Eating & Staying Healthy While Working At Home

Do you work from home? Maybe you have worked from home for years like me or maybe it’s a sudden necessity with the current pandemic around the globe. Eating healthy while working from home can definitely be a challenge! Having the option of walking into the other room to grab a snack is so convenient. But this is probably not the best for our bodies.

Chances are if you are working from home you get bored… You’ve finished your work for the day or wrapped up the last skype meeting and now you are just sitting there wondering what to do with all the extra time on your hands. Since we are all pretty much home-bound with the Corona Virus, you can’t get out of the house, meet up with friends, go to the gym, or go shopping at Target. So, you sit down and catch up on the next Netflix movie or series.

Or maybe it’s the opposite, maybe you are slammed with work and barely eat enough throughout the day because you are just simply too busy to take a break. Which is also not a healthy choice. I am guilty of this myself at times and usually end up feeling so depleted with little sleep, not enough food, and not drinking anything throughout the day. Horrible choices for sure!! And although I know it is not good for me in anyway, shape or form, I still end up doing it from time to time. What the heck? 😊

Making better choices of what we choose to eat, how we start our day and even staying up late at night all make a difference in our mood, alertness, and overall health.

I have worked from home for the past 16 years. You’d think I had everything all figured out by now and could stick to a healthy daily plan. However, I too find myself wondering into the kitchen at times to grab a snack. Everyone does it from time to time (or more often for some) and we probably don’t even think twice about it. Why do we snack? Are we bored? Did we skip breakfast? Are we feeling nervous or full of energy? Are we tired and think we need more food to “fuel” our bodies?

My husband works out of the house and normally takes his lunch and maybe a snack with him to work. Recently he is working from home part-time and found himself walking into the kitchen a few times throughout the day to grab a quick snack. It’s easy, convenient, and nice to have the options that you wouldn’t normally have when you are limited to the foods you bring for the day while at work. It is nice to be home and have the choices but sometimes too many choices can lead to overeating without even realizing it.

Some would say that snacking or eating smaller meals more often throughout the day is healthier for you than eating three larger meals each day. The theory is that eating smaller meals more often throughout the day leads to an increased metabolism. I’m not nutritionist and don’t claim to know what is best for you by any means. However, I do know that eating healthy foods (however many times a day you eat them) is by far more beneficial for you than eating pre-packaged meals of any kind.

Our bodies are equipped to process whole, natural foods. This is how God made our bodies. He didn’t create trees to pick a frozen microwavable dinner from. He gave us natural foods that are beneficial to live our best lives. Maybe you don’t believe in God (to each their own and no judging either way). But if you look around, you still don’t see those processed food trees anywhere do ya 😉 It is because it is not natural~

Processed and fast foods often contain many ingredients that can’t even be pronounced. If you are going to be buying these items, try to read the labels and buy only the items that contain the smallest amounts of ingredients. Believe me, that are out there.

It is said that we burn more calories while eating whole foods as our body works harder to process these whole foods. Processed foods often contain added sugar, salt and fat. They lack nutritional value and have many more calories that our bodies need. Our bodies actually burn less calories with processed foods than whole foods, which leads to weight gain. Eating pre-packaged foods, can lead to eating more than you need because you don’t feel full or satisfied as long. If we are eating more food than our bodies need, that food is turned into and stored as fat.

Healthy habits can prevent certain health conditions, such as heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, diabetes, obesity, and much more. I encourage you to do your own research, talk to your doctor, watch documentaries, read books or whatever it is you need to do to understand the benefits of eating healthy, drinking water, and getting exercise.

It is also important to eat healthy and put nourishing foods into our bodies to maintain a healthy digestive and immune system. We need to build and maintain a healthy immune system to help fight and combat the flu, common colds, etc. Our bodies cannot fight the bad if it is not in the shape to do so. And having a compromised immune system makes fighting germs harder and harder, therefore you dreadfully ending up sick. No one likes being sick!

What should we avoid you ask? Avoid processed meat, processed cheese, most fast food meals, high calorie coffee drinks, sodas, anything with added sugar salt, or refined grains, artificial sweeteners, candy, sugary cereals. You get the idea.

Try to eat whole, natural foods as much as possible. Lean meats, fresh fruits and vegetables. Incorporate at least five servings of fruits and vegetables each day, they are low in calories and high in nutrients. Don’t forget the fiber. One way to add fiber is to incorporate more plant-based foods, which helps to regulate hunger by making people feel fuller longer. It is said that diets rich in fruits and vegetables may help to protect against cancer and help you maintain a healthier weight.

Did you know that skipping breakfast can raise your blood sugar, which increases fat storage? I am so guilty of skipping breakfast and have been for most of my life. This, among other things like drinking more water is something I struggle with on a daily basis.

Now let’s talk about water. Our bodies are around 60% water. It is commonly recommended to drink eight 8 oz glasses of water each day. There are many benefits to drinking water and here are a few of them – water helps maintain blood pressure, flushes out the body waste, boosts skin health, supports digestion, lessons headaches, helps kidney function and so much more. Alternately, lack of water could lead to dehydration which could cause tiredness, slow brain function, irritability, constipation and more. Let’s work on drinking that water folks!!

In addition to eating healthy, we need to exercise regularly. Regular exercise can improve cardiovascular health, boost your immune system, increase your energy level, brighten your mood and lower stress. There are many free resources to get you moving. You could go for a walk, do push-ups, squats and jumping jacks, use canned goods or old milk cartons filed with water for weights, find free exercise videos online, pace around while talking on the phone, vacuum & mop the entire house. Be creative, just get up and move frequently throughout the day.

It’s amazing that our bodies can keep up with us with all that we put it through on a daily basis. Think about even the past 30 days. How has your life changed? Are you maintaining a healthy life? Eating foods that nourish your body, sleepy 8-10 hours, exercising regularly, and keeping your stress levels down?

I know I’m not succeeding in all these areas but I certainly am trying to be mindful and do as much as I can throughout the day. No one is perfect and don’t beat yourself up over a bad decision made. Or heck even an entire day making bad health decisions. It happens to all of us. Just remember that there’s the opportunity to make the right choice when the next decision of eating, staying up too late or getting a little walk in will lead you in the right direction.

Wishing you health and happiness ~ xoxo