Working remotely has so many benefits – constant access to a kettle and answering those pesky emails in your PJs! While there are certainly many benefits, working from home can come with some downsides as well. One of the main ones being a struggle to eat mindfully. After all, you have access to your fridge, countless shops and delivery services to tempt you. This article considers the main ways that you can maintain mindful eating habits while working from home.
What is Mindful Eating?
So, what is mindful eating? Being mindful refers to focusing on what’s occurring in the present moment, all the while acknowledging and accepting your thoughts and feelings. When it comes to mindful eating, this means that you will pay attention to the food you’re eating with no distractions. This can help you to make healthier food choices for your body, as you’ll be able to concentrate on how the meals you eat makes you feel. For instance, fast food may make you feel sluggish, while a healthier, more balanced option may give you the energy that you need to carry on with your day. So, keep reading to discover some steps that you can take to practice eating mindfully while working remotely.
Plan Your Week
Planning ahead is a great way of eating mindfully. Despite the fact that you have access to your kitchen at any time, it’s a great idea to cook your meals ahead of time. This will help to avoid any temptation that you may have and prevent you from grabbing unhealthy snacks due to having no time. When you go food shopping, shop with your breakfast and lunch in mind. You could also choose dinners that can last you a few days. For example, you could make stew and save the leftovers to eat throughout the week.
Take Your Time
Take your time while you eat. Even though it may be tempting for you to wolf down your meal, especially if you’re on a tight deadline, this won’t be beneficial for you. Make sure that you take small bites of your food and place your knife and fork down while you chew. This allows you to be able to taste your meal properly. Also, chew thoroughly and slowly. This will release the true flavours of the food. Eating slowly allows you to be more mindful of your food and can be especially beneficial if you’re eating with other people. Allow yourself to experience this before you begin engaging in conversation.
Increase Your Fluid Intake
Increasing your fluid intake (particularly water) is a great idea for your overall health and well-being. For example, it can increase your concentration levels, normalise your blood pressure, flush out bacteria, aid your digestion and more. When you’re working remotely, you can get into unhealthy habits, such as choosing unhealthier beverages over sipping water.
Try adding a lemon or lime to your water, as the natural flavouring may encourage you to drink more. There are also other drinks that you could try, such as herbal tea, fruit juice or green tea. Some people enjoy a cup of green tea to help them beat the afternoon slump. This is because it’s not only a refreshing drink, but it also has a small amount of caffeine and is high in antioxidants. Alternatively, you can add a few drops of CBD oil https://alphagreen.io/collections/high-strength-cbd-oil.html to your daily beverages to help to boost focus as well as provide other potential positive effects (after doctor’s approval, of course).
Recognise Real Hunger Cues
When it comes to recognising hunger cues, you may not be as adept as you think. After all, while working remotely, we can all feel restless and bored from time to time, and this can lead to mindless eating patterns. This is especially relevant for people who have been working on a task for a long period of time or who have no colleagues to speak to. This can feel isolating and lead to mindless snacking. So, what’s the solution? Here are the top four steps that you can take to avoid this:
- Take a Walk: Going for a short walk during a break from working is great for many reasons. It can help to get your heart pumping, your blood flowing around your body and reduce feelings of stress and anxiety. After your walk, you’ll be able to assess (with a clearer head) if you’re actually hungry or simply bored.
- Engage in Exercise: This tip is similar to the previous one, but you can choose to do this one from the comfort of your own home. There are many online exercise videos that you can do during a ten-minute break. There are ab workouts, core exercises, yoga and more.
- Read: Reading a book can give your eyes a much-needed break from a screen and blue light. It’s a great form of escapism that can help to de-stress you from the monotony of work. Curl up with an old favourite, or go on an adventure with a new genre.
- Meditate: Meditation and mindful eating go hand in hand, as it’s all about taking time out of your day to focus on the present moment. There are plenty of different types of meditation that you can follow, both guided and unguided. You can meditate for however long you would like, meaning that you can take a break from work and meditate or choose to meditate for a longer time once you’ve clocked off for the day. It might help to reduce feelings of stress, control your anxiety symptoms, support your emotional health, and potentially improve memory and sleep. So, what are you waiting for? Try out a form of mediation today! There are lots of online tutorials and free apps to help guide you if you’re a beginner.
Final Thoughts
And there we have it – how to eat mindfully while working from home! We all know that working remotely and having easy access to unhealthy foods can be tempting, but both your body and mind will thank you for taking the time to eat more mindfully. Make sure to share these tips with your colleagues and loved ones to help them figure out that work-life balance.
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