Working from home has undoubtedly made our lives a lot more sedentary and passive than before. And with all the convenience of the home, you might likely end up overshooting your body’s required calorie intake. Here are some effective ways to limit your calorie intake while working from home.
Intuitive eating
Intuitive eating or mindful eating is the practice of eating food in conscious moderation. This isn’t a complete method on its own, but it’s a great addition to your diet. Your body knows what it wants, so before you sit down for a meal, rate your hunger on a scale of 1-10 with complete honesty.
Based on your level of hunger, you portion each meal. Eat what you want but in moderation. However, you must also be mindful of your sugar cravings. Don’t respond to every single hunger craving you get and limit your eating to 3-4 meals in a day.
Use intermittent fasting
Intermittent fasting is a great way to limit your daily calorie intake. In intermittent fasting, you have a set fasting period and set eating period. Depending on how strict you wish to be with your diet, you can increase your fasting time. Say you wish to fast for 16 hours, so you start your fast at 6 pm at night and then have your next meal at 10 am. If you are a woman, it’s recommended that you limit your fasting period to 12 hours.
Intermittent fasting is effective because you’re restricting your eating to a particular period during the day and thus eliminate any calories you would’ve otherwise consumed by snacking.
Drink fluids
Drinking fluids throughout the day will keep your hunger pangs away and avoid any sugar cravings. The best fluid to have is water, while other options such as green tea, ginger tea, and bone broth. If you’re fasting and feel hungry, you can opt for any of these without worrying about breaking your fast.
You also reap the benefit of a boosted metabolism, as fluids such as water, tea, and coffee give your body a temporary metabolism boost, burning more calories. This can be useful for those who lead more sedentary lives.
You must avoid any sugary fluids such as juices as they would only increase your calorie intake without providing any substantial nutrition to your body.
Eat more fiber and protein
The biggest reason for constant hunger pangs is that your diet is carb-rich and doesn’t include a lot of fiber and protein. Carbs such as refined flour and sugar are easy for your body to break down and digest, which then makes your body want more food.
Fiber and protein take much longer to break down, keeping you satiated for longer periods of time. For fiber, you can rely on green vegetables such as capsicum, cabbage, kale, broccoli, and other vegetables such as bell peppers and onions. For protein, you can rely on soya, eggs, and meat.
