A Comprehensive Guide on How to Lose Weight While Working From Home

Hello, remote workers!

If you are someone wondering how to lose weight while working from home? Then, here is a comprehensive guide that helps you achieve your weight goals with practical tips without feeling overwhelmed. 

Are you struggling to manage work from home and your health? Though it provides you with the convenience of working from home, but it also leads to a sedentary lifestyle.

There are many advantages of working from home right from no more commuting to having that extra family time.

As per the study conducted by the National Library of Medicine, 41% of individuals who choose to work from home have gained weight during the pandemic. Some of the major reasons for weight gain have been unhealthy food habits, lack of physical activity, and sleep.

Understand the importance of eating healthy, including regular physical exercise and detoxifying your body regularly to maintain your health while working from home. 

Read on to know how to lose weight from your own space. 

How to Lose Weight While Working from Home? 

The Covid-19 pandemic taught us that life and work must go on. It introduced us to a new trend of working from home. Working from home has many benefits, like flexibility, improved productivity, and a better work life. 

Also Read: Is eating Watermelon at night good for weight loss?

Many organizations and employees still choose the option of working from home. However, it has impacted our health with weight gain, mental health, and musculoskeletal problems (like back pain/ neck pain).

Losing weight is important for our overall health. Being overweight can cause many diseases like heart disease, cancer, and depression.

Foods You Must Avoid When Trying to Lose Weight at Home

A little change in your food choices can help you lose weight from home. Here’s a list of foods that you must avoid on your weight loss journey.

Sugar

Sugar should be avoided because of the health problems that it can cause, like type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and obesity. Sugar does not give our body any nutrients; it just increases calories. 

Having sweets makes you crave more, leading to overeating. Healthier alternatives to sugar are honey, jaggery, or stevia. 

Avoid drinking packaged juices, sodas, or beverages because the added sugar content is higher; instead, have fresh juice or coconut water. 

Packaged Food

Packaged foods are very tempting in a busy routine, but they contain artificial preservatives and addictive and unhealthy fats. 

They might calm your hunger, but only for a short period of time. There is simply no nutritional value in these packaged foods, so why consume it?

This is also a cause of an increase in body weight. You can choose healthy options like fresh fruits, salads with proteins or nuts. 

Fried Food 

Fried foods should be avoided since they reduce the water content of the actual ingredient and soak it with oil, which is rich in fats. 

As per a study conducted in US shows that people who consume fried food regularly are highly prone to health problems like type 2 diabetes, high cholesterol, and heart disease. 

Have foods that are rich in fiber and protein, which will help you reduce your craving for fried food items. 

Processed Food 

Processed food contains a high amount of sodium and sugar, which will be a hindrance to your weight loss. 

Common processed food items you consider healthy include breakfast cereals, processed meat, cheese, or beverages. They are not healthy; they are all packed with preservatives that can be harmful for our body.

Try having foods that are rich in nutrients. You could include lean proteins like tofu, fish, or lentils in your diet. 

Pastries, Cookies and Cakes

These treats usually have a high sugar content and are high in calories. This leads to quick gain in weight. 

They are full of carbohydrates and unhealthy fats like butter and refined flour. 

If you crave such sweets, then have them in moderation. Other alternatives to these treats are dark chocolates, no-sugar sweets, fruits, or chia pudding. 

You can also bake a cake at home with healthy alternatives like replacing refined flour with oats or almond flour, replacing regular butter with nut butter and sugar with jaggery or raw honey. 

Avoid Junk Food

Junk foods have low fiber and nutritional value; they are loaded with sugar, refined flour, and saturated fats. They are loaded with carbohydrates, which lead to insulin resistance.

An increased amount of junk food in daily routine leads to health issues like headaches and migraines. 

Try having healthy food; for example, you should order fresh juice in a restaurant instead of soda. 

Foods You Must Include in Your Diet

Here are some foods that you must add in your diet, 

Vegetables

Fresh vegetables have fiber, vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants that are important for our body. Having vegetables in your diet improves digestion, reduces bloating, and helps with weight loss.

Vegetables to include are:

Leafy vegetable: Spinach and Kale are full of nutrients and fiber.

Bell peppers and Tomato for vitamin C and antioxidants.

Cruciferous vegetables like cauliflower and broccoli are known for their anti-cancer compounds. 

Protein 

A protein-rich meal helps you stay full for a longer period of time. It helps regulate hormones, muscle growth, and metabolism.

The best proteins to add to your diet are:

Eggs, Lentils like black beans and kidney beans 

Lean meats like fish, chicken breast, and turkey. 

Dairy products like Greek yogurt and cottage cheese

You can have boiled eggs or egg white omelets for breakfast instead of breakfast cereals. 

Fruits 

Have fruits because they are naturally sweet and help manage a sweet tooth. They provide the much-needed fiber, vitamins, and minerals to the body to help in weight loss. Fruits have a high water content that helps stay hydrated during the weight loss journey. 

The best fruits to include are: 

Apples: They’re rich in fiber and vitamins. 

Bananas: Are a good source of fiber and potassium.

Strawberry, blueberries, and raspberries, Dragon Fruit: They are loaded with antioxidants and fiber

Orange and kiwi: They are rich in vitamin C and antioxidants

Nuts 

Have nuts in your diet when you crave to have junk food or packed food because nuts help control appetite and have fewer calories, which aid in the weight loss process. As per the study, nuts significantly boost metabolism and are essential for heart and brain function. 

Here are a few of the best nuts to use:

Almonds: They are rich in vitamin E and magnesium.

