Poll: Do you think that freelancers working from home tend to eat more than other people? Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
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This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "Do you think that freelancers working from home tend to eat more than other people?".
This poll was originally submitted by Carla Lopes. View the poll results »
| | | | | Probably, but healthier too | Apr 5, 2015 |
I find that when working from home it's easier to eat healthier food cooked by yourself (rather than having to eat in the restaurant or cantine if you work in an office). And you can go running in the middle of the day too
| | | | neilmac
Spain
Local time: 11:22
Spanish to English
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Not really. I don't think you can really generalise like that. People who have a tendency to nibble things while working might be more tempted, but I don't think I personally eat any more because I'm working from home. In fact, the less work I have, the more I will tend to eat out at midday, which in Spain involves a "menu del dia" , a two course meal with dessert, which in many cases is more suitable for agricultural labourers and similar, who should have no problem burning up the calories, ra... See more Not really. I don't think you can really generalise like that. People who have a tendency to nibble things while working might be more tempted, but I don't think I personally eat any more because I'm working from home. In fact, the less work I have, the more I will tend to eat out at midday, which in Spain involves a "menu del dia" , a two course meal with dessert, which in many cases is more suitable for agricultural labourers and similar, who should have no problem burning up the calories, rather than a sedentary translator slaving over a hot computer for several hours. ▲ Collapse
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I don't think so. Are we all overweight? I think it depends on our eating habits and on what we have in our freezer... I gained weight these last years but I'm quite sure it has to do with my thyroid (or the lack of it as I was operated) and not with being a freelancer!
[Edited at 2015-04-05 14:47 GMT]
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I don't like to eat in front of my computer. I only have a cup of tea at the most.
| | | | Sheila Wilson 
Spain
Local time: 10:22
Member (2007)
English
+ ...
| Eating habits depend on you more than your job | Apr 5, 2015 |
I was salaried for over 15 years in the UK, eating a light breakfast, canteen lunch and a hurriedly cooked meal in the evening, or one that the oven had put on automatically. I've dispensed with breakfast now as I'm free to have an early lunch. And dinner can be started whenever it needs to be. I've never snacked in my life, not that I fuss too much over my food (no brown bread or wild rice in my diet; just meat, veg, dairy, fruit and very little sugar).
But having been in all day m... See more I was salaried for over 15 years in the UK, eating a light breakfast, canteen lunch and a hurriedly cooked meal in the evening, or one that the oven had put on automatically. I've dispensed with breakfast now as I'm free to have an early lunch. And dinner can be started whenever it needs to be. I've never snacked in my life, not that I fuss too much over my food (no brown bread or wild rice in my diet; just meat, veg, dairy, fruit and very little sugar).
But having been in all day means I'm often very willing to go out in the evening for a meal. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Natalie Soper
United Kingdom
Local time: 10:22
French to English
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| It depends on the person | Apr 5, 2015 |
Personally, I don't really snack if I don't have the food to hand or on my desk, and I was the same when I worked in an office too, whereas some of my colleagues would always bring in crisps or fruit from home and graze all day. For me, it's a case of "out of sight, out of mind" ... until I realise I'm actually hungry!
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I have no idea, never thought of that!
In my own case I don't think so.
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Mario Chavez (X)
Local time: 05:22
English to Spanish
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| I don't think so | Apr 5, 2015 |
Why would I think that independent workers based at a home office would eat more than other people? That's a very silly thing to say, let alone to think!
Like my sensible colleagues have said, there's more to eating habits than the type of job you do.
| | | | Thayenga
Germany
Local time: 11:22
Member (2009)
English to German
+ ...
Although it depends on the person and their working/eating habits.
When I am really working hard on a project, then, in fact, I tend to eat less than the avberage person, freelancer or not.
| | | | Henry Hinds
United States
Local time: 03:22
English to Spanish
+ ...
In memoriam
Surely none of us has made a survey on the subject, thus we do not know.
