Optimising Nutrition when Working From Home (Working From Home Tips series 3/4)

Introducing the Connective Chiropractic Working From Home Blog Series

This is the third of 4 blogs in our Working From Home blog series. In this blog we focus in on nutrition.  Our last blog posts have focussed in on neck pain, headaches and back pain. In our next blog posts in the series we focus in on mental health considerations relating to working out of the office.

Record What You Eat

A great first step in considering your nutrition is to record what you’re eating. Get yourself a notebook, or a food tracking app, and every time you eat something, write it down. It only takes a few seconds, but it has two core benefits.

The first benefit of having a record of what you’ve eaten is that you can get an overview of what sorts of nutrients you’re getting too much of and which you might need more of. If your diet is mostly filled with high sugar items, you may want to look for ways to cut down. Likewise, you might spot that you need a bit more protein or veggies.

The second benefit of recording what you eat as soon as you eat it is accountability. Knowing that you’re going to write it down can be enough to make you rethink. Just recording what you eat can be enough to help you curb your cravings and prevent the weight gain. You’ll be amazed at how many more things you eat than you realise until you track it.

Don’t Shop When Hungry

This is a piece of advice that you can apply to anytime in your life. Do not go food shopping when you’re hungry. It is so much harder to resist all the tempting snacks at the shop if you’re hungry. You will find you buy more food, and likely more unhealthy foods as well. It’s not your fault; it’s just the way your brain is wired.

Even if you don’t eat all those snacks then and there, by having them in your home, you will eventually eat them. If you go shopping after a meal, you will buy fewer snacks. If you don’t have them at home, then you don’t have to resist temptation all day long. You just did it the one time you went shopping.

We also advise doing weekly shops rather than daily shops. This means your snack purchases have to go further rather being replenished every day.

Be Forgiving

If you are trying to change your diet and eat better, I can guarantee that there will be times when you give in to temptation. When that happens, move on. Please don’t get hung up on it. If you do the chances are you’ll get down on yourself and end up eating more to feel better, creating a vicious cycle. So give yourself a break to indulge every now and then. There’s actually some evidence to suggest it can do you some good.

Why Nutrition Is Important For Joint And Muscle Health

Now, it may seem strange to link working from home nutrition to chiropractic health. However, nutrition is a vital part of your musculoskeletal health. For example, highly processed, high-sugar foods can actually lead to inflammation in the body which may be causing aches and pains. It can also lead to glycation of connective tissues, which create stiffness and restrictions, as well as a whole host of other issues such as skin-ageing.

At Connective Chiropractic, as well as treating any issues, we’ll also work on providing preventative care too. This may include offering guidance on mobility exercises, posture guidance and nutritional advice too for total wellbeing. To find out more about how we can help you to feel your best self, inside and out, book your appointment today. Our clinic in Basingstoke is fully Covid-safe and open throughout lockdowns.