WFH has been my downfall..

[Alittlebit9]

I have always sat quite comfortably at a size 10-12. I’m 5’6.

I never really had to do anything to maintain it exercise wise, I worked a really busy NHS admin job and just didn’t have time to snack. I then got a WFH role last May and oh my god.. in less than a year I’ve rocketed to a size 14, pushing on a 16.

It’s my own fault, I’m snacking constantly, making pasta for lunch or something else big and carby because… I can, I guess. I have 24/7 access to cupboards and the fridge and seem to reward myself by thinking oh I’ll go and have a biscuit in a minute.

Please help ☹️ I go on holiday in 2 months, and I feel awful in my own skin. Those who WFH how are you snacking less, eating better. Any tips? I would ideally like to lose a stone before we go away - I am going for a walk each lunch time but I know it’s the food intake.

What you've written sounds like me :) my making a really concerted effort I've started to lose weight.

My tips are:
Walking - I bought a foldaway treadmill but just going outside will help.
Sticking to three meals a day with no snacking, if I feel hungry in between I have some fruit or something healthy.
Drink 2 litres of water a day, have a glass of water before each meal and if I feel hungry.
Calorie counting - use an app like My Fitness Pal to log everything and ensure you stay in a calorie deficit.
Meal prep and have your go to meals, maybe even prepping your lunch the night before so you're not tempted by anything else. For breakfast I either have berries, yoghurt and peanut butter or eggs & avocado. For lunch I'll have a tuna in pitta bread, or a salad, or some salmon with veg. Dinner is always different but a sensible portion. My focus is low calorie and high protein.

The above is all sustainable and helped me lose a stone. It's more realistic than some of the advice you often get on here.

I log calories. I don’t have a set goal each day, so no limits, but it makes me make sensible choices/ eat smaller portions if I’m aware of how many calories are in something. It’s kind of a cost/ benefit analysis type thing!

I do the following:
Don't have unhealthy food in the house
Eat a filling high protein low carb breakfast that fills me up to lunch
Exercise snacking, make sure I have a 10 to 20 min walk on my walking pad after every meal. I also do a few squats every hour. The benefit of working from home is that no one laughs if you get up to do some random exercises every now and then

I log calories and I also have a routine for my day, so snacking doesn't really come in to it. I also don't buy things I can't resist. Dh is a snacker and he has things I don't want, like multi packs of cheap own brand crisps or liquorice sweets. It's just a habit. It's hard to break but it's doable.

I know what you mean. Chocolate oaties (Aldi hobnobs) with a cup of tea are my downfall can’t have them in the house. I’ve developed gallstones and they are agony so am bitterly regretting my biscuit addiction now.

Thanks everyone, this is really helpful. I am definitely a snacker but I think in the office I was surrounded by people and so couldn’t exactly wolf a packet of biscuits without feeling judged. There’s nobody watching me at home though! Will definitely look into a walking pad.

I would make yourself lunch before you start work in the morning. At lunchtime eat it then go out and walk (or do some other exercise away from food temptations) every lunchtime for your full lunch break as soon as you have eaten it.

Also have a piece of fruit morning and afternoon until you wean yourself off snacking.

Have an absolute rule that you cannot eat anything else during working hours.

Fasting - nil by mouth. Takes away the cravings and the mental option to eat. I wfh 3 days pw and on those days I don’t eat til 3pm, have one balanced meal and that’s it.

Ditch the lunchtime walk and do a more serious online workout - even just 15/20 mins of HIIT or weight training will do you so much more good.

I keep weights right by my desk and use between meetings if I have 2-3 mins, it all counts.

i’m taking MJ now so have a really good crutch to lean on but I too put on a lot of weight when exclusively wfh for the same reasons. I’ve always been active, walked a lot, spin classes and swimming, but the amount of snacks I consumed was far more excessive than my level of exercise.
I’m not suggesting MJ, not everyone wants to take it, but it was the snacking that did me in.
I’ve never eaten breakfast early but had gotten into the habit of wandering to the kitchen at 11 and doing myself a bacon sandwich/crumpets and then eating again at about 4 and then having a big dinner. Probably with some more snacking at about 6 before dinner.
I think the suggestion a pp made about preparing lunch before you start work is a really good idea, then it’s ready to go, just eat it and maximise your lunch break time for getting out in the fresh air. No fridge raiding. You could even prepare a fruit plate or something more protein based to help you keep fuller (I’m not saying you need to prepare some cooked steak 😂 just a small bowl of nuts and a bit of cheese or something although I sometimes do cook a steak and leave some leftover for a snack), and it’s just there ready for when you need it.

