In this post I want to follow up on my previous post on how to support your health goals when working from home (or just spending more time at home in general). It is probably fair to say that “boredom snacking” has become more common in recent months in my household than before! If it is the same for you, here are some things that you could think about:
- Only keep foods at home that will support your goal – you will eventually eat whatever you have at home. Even if you are the most disciplined person you will eventually eat it. And that is cool if it is something you consciously wanted to eat. But I for example have more than once ended up eating my boyfriend’s sugary cereals with chocolate that isn’t part of my typical diet…
- Avoid buying multi packs of less nutritional foods – I know that supermarket discounts can be tempting but again; if you buy it, you will eventually eat all of it. And because you have a larger quantity of something you are more likely to also eat more of it than planned or that you are aware of
- Keep the foods that support your goal in eyesight – if you constantly see certain food items you are more likely to eat them. If you aren’t constantly reminded about some food items, you are likely to not think about them and not eat them. So keep your less nutritional food items tucked away at the back of your cupboards and fridge and have your veggies and fruits at the front or out on the counter so you don’t forget to add them into each one of your meal
- Keep the foods that don’t support your goal at the back of your cup boards – if you aren’t constantly reminded of them you are more likely to eat less of them (or even forget they are there!)
- Plan your day – even when working from home, have set meal plans throughout the day. Plan in advance for 3 main meals and two snacks and plan what to eat during each of those settings. This will help you to make sure you get a break from work regularly throughout the day and to eat regularly so that you don’t end up overeating in the evening because you are so hungry
- Avoid snacking unless it is planned – if you start snacking at home with potentially unlimited resources of snacks it can be difficult to stop
- Plan in your treats – we still have to nourish our souls so plan in your treats! Maybe your treat is a takeaway pizza, a brownie for dessert or chocolate while watching your favourite TV show. Regardless of what it is make sure you still have it but plan for it.
Use this time to your advantage instead because since you aren’t constantly out on the streets you will walk past fewer tempting bakeries and shops where you easily can step in to buy things. Plan your weekly shopping and stick to buying what is on your shopping list, don’t get tempted by super market offers and discounted prices. Focus on what you can control.
Love,
Malin