Healthier in the office or at home?
When it was announced last year that my company was going to add more work-from-home days, one of my first thoughts was, “Ooo, I bet I will eat more healthy at home and lose some weight.”
Ha ha. Not quite. Emotional eating does not depend on location! If I want to binge, I’ll do it at work or home.
However, I do think it is a little easier to eat healthier at home – because I have access to a lot of healthy options in my kitchen, and am not close to any restaurants/vending machines. I can make huge salads for lunch, or cook something new. I’m not stuck with whatever I bring in to the office – or run out to get. I don’t have to worry about getting hungry and not having a healthy snack option.
Favorite coworker said she actually feels the opposite – she eats healthier in the office because she does eat exactly what she brings, and is not tempted by yummy snacks in her home. Interesting! I do have to admit, I am more likely to keep a bag of Spicy Sweet Chili Doritos in my pantry at home, than at work, and they become very tempting at 3:00 pm… ha ha.
Do you think where you are working (in the office vs home or elsewhere) has an effect on how healthy you eat? Or where you are, in general, whether or not you’re working?
brekkie, lunch and snacks
One thing is for sure – it’s nice not to have to prep a ton of food every night, and haul it in to the office. I look like a freakin’ pack mule when I do!
And the other thing… even if I don’t always eat healthier at home, at least when I do work from home, I have three extra hours in my day (that aren’t lost to the commute) and am more likely to get a workout in!
Themocracy
I work from home one day a week, and I notice that I snack a TON more because the kitchen is just right there…it’s rough! On the other hand, I usually am religious about getting a workout in during those days and typically do longer/harder workouts because I’ve saved time commuting, etc. and no one cares if I sweaty during a conference call or answering emails 🙂
Off topic, but we should meet up for lunch on a work from home day! Uhhh… we can bring our lunches to make it healthy. LOL.
I’d say I’m healthier at work. I can pack what I want, I don’t go out since I usually spend my lunch hour studying at my desk (I’m super boring, what can I say). I find if I do study on my lunch hour, that’s one less hour I have to spend at home studying, so I can hang with my family. On my off days, I typically eat with my hubby for his lunch hour, and we eat out, then I come home to study and eat “brain food” which is usually what ever I have in the pantry. To make an effort of eating better, I’ve stocked the pantry with healthy eats. No cheating there! So that’s what I do.
You are the studying queen!
I need some study tips, as I am studying for a professional certification. Do you have any for me? Do you ever take a day off? My brain is on overload right now 😉
No, I don’t take a day off. I can’t! I usually try to break it up, I study at work for an hour, then I’ll glance over things that evening. There is usually 1-2 days I do lots of studying though (when I’m off work), with lots of breaks. I’ll do it in intervals. If I find I’m losing focus, I’ll go do something else then come back.
Good luck!
Thanks 🙂 That is my struggle – it is all really interesting, and I feel like I took it all in, but I have to read things quite a few times for it to really sink!
I think the office holds me to a tighter regimen, because I need to think through what I’m bringing. (Although, it is tooooo easy to run out and get “the wrong thing”). At home, I feel like I’m grazing. Given there are three of us there, all with different culinary tastes – having them out of the way during the day leaves way tooo many poor choices wide open for attack!
Then there is my other office – the unmanaged office. When there is a disaster or emergency, especially if I deploy, my options for a healthy life style are extremely limited. Cannot count, even with an Ipad, the number of fried chicken dinners, or 18-layer lasagna I have had. The world of healththy eating has not yet entered into the emergency response/management circles. Worst I’ve ever seen is greasy chili with a shortage of porta-potties – but I’ll save that for another day.
To sum it up – if I’m in the office, the one with a door and windows – life is good diet wise.
David
LOL @ the shortage of porta potties!
I really struggle with healthy eating on the go for work so I bet I would have the same issues.
I am exactly like your co worker!
I eat VERY well when I’m travelling, at work, out for dinners etc..basically, ANYWHERE but home – I can not help myself when surrounded by all the stuff at home..where as if I’m out, I’ll just eat what I buy/made for myself, and that’s it!
Please tell me your trip of eating healthy on the go/at dinners! What do you do?
I think it’s a mixed bag- like you said it is much easier to throw together a healthy lunch because I have access to the kitchen. And there are no co-workers bringing in tempting treats. But, my kitchen is always there. So if I have a crazy craving for brownies at 3 pm, I can make them.
