Biggest Loser...Losing Big While Working (At Home)

*photo courtesy of NBC.

Once again, last night's Biggest Loser was an awesome lesson for all of us. This week there was a lot less backstabbing and game playing, and the focus was on the bonds of family members and friendships forged that will last a lifetime. It was also all about helping others in need, and learning how to handle the weight loss journey when you have a full time job.

At the first challenge, Alison informed the remaining contestants that they would have to go to work for the week. The gym would open early in the morning, and close at 7:30 PM each day. Everyone would have to learn how to deal with fitting in workouts around the work and gym schedule, and plan their food choices for eating on the job. Every day, they all had to get up and take a bus to the Food Bank, where they performed various jobs...making thank you phone calls, taking inventory, loading and unloading food, and giving out the food to those in great need. At the end of the day, they took the bus back to the ranch. Some worked out before work, and everybody exercised after work, learning to deal with the feelings of work stress and fatigue and still do what was needed in order to keep losing the weight. They had to plan healthy lunches too...one day Sam forgot to bring the lunch he packed and had to figure out what to eat. He refused to eat the junk in the vending machine, so he and Stephanie wound up spending their lunch hour at the Subway near the Food Bank.

Since everyone still put up pretty good numbers at the weigh-in, they proved that it can be done at home when you have work responsibilites. Granted, they still had Bob and Jillian to push them during their gym time, but the weight will still come off if you do the right things.

Now, I want to talk about a specific work situation, which is my reality. I work from home. Being a freelance writer means that I do business from my home computer most of the time, and don't have to worry about getting dressed up or putting on a uniform to go to work. I could write in my pajamas if I wanted to...and believe me, there have been days when I've done just that. I have found, however, that you need to organize your time each day, just as if you commuted to a job and had to fit in all of your daily tasks.

Schedule your day. Write everything down, and even keep a daily planner if it helps. I decide exactly when I will write, edit, network, etc. I plan when I will exercise and work that into each day. I take healthy meal breaks. Sure, there are days when plans get interrupted, but that happens to everyone...no matter what his or her work situation. If you make a plan, you are more likely to stick to it. If you just leave each day to happen as it may, you will find that certain things don't get accomplished, and time will slip away from you. I love the freedom of working from home, as many others do, but we have to make sure that we don't over do the "freedom" part. We still have to discipline ourselves to get our work done, and make sure we get our workouts in.

Organization is the key, whether you drive to a job each day or work from your home office. Make the commitment to get it done. You have to plan to succeed, and you will!