Stay Healthy While Working and Caregiving From Home

By Roz Jones

With more people working from home, a common question has come up – how do I get more exercise and avoid eating too much when I am at home full-time? This becomes even more difficult when you are caregiving from home as well, taking care of yourself, your job, and most importantly your loved ones. But don’t worry, it is possible to improve your physical health even while working from home, just like if you were working in an office. 

Here are 3 different things to focus on when it comes to staying healthy while working from home.

1. Staying Active and Stretching

One of the best things you can do when you work from home is to stay active. Even if you sit at a desk or work on the couch with your laptop all day, there are still plenty of opportunities to move your body.

Make it a goal to move more throughout the day, not only with daily exercise, but getting up from your day and stretching more often. 

Here are some ideas:

Start your day with a gentle workout session – In the morning, you can boost your energy and move your body with a gentle form of exercise. Yoga and Pilates are great for the morning, but a short walk would also be great.

Find more reasons to walk during your day – Walking is the gentlest form of exercise, and the easiest to do. You can walk your dogs a little further than you normally would, go on a family walk around the neighborhood after dinner, or walk to run errands if it’s close enough to your house instead of driving.

Add in other forms of exercise – What else do you enjoy doing? Do you want to take an afternoon spin class with a friend? Do you like getting out of the house to go on a hike or head to the gym? Find more forms of exercise that will motivate you. If possible, invite your loved ones to join you!

2. Nutrition While Working from Home

Another pitfall that people often fall into when working from home is snacking or indulging in treats all day. If you have found that your nutrition is falling behind from working near your kitchen all day, here are some tips that can help:

Have healthy snacks on hand – If you tend to reach for chips or candy often, keep healthier snacks within your reach. Have fruit or nuts on your desk, keep granola bars on the counter, make sure your fresh fruit and veggies are visible, instead of a box of donuts on the counter.

Do meal prep – Meal prep works great when you work from home too! This does not just have to be for bringing lunch to work. The more you have prepared at home, the less tempted you will be to order food delivery or go out to eat. It will also save time in the long run, meaning you have more time to take care of and spend time with loved ones.

Designated kitchen times – A common trap when working from home is feeling like you can walk into the kitchen at any time and eat something. To prevent this, have designated kitchen and meal times just like you would if you worked in an office.

3. Developing Healthier Habits

Staying healthy while working from home isn’t about being on a diet or trying to be restrictive. It is about balance, which starts with developing some healthy habits. 

Do you eat better when you have your workout first thing in the morning? Then you know this can be a wonderful healthy habit for you! Habits don’t have to feel like a chore or something you are forced to do. It is very small changes in your day that make the difference.

Try working on your daily routines. From morning routines to what you do in the afternoon, you can change your routines in order to be healthier at home.

Get your family involved. Sometimes, what you need is to focus on the health of your family, not just yourself. Let your kids help with meal times, exercise with the family, and find family-focused activities to get you up and moving throughout the day.

Check back next week for more healthy at home habits, and in the meantime, visit http://www.rozjonesent.com for more information on how to be more productive as a caregiver and check out my upcoming book!