How to stop eating when you work from home

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OMG, absolutely yes. I used to do a modified IF when I worked from the office - because I just didn't bring food with me to the office. I drank tea & coffee with milk, but that's it until I left the office around 3. So now that I'm home 100% of the time - there is food available all the time. I KNOW I need to stop nibbling but it is so hard.

I recently started doing IF again, and limiting my food intake (except tea/coffee with milk) until afternoon. But even then, more snacking than i'd like. So I need to kind of get myself under control. The Covid 10-15 pounds are real, and unwanted!

Try to eliminate the milk from your coffee and tea (to make it a clean fast). This might make a big difference for you!

[Anonymous]

I also work from home and drink a lot of hot tea to prevent constant snacking.

[Anonymous]

So totally related, especially the part about the flip switching once I start eating.

I don't think I can add to the advice here, but I try to plan a workout into my schedule (even 30 minutes) at lunch, and avoid eating if possible before hand (I drink a lot of black coffee in the morning instead). I also like to chew ice, which I find helps me with the desire to mindlessly eat. I even invested in a good countertop bullet ice maker for the softer ice.

[Anonymous]

I do this, but I am genuinely hungry and not gaining weight - I try to be mindful of what I'm eating and not how much or how often I'm eating. So I eat a lot of plain yogurt, berries, nuts, carrots. I gained weight when I first started working at home because I was eating stacks of Oreos throughout the day. Cutting added sugar and a lot of processed foods helped a lot.

I cannot do my work when I am hungry - I need all my brain cells focused on the job, and I need to get up and wander around a little bit to stay focused. If I locked myself in my office without food until 4 pm, I would probably eat my chair and do zero work. DH is the complete opposite and can get through the work day on a cup of coffee. He has a very dainty appetite for someone who weighs 230 pounds.

I exercise moderately 6 times a week (like 60 to 75 minutes on the Peloton after work) and I'm sure that helps.

[Anonymous]

Same. One thing that has helped me is to write a list of tiny five minute “break ideas” on a piece of paper at the beginning of the day – things like “water plants” or “do 10 crunches” that I can do as a little break when I am bored / restless. Before my default was going into the kitchen to eat something. I’ve also started drinking a lot of water.

[Anonymous]

I found what worked best for me was to keep healthier snacks near my desk.

So, in the morning after breakfast, I will load a bowl with baby carrots, bell peppers and some fruit. Keep it by the desk. When I have high stress days and need to stress-eat, I eat the convenient food that is on my desk instead of wandering to the kitchen to look for something else. At the end of the day, I put the bowl in the fridge.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have the same problem. What worked best for me was the intermittent fasting thing - no going into the kitchen for food before 4pm, and then having some healthy things ready to snack on-carrot sticks, celery etc.
The other thing that was good was green tea - over ice in summer, hot in winter. Often you just want a break/are bored rather than hungry. Another alternative is to take a walk rather than head to the kitchen.

So you eat nothing before 4 pm, and then just carrots and celery? This doesn't seem sustainable or healthy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Make an eating plan for the day, with full meals and snacks. Set out your snacks (or bring them to your office). Only go to the kitchen for meals.

I think cutting the bored eating is important. You want to listen to your hunger cues, not emotional cues. I do this too when I WFH, so I am trying to be better about managing my snacks in between meals. I try not to be crazy, like if I am hungry I eat something, but that 3pm boredom snack isn't always being dictated by hunger. So I try to do something else then like take a walk around the block or clean something or play a game on my phone for a few minutes.

You can also pack your lunch and snacks as you would for work...and never go to the kitchen during the day.

[Anonymous]

That's a tough one. Honestly, I'm assuming you have kids? That makes it tough with the pantry and snacks being "available." Maybe a conversation with them about not having those things around would go a long way? Snacking is a killer.

[Anonymous]

I've lost about 30lbs over the last 6 months and a huge part of that was conquering the snacking all day demon. What worked for me was two things--honest food logging and eating three real meals a day instead of grazing.

The first week of logging was eye-opening--I thought I had a sense of how much I was eating (and I was pretty sure it was a lot) but honestly it was way more than I thought. The sight of that laid out in front of me as a list complete with calories had a big impact and the continued ritual of pick the food, log the food, and only then eat the food helps keep me on track. I'm using Noom right now but honestly at this point I think that I might switch to a free option because there's nothing really magic about it.

Stopping what I'm doing, sitting down, and really setting aside time to eat a full meal, has also been a huge change. I never ate breakfast (although I made sure my kids did) and lunch was a snack buffet that lasted hours in front of my screen. Dinner was my only constant because I try to have us all at the table. Now that I sit with my kids at breakfast and force myself to take a real lunch break, I'm much less snacky during the day.

[Anonymous]

Lots of great advice in here. It all boils down to making the time to structure your eating habits. Once you’ve done that, it’ll extend to the rest of your life and you won’t want to eat at random intervals

[Anonymous]

I keep a huge jar of water at my desk because I used to do the same. Now, during the day only go in the kitchen for breakfast, coffee with a morning snack, and lunch.

Random evening snacking though ... that's a killer! Work in progress.

[Anonymous]

PP again. The water at my desk keeps me from excuses to go into the kitchen so many times!

[Anonymous]

Take a photo of yourself in underwear, without sucking in anything - just your loose flabby self.

Post that photo on the fridge and pantry doors at the start of your workday, and keep it there until you are off duty (assuming you don't want kids, spouse etc. to see it).

This should help a lot with mindless eating behavior.

[Anonymous]

I think the key is to replace the habit with something else. You need breaks. Real ones (internet scrolling does not count). So, what are some things you could do? Some could be actively healthy (like exercising or going for a walk or meditating) but I think you'll have more luck if some are more self indulgent. Coloring? Working on a jigsaw puzzle? Doing some kind of craft, like origami? Sudoku? Taking a hot shower? (this has become one of my go-tos) Snuggling with a pet? Painting your toenails? Reading a trashy novel?