WFH = weight gain

[Ms1235]

I've been working from home for the last 5 months and have gained a stone in weight.

Has WFH made you gain?

I find that I don't get dressed properly. As in I wear comfies as opposed to actual clothes, as im in the house.

So when I did get dressed properly, I noticed a lot of my clothes were tight or more snug, than I remember them being.

I think for me, it is easy to snack all day whilst at the desk.

I know I need to sort this, has anyone experienced the same problem?

I'm determined to shift this stone or so by the summer.

Itll come off right?

No, I lost two stone as the extra time saved from the commute meant I could cook more healthily and excercise more. I also do a fake walking commute, so 20 mins round the block before I start and after I finish each day, and have a strict rule of no eating in my work room, so the only times I eat are at my usual work breaks. You lose a lot of steps WFH without the incidental excercise you get leaving the house, plus trips to the toilet, kitchen etc that are typically further away in offices than at home, so I tried to compensate by doing say ten squats while waiting for the kettle, and also by accepting I needed fewer calories due to being less active and adjusting down a little.

I find I get hungry. Whether it's boredom or not I'm not sure.

However I have found myself eating more.

Maybe cut the snacks and stick to meals.

Less carbs due to not needing them?

Not for me, in fact the reverse as WFH means I can feed myself what I like & need. Freshly cooked lunches and no rubbish in the house.
I must admit that I am partial to peaty, single malt whisky, but my food is very healthy.

You are overthinking it. Just cut out the snacks and build in time for exercise. The 20 minute walk before and after work would be a start.

At first I didn’t because I made myself healthy lunches at home. And then I started to. I’ve just been given a coffee percolator for Xmas and am trying to replace snacking when stressed with black coffee…I realise that’s one bad idea being replaced with another but my waistline should thank me.

I've put on half a stone since stopping commuting to London (when I walked about 3-4 miles to and from station) to driving to work nearer home. Really annoying.

I've gained ten pounds in a year and my knees ache from having them at 90 degrees for 8-9 hours a day.

Unfortunately my job isn't relaxed, it's very reactive and I'm basically at the desk firefighting issues and producing reports with rarely a lunch hour to exercise...

I either do an exercise class or go on a 6-7 thousand step walk first thing in the morning before I start work on WFH days.

Gets activity out of the way so I’m not worrying about being sedentary that day.

I also eat a bit less overall, I think, than on office days as we get free lunch and I find I eat a slightly bigger portion (probably because it’s free 😅) than when I am making lunch myself at home.

Depends on your weight, surely. 1 stone off 15 stones is easier than 1 stone off 8 stones!

Edit: I should really read the thread. 1 stone off ~10 stones is manageable - aim for 1lb a week and don’t crash diet.

I think I tend to eat better, as I can make soup in my soup maker at lunchtime and have access to the fruit bowl, etc. Where in the office I buy lunch at the nearest coffee shop, so get a panini or similar.

I think part of the problem when you WFH is that you (at least, I) don't build any buffer in to allow for adding extra movement. E.g. take a short lunch, to allow for school pickups, start immediately after drop off, finish 30 seconds before pickup, etc. So there isn't a minute in the day when you aren't actually working or have the kids. Where, with a commute, you have a bit more flexibility to stop off, and also to take a full lunch time.

Have you thought about intermittent fasting?

Ive done it before and it worked wonders. It also helps to have a rule of no eating before 12.

make lunch your first meal of the day. Means you have only a half day to snack!

personally, exercising at the desk never works for me as want to be concentrating fully on either exercising OR work!

I'm going to have to change my habits. I can't continue to gain.

Honestly it's upset me. But it's motivated me to realise I can't eat loads and expect to stay 9stone something.

Without exercise or moderation

I regulate my weight better at home. 20 mins exercise 1st thing before work, YouTube exercise routines just watch screen and go. Whilst working im conscious of standing up at least every couple of hours I have a timer reminder on phone for that. 10 squats or heel raises every time I'm about to enter kitchen just little things like that. & I have an aerobic step just outside living room door, its in my eyeline so I use it. & Dumbbells.

