7 ways to Lose Weight when you’re Working from Home

Share this article

Working from home can be a blessing or a curse. Especially for busy mums. With a few doable expert tips, you can easily shed the extra kilos. Find out how below!

Whilst many mums already opt to work from home, giving them flexibility with managing a busy household and family, for many others it was forced upon them due to the recent COVID 19 Pandemic. And perhaps the option for going back to the office might not be on the cards any time soon.

Your JOB, BLOOD TYPE and TUPPERWARE could be affecting your chances of conceiving

Either way, there are most definitely advantages to having a home office. You can stay in your PJ’s all day (or at least the bottom half if you’ve got ZOOM meetings) and you can use that extra time that was once spent sitting in traffic putting a load of washing on and whipping the duster around. And let’s face it, you can even get comfy on the couch with your laptop.

However, there are undoubtedly disadvantages, particularly for those who perhaps didn’t choose to make the kitchen bench their office. And that is, it’s so COMFORTABLE! And the fridge is right there! Beckoning us to open it at the slightest pang of hunger.

Losing weight under these conditions is not easy, in fact for many working from home in lockdown not putting ON weight has been a challenge. But there are opportunities to take control and form some really good habits that will help you reach your weight loss goals. We’ve put together some top tips below.

 7 Tips for Losing Weight while working from home

1. Train early in the morning

Plan your exercise, whether it be a walk, workout or gym session early in the morning and stick to it. If you put it off for later in the day, there is every chance things will pop up, get in the way and you just won’t get round to it. Get up half an hour earlier than usual and get it done. Think of it as a work appointment, something you just don’t miss.


If you can’t leave the house because of the kids, there are heaps of amazing (and quick) workouts in the Healthy Mummy App, some are just 15 minutes. You will feel so much better when it’s done before your day even properly starts.

2. Get a support network

It’s so important to get the right support when you’re on a weight loss journey. This can be in the form of a training buddy that you work out with, or someone you’re accountable to. You’re much more likely to show up if you have arranged to meet a friend for an early morning walk or work out. You will be doing each other a favour!

10 ways to get back on track (and stay on track)

Healthy Mummy Fitness Trainer Wendy Smith suggests if mums feel like they need motivation from a buddy then they should reach out on The Healthy Mummy community on Facebook and find a buddy!

You don’t need to be physically together, but you can still workout with someone over social media,” says Wendy.

“This way you will feel more motivated. Exercise will help you feel physically and mentally better if you are working inside all day “

3. Regular breaks

It can be easy to get super focussed with a work project and lose track of time. But sitting at a computer for hours on end is really not good. You need to take regular breaks and MOVE! This not only helps mentally, but a ten-minute window also gives you the chance to get active.

Hanging out the washing squat

Now, one of the universal truths about being a mum, is that there is ALWAYS some chore pending. Washing to be put out, taken in, folded etc. But we can stretch, tone and exercise while we do it! Use these short sharp breaks to get active with chores.

How to sneak 100 squats into your daily routine

4. Meal Plan

Spending a little bit of time on a meal plan will help so much during the week. If you’ve made a plan for healthy meals and snacks for the week, done the shopping and even got ahead with some meal prep on the weekend, you are so much more likely to stick to it!

Sascha meal prep motivation budget meal plan

Fed up with the constant questions “Mum, what’s for dinner?’ Stick the meal plan on the fridge, so the whole family knows what’s happening.

Don’t forget to plan for healthy snacks. Eating the wrong snacks can easily de-rail weight loss success. When you’re working from home, it’s so easy to be tempted by chocolate, or chips if they are right there in the pantry.

A) Don’t buy them then you won’t be tempted.

B) Have some healthy snacks on hand as an alternative.

The 28 Day Weight Loss Challenge has heaps of healthy snacks to choose from.

Have a look at 5 Healthy Snacks for working mums for some inspiration.

5. Utilise your Slow Cooker

At the Healthy Mummy, we love Slow Cookers! If ever there was an appliance that had mums in mind, it’s this. And thanks to the 28 Day Weight Loss Challenge you are never going to be short on slow cooker recipes.

slow cookers

The beauty of using your slow cooker while you work from home is that with a little bit of prep in the morning, you can get on with your workday, knowing (and smelling) dinner is busy cooking itself!

Use that extra time you would have spent cooking dinner, relaxing or taking a quick walk to destress from your workday.

7 Budget Slow Cooker Meals – perfect for your wallet AND your budget

6. Keep your WATER up!

Sometimes when you’re out and about and on the go, with a trusty water bottle in hand, it’s easy to remember to keep our water intake up. Sitting at our desk with our heads down, not so much. But water is an integral part of weight loss, flushing out our system and keeping our digestive system in good shape.

Keep your water bottle next to you while you work and every time you feel like opening the fridge or grabbing a snack, take a big gulp of water. Water can help you stop overeating as we sometimes mistake hunger for thirst. Grab a 2-litre water bottle and try to get through it during the day so you know how much you’ve drunk.

15 ways to up your water intake 

7. Stick to regular working hours

Even though you don’t have to commute to work, make sure your workday has a beginning and an end at home. Know your working hours and stick to them, even if they’re broken up throughout the day. This will reduce overall stress which is a big factor in managing weight. You need time at the end of the day to rest, unwind and spend some quality time with your family.

And you can feel pretty satisfied with yourself knowing that you’ve exercised, worked AND eaten well.

BONUS TIP:

If you are part of the 28 Day Weight Loss Challenge, all of the above will become second nature! It has everything you need to succeed with your health goals!

Real mums. Real results!

We’ve proudly helped millions of mums transform their health. Mums just like you completely transform their health and bodies. You can do it too (and it’s easy!)

The 28 Day Weight Loss Challenge is the mums only 5 star rated app with over 1.6k reviews in 8 weeks!!

You get unrestricted access to :
● Nutritionist & chef designed weekly meal plans
● Personal Trainer crafted At-home workouts- 28 minutes and under
● Daily Motivation from My Coach
● Personalised Shopping lists to make life easy
● Over 4,000 healthy and delicious recipes at your fingertips
● REAL TIME support from The Healthy Mummy Team and OVER 200,000 other mums

CLICK HERE for more details

Share this article

Be part of our friendly and supportive community

Want FREE delicious recipes, fitness tips and great specials?