Working from home is now an essential element of almost everyone we know, whether or not they are trying to win the bread for the family. The corporates are meeting deadlines from home, the children are learning from home, comedians are performing from home, and so on and so forth. For anyone who is moving ahead in any aspect of life, chances are that they are doing that from home. Needless to say, the unforeseen pandemic and its consequences are to be blamed. What’s happening is happening, the scientist and the government are trying hard to get the world to a better place and everyone is hopeful that someday things will get better, we will be able to get back to our workplaces with full potential and zero fear of being struck by a deadly virus. But the world doesn’t wait. Corporates are still functioning, and schools are going on – everything online. Everything at home.
In a scenario like this, there is no help that anyone can draw from past experiences. Things haven’t been like this ever and none of our friends, colleagues or seniors has survived a pandemic before. To keep life going, to keep earning the bread, one has to work. And now, work from home. Everyday life went for a toss and no one had any clue how to feel these emotions, live locked down at home, and still keep working. Not surprisingly in retrospect, health was inevitably affected on a mass scale, along with sleep schedules going here and there. Laziness has taken over the mindsets, leaving next to no space for physical activities, workout or exercises. Not even the fittest sportsmen could keep themselves in shape and physically fit, let alone the people who got up and got to work for ten hours every day. If you’re reading this, high chances are that you belong to the latter lot.
So, what can you do about it ? Here are a few things I found helpful, here we go.
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Plan Your Snack and Meal Times
Exactly like one plans the rest of the day, try and plan your meal and snack times. Know and follow at what time are you going to eat. Don’t treat food as something which you can get right away from the kitchen. Rathe, plan and eat food like you would if you were in the office. This will help you minimize your cravings and give in to the comfort and temptations of just getting up and eating whatever you like because you are at home. Just like you try to work as if you were in the office, eat like the same.
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Make sure you actually eat
Once you start working from home and really get into the flow, it’s easy to get carried away and skip the meals or snacks. This results in a lack of productivity, attention issues, and poor concentration. This isn’t a great idea for a healthy life as well. Make sure that you take a properly planned break for your lunch and snacks and EAT. This will help you stay in a good mood, work more efficiently and also take care of your diet.
Pro Tip: Set an alarm on your phone about the meal times and what you’re going to have.
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Workout
Physical movement and exercise are one of the most important activities which got abandoned as soon as people had to sit in their homes. Can’t go to parks, gyms are closed, can’t work out at home – the excuses are endless, and the results are inevitable. Lethargy, compromised fitness, and lack of motivation follow soon. Make sure that you indulge in some sort of physical activity every day and keep the muscles moving. Structuring workout into your schedule will improve your diet, work-life Balance and maintain activity at home, too.
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Focus on real food
It is an understandable tendency to think of eating whatever pleases your tongue, lying on your couch because who is keeping a check, right? Right, but falling into the trap of this tendency results in deeper problems. You need to understand that whatever you eat will not only hamper your health but also affect your mood and energy level during working hours. The next time you feel hungry, try to avoid grabbing that piece of snack or fry the frozen food pack and try to grab a fruit, some salad, or a protein bar instead. Planning the menu ahead of time makes it simpler to avoid grabbing whatever feels the tastiest and easiest at that moment.
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Don’t stock Junk Food
Don’t buy junk or packaged food thinking that it will come in handy whenever you feel hungry. This will cause more problems than it will solve. This might lead to eating a lot, just because it is there! Try to keep the junk food out of your house as much as you can, especially foods you are drawn to the most – because they can trigger a binge eating session for you. Out of sight, out of mind!
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Drink plenty of water
People often taking their water bottles to offices, or even forget to drink water unless they feel dead thirsty and dehydrated. Simply proves how easily we tend to overlook the importance of water. We may or may not register this, but this hampers our creativity, productivity, and causes headaches and fatigue, This isn’t healthy for ourselves and the work. Make sure you sit with a water bottle at the desk, just like you would do in the office. If you have water right next to you, there are high chances that you will drink it, which can help you reach the ideal water consumption every day. In summary, none of the things I have discussed is different or something you haven’t heard of before. These are the things that one is expected to do regularly when there is not an extreme condition like a pandemic. These are a few ways to indulge the same habits and behaviours in a routine where there is no need to step out of the house to earn – the Work from Home culture. I hope this helps. And please, consult your nutritionist/dietitian for detailed methods to take care of health and diet. Stay calm, stay fit.
About the Author
Dietitian Rajat Jain, is the Founder & Director of Health Wealth Diet Clinic, the leading nutrition and weight loss clinic in North West India as recommended by numerous fitness platforms. Dr Rajat is a weight loss expert, clinical & sports nutritionist and a certified diabetes & wellness educator. He is one of the is most trusted and award-winning dietitians of North-West India.
With his experience of more than 5+ years including working with reputed hospitals and fitness centres, Rajat has positively influenced the health of over 4000+ people from different walks of life. Rajat enjoys his distinctiveness of being affiliated with various fitness centres and gyms across West India where he works with the members as a nutrition and diet consultant and engages with their workout and performance on the floor, that offers him a deep understanding of his clients’ unique level of nutritional response towards their body.
Dt. Rajat Jain has been awarded 5 times in a row as the ‘Best Dietitian in Rajasthan’ and ranked among the ‘Top 10 Most Promising Dietitians in India’. Among various associations he also works with the Rajasthan Police Academy and Rajasthan Royals Colts & Sparks as their official and consulting sports nutritionist.
Disclaimer:
The information contained in this article is for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended as a health advice. We would ask you to consult a qualified professional or medical expert to gain additional knowledge before you choose to consume any product or perform any exercise.