I think you have to balance this against the benefits of getting outside for the walk, which I find considerable.

OP, I also really struggle with WFH eating and it's also the cause of a lot of my weight gain in the last few years (along, I think, with perimenopause). I have ended up literally packing my lunch and a couple of pieces of fruit in the morning, as I would if I were going to the office. It means I have no need to start opening kitchen cupboards during the day, which is where I find I otherwise fall down!

I agree with another poster, I find it easier to fast until a late lunch than to eat like a normal human with will power 😂.

I used to fast then have a meal replacement shake blended with ice to fill me up. This took away any options and I found this easier too.

I mean I clearly have issues around food so not sure my advice is the soundest!

This is what I meant about having realistic sustainable choices. OP you've received some really excellent advice from other posters.

Thank you everyone - some amazing advice here.

@SkyOfficer why is fasting not sustainable? Plenty of people do it

I get it though the temptation for a warm lunch. Could you sub it for scrambled eggs and baked beans so it's warm filling but not carby?

Intermittent fasting with walking can be really good.

I did the life plus things which is only lean protein and veggies for every meal and that helped reset a bit. Lost several stone relatively quickly.

Can you record yourself on zoom and every time you get snacky looky at the camera and say, no I don't need that. Can you find other treats in the day to reward yourself like a 30 second dance party or your favourite song etc?

Good luck 🤞🏻

Fruit
Nuts
water
lots and lots of herbal tea!

And don't work in the kitchen.

WFH has had no impact on my weight.
It wouldn't cross my mind to snack more than usual.
I typically have 2 snacks a day (whether I'm at work or at home) and often think "oh shit, I'm at the gym in an hour and haven't had my afternoon snack".
I don't know how to retrain your brain as such, but on a practical level can you just not have biscuits and other 'treats' in the house?

One of the benefits of working from home is - without knowing how busy you are - you probably have more time to exercise. If you can afford it, get a subscription to a home workout app (i used Fiit but there are lots) and a pair of dumbbells. If you can fit 3x 30 min workouts in a week you'll see a big difference to your physical and mental health.

In terms of biscuits, the only thing that worked for me was quitting sugar entirely so i wasnt constantly thinking about the next fix!

Don't beat yourself up, you've had a big change in your life.

Make up a normal packed lunch and only eat that within working hours

I’m the same, I have gone from a very busy on the go office job where I couldn’t stuff my face to working at home, less steps as no longer walking from the car park, no walking around the office etc. Made me gain nearly 2 stone! I’m actually considering leaving & going back to an office environment!

Things I’m trying to do -

30 mins on the tread mill at lunch followed by eating my prepared lunch, 30 mins watching the news or doing housework.
I actively try & close down my kitchen, so turn the lights off, left clean etc at 9am. Will only go in to get a drink or my lunch that I leave in the fridge.
Work upstairs so I’m not near the kitchen.
If I need a break from my screen try & stay upstairs so will tidy bedrooms or the bathroom etc.

Everyone I started with in my role has also put on weight!

In the same boat as the OP.

what’s Life Plus?

Could you get a standing desk (or one that raises and lowers) and perhaps put a treadmill under it?

First of all you need to stop telling yourself it's because you are working from home. It's because you are being less disciplined than before. WFH is a massive opportunity to be more healthy. For example, since working from home I now go to the gym at lunch for an hour every day, eat scrambled eggs afterwards and finish a little later but at least I got some decent exercise in. At home you can get up and put on washing and burn a few calories that way, you can have healthy snacks in the fridge, you can peel a carrot, make a fresh salad. In other words, it's your choices, not being at home. Don't buy biscuits any more! Tough love because working from home is a massive luxury. Don't become a slob in pyjamas eating digestives!😂

Oh gosh, I'm not a seller or affiliated or anything. Life plus does the metabolic reset diet. There's lots of paid for supplements and you only eat 3 meals a day but loads of veg and then restricted lean protein.
But you only do it for 21 days and then stabilise for 21 days so for me I find it's easy and doable but you loose between 1-2 stone each diet phase. But you literally cut everything! For me because I love veg it works! But it can be expensive and a bit a of a faff but it's only thing that works for me.

Anyway I'm not selling anything 😅😭 but I do a couple of times every few years and stays off after as long as you're sensible ISH after you've stabilised.