Three Tips to Stick to Your Healthy Eating Goals When Working From Home

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When I first started working from home full time, I worked whenever I wanted to, and it was great.  However, I didn’t get much done.

I would work for a bit, and then when I got bored, I would check my email or scroll social media.  If that didn’t do the trick, then I’d head to the kitchen for a snack.

This pattern kept me busy all day long.  But since most days I wasn’t accomplishing anything tangible, I never felt like my workday was over.   Plus I was eating way more than I needed.

So you might be thinking that the only thing I needed to do to be more productive was to stop snacking all the time when I was bored with my work.   But the real truth is, I needed to become more stress-resilient.

You see the combination of feeling like I was working all the time but never feeling accomplished was activating the stress response.  Once the stress response is activated, it’s our brain’s primary goal to get us back to a relaxed state as quickly a possible.

So if getting a snack was the quickest way my subconscious mind knew to get me back to a relaxed state, then eventually I would give in to temptation.

Time Block

The first thing I did to become more stress-resilient when working from home was to create a work schedule.  Every night at 4:30, I would plan out my tasks for the following day.  Then I would close all my tabs and not open my computer again until my workday started the next morning at 9:00.  

This did two things.  First, it gave my brain a very clear boundary between work and home, so I no longer felt like I worked all the time.  Second, I knew exactly what I was going to be working on each day, so I stopped wasting time checking my email and scrolling social media endlessly.

Creating this schedule and boundary reduced my stress and helped keep me out of the kitchen.

Healthy Breaks

The next thing I did to become stress-resilient and stick to my healthy eating goals when working from home was to take breaks throughout the day that actually reduced my stress.  

Instead of heading to the kitchen for a snack when I needed a break from work, I would go for a short walk or listen to a meditation.  Both of these activities actually reduced my stress without eating.

Mindful Eating

The last thing I did to stick to my healthy eating goals when working from home was to focus on eating mindfully. This meant, I waited until I was hungry to eat anything.  Then when I was actually hungry, I took the time to savor and enjoy my meal or snack which helped me avoid overeating.

And because I was being more productive when I was working, I didn’t feel like I needed to hurry up and get back to work as soon as possible.  In fact, I typically take an hour lunch break every day.  Mindful eating turned my meals back into a relaxing and pleasurable experience.

So the next time you want to head to the kitchen instead of working, consider what stressor might be triggering your desire to eat.  Then do something to reduce that stress without eating.

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Each week there is a Peaceful Eating Mini-Challenge & Live Event to help you build sustainable habits and strategies to make staying on track to reaching your feel-good weight easier, #healthyfoodtastesgood recipes, accountability check-ins, and opportunities to connect and have fun.

Go HERE to join us!

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