Recently I’ve started working from home for 3 out of 5 days of the working week. At first, I thought this was amazing. I thought I could go to the gym as normal in the morning then workout in-between emails, with my weights and yoga mat by my side all day and eat nothing but healthy, wholesome food. Yeah… that didn’t happen. I started going to the gym a bit later (if at all) to avoid those 5:30am alarms and when I got back all I wanted to do (and still want to do) is eat. I sometimes remember to do a bit of exercise in my living room when it gets quiet, but it mostly consists of about 5 squats, a 20 second plank then 10 minutes spent pondering whether I’ve already eaten lunch or not. I mean, I know I don’t have to be permanently exercising, but I thought I would most definitely be incorporating more exercise into my daily routine with the freedom of working from home.
There’s something about being stuck at home – that is, being confined to the four walls of your home because you are, after all, meant to be working – and being permanently hungry. Especially when the weather is as miserable as it is today….

Maybe it’s just a British thing, but seeing those dull, grey skies teaming down with rain makes me want to grab a nice, steamy cup of tea and eat a slice of cake (I did make a sugar-free, gluten-free orange cake recently). Thankfully, in Brisbane, the rain is more of an anomaly than a recurrence, so this doesn’t happen often. However, when I am working from home I’m completely missing my routine, more simply because I am my own decision maker. I decide when I get out of bed (to an extent) and when I eat lunch and even when I get dressed (today I only got dressed because someone was meant to be coming to check the fire alarms). In your standard office environment, you are expected to turn up on time, eat lunch around, well, lunchtime and you aren’t accompanied by your fridge or food cupboards.

Some office environments come with their own temptations, such as the glorious office biscuit stash, however I’m not subjected to this torment as I can’t eat them unless I buy myself gluten-free ones (yes, I usually order the office supplies). Then there’s going out for lunch and walking past all those delicious smells and people scoffing burgers and fries right in front of you. Well, again, I can’t eat most of those things so it’s not an issue. A bigger issue for me is living above a supermarket, one that I often walk past on the way back from the gym and go ‘oh I need something’ then coming back with 20 things I didn’t actually need – especially if I see gluten-free items on special as they’re usually so damn expensive.

On my ‘office days’ I’m usually pretty good. I get up at 5:30am and go to the gym, I prep a healthy lunch and take healthy snacks. I even sometimes fit in a 20 minute workout when I get home. This sounds more manic but it actually makes me feel more energetic, more switched on and I can sleep easier at the end of the day because I’m physically and mentally tired. Currently, this type of routine isn’t happening on my days working from home. My timings are all over the place and it’s not doing my body or mind a lot of good. It’s also confusing the cat, a lot (she gets grumpy because I eat lunch without her).
So, my plan is to map out a routine for my days at home. Set regular times to go to the gym, eat breakfast and lunch etc and continue to prep my food so I’m less liable to snacking. I may even to bake a few healthy treats if I spare myself some time.
Do you work from home? Do you find a set routine helps with your eating habits and motivation? I’d love to hear your thoughts!
Happy reading 🙂