I truly love working from home.
You have the privacy of your own space and the convenience of having all your items in one place (and the comfort of staying in your pajamas if you want haha!).
BUT, I also have an entire apartment’s worth of food at my disposal – which is tricky when feeling stressed or bored.
This situation can absolutely be a tough one. Too much temptation is just difficult, not matter how much willpower you start out with.
And! Research shows that our willpower decreases during the day – so that leaves us with an eve more difficult situation!
Here are six tips that work for me & the ladies in my program
1. Have Set Times to Eat
When you have a schedule, there’s less room for unplanned grazing (which leads to overeating).
For example, you could plan out your day to eat breakfast at 8 am, lunch at 12 pm, dinner at 6 pm, and snacks in between at 3:30 pm and 9 pm if you’re hungry.
2. Remove Yourself from the Kitchen
When you’re working in the same environment as your food, it’s tempting to become distracted or bored – and reaching for a snack instead of your pen.
By removing yourself from the kitchen environment, you’ll eliminate the problem. Can you work in the living room? Even going out to a coffee shop, the library, or a park can be very helpful.
3. “Out of Sight, Out of Mind”
This tried & true saying works well.
Subconsciously, the sight of food can make you want to eat. Put that food in another room or location!
I literally put my snack BEHIND my computer a lot of the time haha!
4. Pre-bag Snacks or Buy Single-Serving Snack Packages
It’s hard to guess portion sizes without measuring, and without having a defined portion size, it’s VERY easy to overeat.
Even if you’re snacking on healthy foods, the calories can easily add up. Before you accidentally eat a whole jar of nuts, portion the snack out into snack baggies or buy single-serving snack items like 100-calorie packs of nuts, individually wrapped chocolate squares, etc.
5. Keep Tempting Snacks Out of Reach
If you keep sugary, calorie-dense foods at eye level, you will be (even subconsciously) reminded of them & much more likely to eat them.
Instead, put them on high shelves and in hard to reach places – like the freezer, or within an additional plastic bag – which can help you think twice!
6. Keep Your Hands Busy with a Drink
Oral fixation is a real thing I know 🙂 I have it too!
Seltzers – fun flavored ones are good too! – are my go-to for something fun to sip on if I just need to quell that fixation.
