Calorie hacks for the home office: How to avoid "grazing"

Have you gained weight too? The prescribed stay at home requires discipline, not only with regard to working hours, but also with regard to eating habits. The fridge and the next snack are only one step away - and we still look forward to small breaks in between. So that tangible temptations don't hit your hips right away, there are a few simple tips and tricks to save calories.

Does the crisis lead us to “grazing”?

Grazing? What is grazing, please? The word comes from the English "to graze", which means to graze and figuratively means "to nibble": We all know it when cows or horses graze on lush meadows all day. And many people who work in the home office currently feel not dissimilar: We eat many small meals and snacks throughout the day, even without feeling hungry.

Nutritional psychologists also refer to this behavior pattern as grazing. There are often psychological reasons behind this - from stress to worries and fears to boredom, i.e. everything that accompanies us in this crisis. Special eating habits can sometimes help us cope with these challenges - and these behaviors are usually learned in childhood. The danger here is that neither hunger nor satiety is felt, so you often eat far more food than you need. It is therefore important to unmask the causes of these eating impulses and to take countermeasures. Because eating should make you full, but also make you happy in the long term.

Food rich in vital substances instead of empty calories

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It is advisable to focus on healthy foods rich in vital substances. A lot of vegetables, fruit, whole grain products and proteins are key to health and keep you full and satisfied for a long time. White bread and pasta should not be on the menu every day, but can be varied as a filling side with whole grain rice, quinoa or (not fried) potatoes. And fat isn't damnable either. High-quality vegetable oils or plant-based margarines provide essential omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids as well as fat-soluble vitamins. Milk chocolate, on the other hand, is of course delicious but unfortunately doesn't keep you full for long.

Snacking is also healthy

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The best prevention is not to have tempting foods and especially snacks at home. Or at least only in small amounts. Nuts, fruit or even crunchy vegetable sticks, on the other hand, are a delicious and healthier alternative to chips and co. The herb spread for dipping is also very easy to make yourself.

Eat consciously at set times

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In our regular everyday life with fixed working hours, most people take it for granted that they only eat three or four meals over the course of the day. This is also important if parents currently have to organize the household between home office and childcare. A lack of structures complicates the usual rhythm in the home office. In addition, the dining table often has to serve as a work table, which inevitably means that work and leisure time flow into one another. But this is exactly where the devil is buried: Try to continue to eat at set times and do so consciously and without distraction. Quickly answering the first e-mails during breakfast, making a few business phone calls over lunch - all of this leads to the fact that we are not consciously aware of what we are eating. As a result, we consume more calories than necessary and the feeling of satiety occurs too late. Try to clearly separate the work and dining areas. This can also be done by deliberately turning and moving the laptop away from the dining table.

to prepare food

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If you plan and pre-cook your meals, you kill several birds with one stone. First of all, you are not tempted to simply reach for the next best pack of chips or chocolate when you have cravings. Second, convenience and lack of time no longer work as excuses. But the best reason for pre-cooking and self-cooking is health. Home-cooked meals usually contain fewer calories and of course no additives. You know exactly what ends up on your plate or in your own body.

Drink water - preferably with a shot

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It's no secret that drinking enough fluids is important to our health. In addition, regular drinking of water leads to a decrease in our feeling of hunger. If you want to boost your metabolism, you can enrich the water with lemon and / or ginger to stimulate fat burning.

The simple things are most important to health

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In addition, those basic principles that are generally important for a healthy lifestyle also apply when you are working from home: Make sure you get enough sleep and regular breaks to rest your body and brain, as well as sufficient exercise, which is also possible at home healthy food choices, drinking enough and not eating the last meal of the day too late in the evening. However, it is not advisable to just wear jogging pants with a stretchy waistband …