprised by the number of studies that have linked a lack of sleep with weight gain. If you want to ensure you are not working late or staring at a screen ten minutes before bed, set a time when your screens shut off. We advise you to stop using technology an hour before bed. This gives your brain enough time to shut off from the digital world and relax your thoughts.
Step Five – Consume More Protein Throughout The Day
The more protein, the better, no matter your health goals. Protein is a great way to increase satiety which means you won’t feel hungry for longer. Furthermore, it is essential for those who have type 2 diabetes. If you can consume protein, it can help with the response to blood sugar when consuming a meal. Again, this could be a healthy snack such as Greek yogurt with some fruit. It is time to consume more protein and fewer carbohydrates if you want to stop gaining weight.
Step Six – Create A Routine
Our final step is creating a routine. A routine is a great way to get into the habit of exercising more and only eating snacks when you need to. If you are unsure what routine you wish to follow, here is a rough template.
- 8 AM – Get up and out of bed. For the next hour, you want to get ready for work before you log on. That means you wash, make breakfast, put some clothes on, and give yourself time to wake up.
- 9 AM – You are now working for the next hour or an hour and a half.
- 10:30 AM – This is your first 15-minute break of the day. Make a brew or get yourself a drink. This could also be your second glass of water for the day. After that, Get Back to work until it is time for lunch.
- 12:30 PM – This is where you will have your lunch and stretch your legs. Go on a short walk or do your 5KM run during your lunch break and then have your food once you return. You should also have time to jump under the shower, depending on how long your run takes. Consume another glass of water in this hour before sitting back at your desk.
- 1:30 PM – You are now back working. Focus for the next two hours before your next break.
- 3:30 PM – Grab yourself a snack (that is healthy) as well as another glass of water. Once you have finished doing that, get back to work. This is the final stretch of your day so put in all your efforts to get everything done and plan your work for tomorrow.
- 5 PM – You can either cook your dinner ready for when you get back from the gym or get yourself ready for the gym and put on your favorite womens gymwear.
- 6 PM – Exercise for the next hour.
- 7 PM – Shower after your intense exercise routine and then have dinner (post-workout meal).
- 8 PM – You now have time to relax so put up your feet and unwind for the next few hours before you go to bed.
- 11 PM – Time to sleep and rest for the big day tomorrow.
All of this is just a rough guide to your day. You might prefer getting up earlier rather than starting your day later. If that is the case, adjust the times to how you would like.
Summary
Keeping healthy whilst you are working from home is difficult. It is so easy to get stuck in the same routine over and over again. Whilst doing a little exercise and consuming more food. Make sure you are eating healthy snacks instead of foods high in sugar. Plus, you need to ensure you are getting plenty of exercise throughout the week.
