Battling the "Remote" Possibility of Bulge

Whether you are transitioning to working remotely, or currently not working, you may find yourself having to adjust to the new situation. A big part of this quick transition is finding ways to eat nutritiously, and not overeat.

As someone who lost 120 pounds over a 15-year time span, this was certainly a concern for me as I made the transition this week. Here are a few things that I find are helping, and are based in good behavioral science.

Contextualize Your Eating

It's important to eat at regular times, and to restrict your eating to specific places. This means that if you normally eat breakfast, lunch, dinner, and have a snack or two, keep that schedule.

Think about where and how you are eating, working, surfing the net/social media, texting, streaming video, etc. Try as much as possible to keep these activities separate. If you have limited space, and have to work remotely from your eating space, then make sure you move your work items out of the way to a separate corner of the table before you eat. Similarly, try not to eat while you are online or watching TV (except perhaps the occasional snack). This will help you to get better control over your eating habits. It will take some creativity and practice, but with time you can do it!

Stay Active

This may seem counter-intuitive when we are currently distancing ourselves socially, or even under shelter-in-place orders. Some of us may have relied on the structure of a gym membership or friends to get our regular cardiovascular exercise. Here are some tips:

• Set a timer to get up every hour. Stretch, walk around, etc. 
• After each meal, try going for a 10-20 minute walk in your neighborhood. This helps with digestion, and allows you to get some fresh air. 
• If the weather is not good, try a walking or exercise video. There are many online apps and video that you can find by searching for "Walking at home", and the like. 
• Consider investing in a set of dumb bells or weights to keep your muscle tone. If you don't have weights, you can check out these alternatives. 
• If you have the capability, use Skype or similar apps to connect in real time with friends or coaches to help you stay focused and have fun being active together
• Calisthenics are also a great way to maintain your muscle mass without any weights. You can learn more here. 

Remember: Staying active is just as important as nutrition. It's easy to forget this during stressful times, but with a little planning you can make it happen.

Consider Keeping Track

Many of us have a hard time keeping track of what we eat and how we are doing over the day with respect to nutrition. Using an app that allows you to track your food and activity is useful to get a sense of how you are doing. One way you can use that information is to help you to keep track of your calories, and your nutrients, throughout the day. If you have that information, then you can decide what types of foods to eat at your next meal or snack.

For example, if you have carb-loaded (as many of us might in these times!), then you could see that your macronutrients (carbs, protein, and fat percentages) show smaller-than-recommended levels of protein and fat. You can then make a decision at your next meal about the types of foods you can eat to alter than balance. Look at making decisions overall for the day, and for the week. (Here is a short article I wrote a few years back for the Cambridge Center for Behavioral Studies in case you would like to learn more about the scientific and theoretical reasoning behind why such apps can be useful.)

Remember...

Your environment has changed dramatically, and so has your behavior. With a few tweaks to your environment now, you can gain control over your behavior in ways that benefit you. This is within your control with some effort and planning.

Be well!

D. E. Crone-Todd, Ph.D., BCBA-D, LABA