I do think I eat much better when I am at home than when I am traveling for work. When I am on the road I eat so much crap- sometimes because it the only option, or because I am bored in an airport, or because I go out with people on site for long, huge meals and drinks.
Oh gosh. One time I was working from home and totally made cookie dough to eat. LOL!
I tend to eat more and eat less healthy when I work from home. The proximity to the pantry/fridge is just too much for me to handle and when I’m at work I just eat what I bring. Super easy.
If I had a long commute though I bet it’d be different. I’d be much less likely to work out and I’d probably come home and eat all the foods every night.
I always eat better when I’m working from home (but I only do it once every other week) but that’s because I don’t allow myself to go out (unless you count the two times I’ve met a friend for lunch while working from home). When I’m in the office, I’m tempted by coworkers to go out to eat at lunch. I’ve been pretty good about it so far this year and when I do go out to lunch I try to stick to healthier options. Since I’ve been tracking calories lately I’ve gotten into the habit of checking counts online for restaurants we go to beforehand so I don’t get out of control.
I think I’m mostly like favorite co-worker, in that I limit myself to whatever food I take to work with me… most of the time. I also have a drawer full of snacks in case I have to stay late and get hungry, and for some reason I’m always much more hungry when I’m in the office than at home, so I feel like I’m eating constantly when I’m there. Probably because I’m bored and it breaks up the day. Oh, and I share a cube with Cheryl, who constantly brings in M&Ms for the team (she NEVER eats them, just enables!) – since they’re my favorite candy, I have a hard time resisting them.
On the other hand, I do have time to make healthier meals when I’m at home, so I usually eat pretty well, but sometimes I get tempted by whatever junk food Bob’s bought (like my bus-toss? Clearly I’d never buy crap!) or whatever leftovers we have, like yesterday’s two-meat pizza lunch.
I agree that eating healthy at home to be so much easier. You can just walk to the fridge and grab some fruit or veggies. At work, I’ve often been too busy to eat good food and find myself shoveling down a Clif bar to keep me going, which is not super healthy.
I’m with your coworker in that I find it easier to eat healthy at work because I just eat what I bring. I’m too lazy to leave to get anything else 95% of the time. Unless, of course, I’ve promised myself a post-lunch-workout treat or the boss brings in homemade goodies. Then all bets are off. However, I try not to have junk food at home or at work so that makes it easier to keep from eating that kind of stuff either place.
And now that I’ve typed this all out, I’m going to eat my apple slathered in Biscoff spread. *hangs head in shame* (no, not really. About the shame. The Biscoff is totally on)
Or if someone leaves food at your desk? 😉
Ha ha ha. You do not have to be shameful of the Biscoff!!!!
I’m going the opposite route, I eat healthier if I’m in the office but I haven’t been for quite some time. It’s too easy just to go start snacking out of the pantry when I’m at home. The key is keeping it out of the house which is sometimes a struggle for me!
I am so much healthier at home than in the office! My office is a moshpit landmine of chocolate, candy, cookies, cake (all the “c” words). There is always food sitting in the kitchen that was leftover from some meeting, plus we have “Treat Wednesdays” and candy jars everywhere you look!!!
Plus, I am not as good about staying hydrated in the office as I am at home. That darned walk to the kitchen to refill my water bottle gets me every time, LOL.
Oh! That is another interesting thing to discuss. I drink a lot more at home too. Our water dispenser at work is annoying.
I would agree with your coworker. I eat really well at work because I bring lunches that are healthy and only bring one snack. At home, I could go crazy eating snacks and the kitchen is always right there!
You at-work meals look great!
I am always really curious about what people bring to lunch, and I spent hours trying to figure out how people brought salads to work without all the greens wilting. And then I always hate when recipes list something under “lunch” that involves being served immediately out of a frying pan. Um, no that does not happen.
I would like to have the luxury of making a big, healthy lunch on my own time at home, but so far, I’m doing okay packing a big salad every day. I think I probably would snack a lot more at home, so perhaps it’s better that I’m on campus for a good portion of the day.
Thanks! 🙂 We just tested out a new Fake Meats Indian recipe last night and I really liked it and brought some today to have with my salad!
I struggled big time on campus. But I had a place to camp out with (bad for me) food. You probably have an office like that, right?
