Expert Tips That Will Help You Avoid Overeating While Working From Home

Are you at a loss on how to tamp down on your excessive eating habits while confined at home? Regardless of whatever the reason for that may be, these tips from Cynthia Sass, a Los-Angeles based registered dietitian, are for you.

1. Don’t eat while working

One of the golden rules when working from home is to never dish yourself, a plate of food just when you're about to work. Sass says that this will be very tempting, and that you may even convince yourself into thinking that it'll be a good distraction from the hard work you're doing. But, never fall for it!

This tip is backed by a 2020 research study which publishes that "distracted eating affects taste processing, and increases the susceptibility to overeat."

Bottom line: stop eating while performing another activity like working, watching TV, playing games, etc. Instead, practice mindful eating; it'll help you eat less and promote satisfaction.

2. Create an eating schedule — and stick to it!

This tip will not only help you eat less, but also help you make each day productive. Sass describes a consistent eating routine as the foundation for balanced eating. If you don't normally eat breakfast, this is the right time to start.

A study published in The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism reports that diet-induced thermogenesis, the energy your body expends digesting and metabolizing food, is more than twice as high at breakfast compared to dinner.

The study also reports that subjects who ate a larger breakfast and smaller dinner experienced better blood sugar and insulin control. And when study subjects ate a smaller breakfast and larger dinner, they had increased feelings of hunger throughout the day, especially for sweets.

Bottom line: always have breakfast!

3. Eat whole foods

Comfort foods and pre-packaged products will look like the best thing to go with being at home all day. But, they are usually less nutritious and filling than whole/natural products.

Studies have especially found that you're more likely to eat less after eating one apple and a small handful of almonds, but more prone to overeating when chomping down on your favorite bag of chips.

Bottom line: Make sure to stock your pantry and fridge with vegetables, lean proteins, fruits, nuts as well as whole food carbohydrates.

4. Find alternative ways to cope with stress

Try to tamp down on stress eating while at home. It will bring you comfort but that'll only be temporary and an endless feeling of not being satisfied will start to grow. Instead, find other coping mechanisms to deal with stress like speaking to a close pal, watching a movie, playing games, reading a book, or even just taking long baths.

Bottom line: Make a mental note to avoid stress eating or other habits that may cause you to deviate from your drawn eating schedule.