Walnuts: Rich in omega-3 fatty acids, antioxidants, and prebiotics

Pistachio: Good source of protein. Fiber and amino acids. 

How to Detox Your Body to Lose Weight at Home?

Detoxification is the process of cleaning the body and removing all harmful substances from the body. 

As per a study conducted by the National Library of Medicine on Obesity found that individuals who took a thirty-day detoxification diet plan had lost approximately four to five kg in the process. There was a significant difference in their body mass index and waist and hip circumference. 

Detoxifying helps in reducing weight because it improves gut health, liver function, 

water retention, and inflation. 

Here are some detoxification drinks that help in the weight loss process:

Drink Lemon Water and Honey

Add warm water, 1 tsp of lemon, and two drops of honey in a glass and mix it well. 

This drink helps in detoxifying the liver. Have this drink on an empty stomach for better results.

Drink Cumin Seed Water

In a glass, soak 1 tsp of cumin seed overnight, have this water in the morning, and chew the cumin seeds. 

This drink helps improve digestion, boosts metabolism, helps burn fat, and reduces inflammation.

Drink Ginger, Lemon, Cinnamon and Honey Water

In a glass, add 1 teaspoon of ginger, ½ tsp of cinnamon powder, 2 teaspoons of lemon, and a few drops of honey; mix it and then add a warm glass of water and stir well.

Have this drink before your meals. 

Drink Fenugreek Water

In 1 ½ glasses of water, soak 1 tsp of fenugreek seeds. Boil the water with seeds in the morning.

Reduce the water to one cup. Now strain the water and wait till the water is warm. Consume it in the morning on an empty stomach.

Green Tea

Have green tea after every meal with a gap of an hour. Just boil water with green tea leaves, strain it, and have it sip by sip. Don’t add any sweeteners for better results. 

How to Lose Weight at Home With Exercise?

Exercise is very important in a weight loss journey. Managing time for a workout from a busy schedule might be tricky. Still, just thirty to forty-five minutes of physical activity will help reduce weight. 

Studies show that exercise helps burn calories; some individuals who performed exercise regularly every week burned approximately 1500 calories compared to individuals who didn’t perform any exercise.

Exercise not only helps us burn calories but also boosts our metabolism. 

Here is a list of a few exercises that can help you shed that weight:

Walking

Walking is a simple exercise to add to your busy routine. It doesn’t even cause any pain in the body; it’s a low-impact exercise but a wonderful method to lose that extra weight. 

Initially, you can start by walking for 30 minutes and gradually increase your time and space. 

Going for walks in the morning gives an added advantage of vitamin D and enhances mood by releasing endorphins. 

Cardio 

Cardio exercise helps to lose weight faster and promotes good heart health. Cardio exercises include running, swimming, jumping jacks, burpees, squat jumps, skate jumps, planks, and high knees. 

You can mix your cardio exercise or do one at a time and increase the intensity of the workout by performing more sets per exercise.

Include cardio exercises for an hour daily, five days a week, to see a significant weight loss. 

Cycling

Cycling is an excellent exercise to strengthen muscles and core. While cycling, the body performs movement in all its parts, making it one of the best ways to lose weight. 

As per the study, a person can burn six hundred calories per hour depending on the cycling space. 

You can start by cycling in the parks, and later, as you build speed, you can try different routes.

Yoga 

Yoga is an age-old practice that helps balance the mind and body. It’s a therapy for the body that helps reduce stress. 

Some yoga exercises you should practice for weight loss are surya namaskar, triangle pose, bow pose, and bridge pose. 

Since yoga is not a high-intensity workout, you can burn approximately 180 to 400 calories, depending on which pranayama you perform. 

Dance 

Dancing is a fun way of exercising with benefits like burning calories, strengthening muscles, improving flexibility, and increasing blood flow in the body. 

If you consider this an exercise for weight loss, you will have to dance at least for twenty-five minutes, four to five days a week. 

Some dance forms aiding weight loss are Zumba, Hip-Hop, Belly Dance, and Pole Dance. 

Things You Must Be Mindful of in Your Daily Routine to Lose Weight at Home

★ Skipping meals can lead to acid reflux and even overeating when hungry. So, Don’t skip your meals. 

★ Try using small plates and measuring your food as per serving; this will help you avoid overeating. 

★ Listen to your body, don’t eat while watching something or in stress, eat only when hungry.

★ Staying hydrated in weight loss is important since it will release toxins. Eight glasses of water daily is a must in the weight loss journey. 

★ Make it a habit to chew your food properly for proper digestion. Eating slowly also makes your stomach full.

★ Sleep plays an important role in detoxifying our body. Try to have a sound sleep of seven to eight hours to prevent stress hormones from activating.

★ They can lead to weight gain. Damage to the liver and lungs, hence avoid it.

★ Stress can lead to weight gain and hormonal imbalance, which can cause hindrances to weight loss. 

Conclusion

Losing weight is a process that requires dedication.

This guide on How to Lose Weight While Working From Home gives you knowledge about good and bad food for your health, how to burn calories, and how to detoxify your body. This will definitely help you accelerate your weight loss journey. 

Some important habits to keep in mind while on weight loss are always planning your meals in advance, carrying nuts in your bag, and staying hydrated. Also, take breaks while working from home every hour and move around the house for five minutes or stretch to maintain good body posture. 

It’s all about just taking that one step, and you will be able to see the change. Remember to set realistic goals to stay consistent on this journey. 

Don’t make excuses!  

Take out that some me time and take one step towards your healthy work-from-home lifestyle. 

Frequently Asked Questions