I think I’m probably more likely to eat healthier when I’m actually in the office. (I get to work from home so rarely so I’m not sure) I’m pretty good about limiting myself to whatever I’ve brought and only go out to lunch once a week so that’s not too bad. Sometimes I wish I could get a little more creative about what I bring (I don’t want to bring something too messy or time consuming) but I think if I were working from home portion control (my weakness) would be out the window.
I find so interesting the fact that the comments are split on the matter. The crazy data person in me wants to plot statistics and graphs on that..
Me, I am on the “eating better at the office” side. But I am also much more efficient when working at an office setting as opposed to working at home. At home I tend to slack and snack way more.
Plot away! I think it is super interesting too!
Gosh, I don’t really know! I know I tend to graze more at the office because there’s always food around (like the donuts currently sitting in our breakroom…) and with my coworkers, we’re always going out for lunch. At home, I think as long as I surround myself with healthy choices, I would eat better. Plus, no commute = more time to exercise (or sleep…). Hmm… quite the interesting debate here! I would guess I would eat healthier at home. Final answer! 😉
How lovely that you have the option to work from home and not waste so much time commuting! I am definitely tempted by more food when I am at home than when I am out – I won’t eat unhealthily so tend to eat and snack less if I am at home for the day – snack on nuts when I am at home:)
I hate having to prep lunch for work. Luckily I do my breakfast (oatmeal) on Sunday and prepare enough for the week. But I do not have my act together enough to prepare a week of lunches. (Although I don’t have much of an excuse for why I don’t.) Also, like you, I save A LOT of time when I don’t have to commute, so it’s so much easier to get in a workout. Plus I can go out in the middle of the day to workout, which makes running much more appealing. Or I can try out daytime classes at my gym.
Oh my gosh I’m actually writing a post on working from home now! In my industry everyone typically works from home on Fridays, and with the start of a new project I now work from home an additional two days in the week. It’s honestly a blessing and a curse. I hate being hungry at work but when at home I over-snack (is that possible?)…why can’t we reach a happy medium huh? Either way, I would ultimately and definitely choose working from home over going into the office because I get over 2 hours back into my day 🙂
I am excited to read your post! I love working from home for a lot of reasons, with extra time in my day being a HUGE one 🙂
I’m healthier when I’m working. I have to think about what I eat rather than graze. Since I started my new job in November, I’ve been out to lunch like five or six times. Only one was by myself.
I’ve been working at home this week because of my back and I actually was thinking about this today. I eat WAY better at the office because I plan meals around my schedule. At home, I either wait to eat for too long and then am way too hungry or eat way too much. I think if I did do this every day I would start new habits. I definitely think I would work out more if I did this all the time! (which stinks right now because I have to rest)
I hope your back starts to feel better soon! When do you start with the PT?
I tend to eat better at the office since I have less access to food. At home I can go to the pantry whenever I want to grab a snack. I keep only a few snacks at work. And I usually don’t carry much cash for the cafeteria or vending machines.
I work at a super elite private school and they feed us breakfast and lunch. Hot, college cafeteria style..except everything is homemade. This is btw one of the biggest perks about my job…and with an hour commute each way, very helpful for feeding me between jobs as I usually take half my lunch to-go.
Now…the downside. It’s like college 15 all over again. So hard to stay healthy when there are 300 cookies baked homemade daily! DAILY! Stop, right??? I do try very hard but every now and then I do splurge. My favorites are buffalo chicken wrap days and Sesame Chicken with rice. Most day though, I am good. We have a fish option, chicken option and pasta option every day, as well as a salad bar and grill. I opt healthier I would say 9 out of 10 days.
I don’t keep ANY junk in my house!
Wow. Just wow. That sounds so fab, but like you… I would be craving the homemade stuff! Do they offer stuff for all sorts of diets?
That’s a really good question! I think the general rule of thumb is I eat the healthiest when I’m not tempted. On Mondays in the office, I’m the best, because I bring healthy meals and snacks and there’s no food in our office. That goes completely out the window by Friday, when our office provides bagels and donuts and other sweet temptations. At home, it’s hit or miss. Some days I’m really good about what I eat; other days not so much. I think the advantage of work from home days is those are the days I’m able to workout, whereas my commuting time to the office eats into my working out time on those days.