More headspace no commute or chattering in my ears all day, or loads of biscuits & cakes in staff room. I shop more mindfully. Those who buy unhealthy food and can't keep away from the fridge arent any different from people at the office who buy mega-lunch junk food. Just a case of changing whats in your fridge and moving more. I hate exercise really but I still do it.

A friend WFH she has a mini-treadmill/walking pad she uses it whenever she's on the phone. She looks great I'm tempted to get one

It's just practice, and a little bit of trial and error. I have a standing desk so the camera frames me from the chest up, and I just keep the pace really slow when I'm presenting or actively participating. I don't want to be out of breath or bouncing around. I also communicated with my colleagues before that I was starting to do this and asked them to let me know if it was distracting or irritating. When you go slow you can keep the movement below the waist, it's not brisk.

In meetings where it's appropriate for me to have my camera off, I go faster. I do find that for those meetings where I am mostly listening and it can be a bit dull, it's really helped me to stay focused and not pick up my phone or drift off in a daydream.

I think my gain was a combination of WFH and perimenopause. My metabolism has certainly slowed down, previously I could eat more or less what I liked but that has changed.

Same here - I have moved from the kitchen to the living room set up and that has helped a bit. Sitting in the kitchen was a killer

I started wfh at the start of lock down. Looking at my weight on a graph it just continued to rise from March 2020 up until last year when I finally took action. I was 2.5stone heavier (and overweight to bwgin with) and finally had enough.

I stopped with the excuses (and frequent biscuit tin tips) and made wfh work for me, I could make a healthy soup or salad from scratch. The excuses I'd use for not taking a salad to work like how soggy it could get or its not made freshly now don't apply. I could make a fresh smoothie or omelette or jacket potato, it would save me money and be eating whole foods, not processed convenience foods.

I have house trainers, only cheap ones, this stops laziness. Weirdly wearing slippers made me less likely to get off my chair, now with trainers, I'll move more in the house and get an extra brew or do those things I'd put off til later.

I love going to the gym after work now, it gets me out of the house, a change of place has done my mental health wonders and the endorphins really do kick in afterwards.

Either before/ after work or at lunchtime, on a dry day, I'll get my headphones on and go out for a good walk whilst listening to a podcast or audiobook, I've been trying to find all the cut through pathways on all the nearby estates and seeing where they lead to. I've combined this with an evening walk once a week with a friend or Mum so we make time for a catch up and some fresh air.

I'm 1.5stone down since Oct and have more to go.

I noticed this last year so as a rule now, on days I wfh I include a workout - either weights at home or cardio at gym. On days at office I have enough steps to compensate. So everyday I keep moving. And ofcourse keeping away from snacks!!

I gained a lot when I started WFH. Pre-lockdown, I had a brisk 40 minute walk to the office and back again. At lunchtime I'd walk around town. I was intermittent fasting, in good shape. Our office swapped to 100% WFH forever and in 3 years I gained 3 stone.
I got a new job which is 80% in the office and I cycle there. I've still got 1 stone to lose but I'm getting there. WFH does not suit me, I turn into a complete slob.

Lots of people I know say the same but I’m a stone lighter. There was always office cakes and biscuits and a shop below the office that was easy to pop down to. And the office complex canteen had everything with chips.

But I don’t buy sweets and biscuits at home so there’s simply nothing to tempt me. I’m lazy and with no willpower, so proximity to calories will always be the deciding factor for me.

I love WFH as I can cook my own food and don't have to relay on the ultra processed stuff you get when you buy something ready..
Cut out all refined sugars and the weight will melt away.

Thanks @Buggeroffalo 👍

I must say. No one has said to me. You look live you've gained.

So I must be hiding it well. Or a stone or so hasn't made much of a difference in appearance.

But it has in terms of clothes and also fitness. I get out of breath quite quickly now!

Would you expect them to? Telling someone they look like they've gained weight seems a good way of getting a black eye.