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It could have an effect, among many other elements. Eating patterns are shaped by many contributing factors: habit, belief system, food choices and preferences, quantity of food available, type of food available, mood, stress, sedentarism/exercise, metabolism, hormones, willpower, motivation, etc., etc.
I tend to eat more on the days I bring home groceries. I may eat more when I'm frustrated, procrastinating, or stumped with a translation problem. I may eat more on dark and rainy d... See more It could have an effect, among many other elements. Eating patterns are shaped by many contributing factors: habit, belief system, food choices and preferences, quantity of food available, type of food available, mood, stress, sedentarism/exercise, metabolism, hormones, willpower, motivation, etc., etc.
I tend to eat more on the days I bring home groceries. I may eat more when I'm frustrated, procrastinating, or stumped with a translation problem. I may eat more on dark and rainy days when I can't get out and exercise with my dogs.
Years ago when I was an in-house translator I became a skeleton after my husband died. My office was moved next to a bank of machines that sold junk food and I was tempted. A few years later it was time to go on a diet.
BTW, I learned a new phrase this week: orthorexia nervosa. People with this condition are so obsessed with eating nothing but healthy food that their belief system runs their lives 24/7. ▲ Collapse
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Châu Nguyễn
Vietnam
Local time: 16:22
Member (2012)
English to Vietnamese
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| Interesting poll | Apr 6, 2015 |
I realize that working in a static environment (hours of translation in front of the computer) significantly slow down my metabolism rate. It took me more time to digest all the food than before, and the amount I am able to eat per meal is also less.
So if "eat more" means the amount of food intake, then I don't think so. But if it means the eating frequency, I would say yes. Since I can only eat so much each time I have to eat multiple times.
| | | | Diana Obermeyer
United Kingdom
Local time: 10:22
Member (2013)
German to English
+ ...
| For me, it's a no | Apr 6, 2015 |
Most of my life, I worked with horses in one form or another. Even if you couldn't take a break, you could still have a sandwich on the go. But breaks were somewhat flexible, too. They were based on work completed vs. work left to do, not a timescale. I got rather used to the idea that I could eat when my body told me to.
When I was in regular employment, I could only eat at given break times. Even if I wasn't hungry during one break, I would panic that I might get hungry before th... See more Most of my life, I worked with horses in one form or another. Even if you couldn't take a break, you could still have a sandwich on the go. But breaks were somewhat flexible, too. They were based on work completed vs. work left to do, not a timescale. I got rather used to the idea that I could eat when my body told me to.
When I was in regular employment, I could only eat at given break times. Even if I wasn't hungry during one break, I would panic that I might get hungry before the next break and not be able to eat at that point. That thought really terrified me! Therefore, I would eat anyway, not to satisfy any hunger, but to calm that panic. Quite frequently, I would even go as far as blocking off conversation, because I felt I had to make sure that I would “get enough food in” to get me through to the next break. I just couldn't cope with that concept at all.
Now, I only eat when I'm hungry.
I've always prepared my own food. Again, because I was so terrified about running out of food while at work, I would always make extra, usually carrying enough to feed 2 or 3 people. But then, I would also eat up things long after I stopped feeling hungry "before they went off".
Now I only prepare food in accordance with the degree of my appetite at the time.
I eat the same type of food as I did when employed, but my grocery expenditure has gone down a whooping 40%.
I don't think I'm more sedentary than when I did more physical work. When my work was more active, I would curl up with a nice book after dinner. Now I'm out with the dogs every spare minute. For better or worse, we don’t have that dark and rain limitation. My Jagdterrier has decided that hailstorms are his favourite weather, and most terrier work is done after dark. I still get a similar level of activity, only I earn money with the other part.
But I can see how constant access to food would have the opposite effect on a person who's eating habits are related to stress or boredom.
[Edited at 2015-04-06 06:27 GMT]
[Edited at 2015-04-06 06:34 GMT] ▲ Collapse
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