Has your fridge started talking to you?

Has your Fridge started talking to you..... now you are Working from Home?

No, I am not referring to the new Smart fridges, those new fandangle ones that are able to review the contents of your fridge, create shopping lists and provide menu plans.  It’s not that sort of conversation I am referring to.

I am talking about the internal chatter that comes when you are sat working from home at your home office desk.  You know the contents of your fridge or even your cupboards, because you put them there and it just feels like they are calling you from the kitchen. You are not alone!

During lock down more than 40% of adults in England have gained weight

The average weight gain over lockdown has been half a stone (3kg)

What does half a stone look like?

• A 6-pack of beer weighs around 3.3kg
• A 3 ltr carton of milk
• A standard bagless vacuum cleaner
• A new-born baby

If you are one of those home-workers that has gained weight you could be carrying around a bagless vacuum cleaner with you all day!  Can you imagine the additional pressure this is placing on your heart and other internal organs.

In a recent pole from ONS 7.7m workers in the UK are still working from home all or part of the week

Although the government announced in February this year all restrictions were lifted and we could all return to work.  1 in 4 are still working from home for part of the week and now 1 in 10 works from home permanently.

How can going back to the office help with Weight Management?

Having a structure to your day makes the world of difference to how you manage your food intake. You are being disciplined to get up at the same time every day and travel into a place of work.

This tends to lead to having a food plan even if that’s very loose, especially if there are break times for lunch at your place of work.

Working from an office or other working environment, usually means wearing a uniform or having to dress in a certain way appropriate to the employers’ expectations. This will mean getting back into wearing the clothes you in before we went into lock down and gained those additional 7 lbs!

For me, one of the great things about going into the office is getting to interact with my colleagues, spending time over a lunch break catching up and helping and supporting each other. That can’t happen when you are working from home alone.

What are some of the reasons you end up.... in the Fridge?

• The simplest is it’s there. Every time you open the fridge to get out the milk or milk alternative you see everything in the fridge looking back at you. That can be difficult to ignore.
• You tell yourself no one will know, it’s only me at home and its only one chocolate bar.
• Sometimes it’s boredom, you may have been doing a repetitive task on the laptop and need a break.  You may even have the laptop in the kitchen, as that is your chosen place to work.
• Maybe you don’t drink enough water when you are working at home.  Often going into the office takes a bit more preparation time and you think I won’t need my water flask as I am at home.

My Top 5 Tips to staying out of - the Fridge!

1. Have a meal plan (that you create at the weekend) and only buy what you need.
2. Whilst your working from home don’t buy treats for the house, if they are there they will get eaten.
3. Create a daily routine.  Eat at regular times and if you have time, break from your laptop, even try to get in a walk. I am lucky, I have Tabitha, my dog. So she always reminds me when we need to get out and stretch our legs.
4. Try and get ready for work, like you did when you were travelling into the office, get ready in the morning, look smart - work smarter!
5. If you are still struggling book in a free coaching session and if we are a right fit, I’ll tell you more about how we can work together on a 1-1 basis, to get off those extra pounds.

If you wanted to check your BMI here is an excellent tool provided free from the NHS https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/healthy-weight/bmi-calculator/

For more information about how to stop that internal dialogue and gain some control over your eating whilst working from home, let’s talk today!