Pound for Pound Is the refrigerator calling you as often as clients do? Here's how to avoid the home office freshman 15.

Working out of your home may seem like such an ideal situation,you know there's got to be a catch somewhere. For somehomebased entrepreneurs, that catch is the phenomenon known as the"freshman 15." Just like first-year college students whogain weight from bountiful buffets at the dorm and junk-filledvending machines just downstairs, these business owners complainthat an office just one step away from the kitchen can lead to anexpanding waistline.

Maybe you recognize the syndrome. You're bored. Therearen't any diversions such as chatting with colleagues or avisit to the water cooler. So you start contemplating that leftoverlasagna from dinner last night. Or perhaps you head kitchen-wardwith virtuous thoughts of a diet soda, only to find yourself eyeingthe cherry cheesecake sitting next to that Diet Coke.

For some, the effects can be both expensive and lingering.Sandi, who runs her desktop publishing company from her home, canattest to that.

"When I was working in an office with colleagues, I alwayshad people to talk to when I was worried or bored. I used to walkwith a work friend at noon. And of course I never worried about howfrequently or how much I'd get paid," recalls Sandi (whodeclined to give her last name).

When she resigned to start her homebased business, however, lifechanged dramatically. "I felt isolated, worried aboutfinances, and wondered if I'd made the right decision,"Sandi says. "And instead of visiting with an office buddy orwalking into the break room for some tea or water, the only handydiversion was the kitchen."

Seeking companionship and comfort, Sandi says she "found anew friend: Sara Lee. Pound cake and banana cake filled that gap.And of course Sara Lee's best buddies, Ben & Jerry, weregreat company, too."

Six months and 15 pounds later, Sandi was delighted when herbusiness began to expand. The accompanying expanse of herwaistline, however, didn't please her. She's nowcelebrating her "sophomore year" in business-butshe's still battling the bulge that came during her first year."I've had to buy all new clothes," she saysruefully.

Annaliese Furnas is a success coach, speaker and trainer whooperates her business, Balanced Life Design, from her home in SanFrancisco. Although as a work expert, she knows the dangers ofworking exclusively from home, such as overeating or notexercising, she admits, "There have been times when that'sbeen touch and go [for me]."

She's careful to plan her shopping and cooking each weekaround her schedule. "If it's going to be a heavy week,then I'll set some time aside during the weekend to preparemeals that can be quickly heated in the microwave or eaten on therun," says Furnas, 38. "That way I'm not alwaysreaching for fast food or ignoring proper nutrition."

Eating Your Way Through Boredom and Stress?

Those of us who tend to use food as more than a source offuel-seeking cookies when we need comfort, almonds foramusement and raisin-and-rum ripple ice cream as a reward-areparticularly susceptible to this phenomenon. When I was a child, Iremember my mother, a psychologist, working on a report at home."Hmm, I think I'll make a cup of tea. I need a break; Ihate writing these reports," she'd say, wandering from heroffice into the kitchen where I sat doing my homework. "Someof those chocolate chip cookies would go well with this," shewould add thoughtfully, filling a plate and returning to heroffice.

Half an hour would pass, and my mother would return. "Isthere any of that pistachio ice cream left in the freezer?"Mom would ask hopefully. "I've got to get myself to finishthis, and that's just what I need."

With this tendency in my genes, I need to be careful when I workat home or I won't be able to wear my designer jeans. And Iconfess that when I first began to write at home, I trekkedfrequently to my new buddy, the refrigerator. RememberingSandi's experience, however, I decided to devote some time toresearching just how I could avoid the dreaded "freshman15."

I discovered it's possible to work at home without gainingweight, as long as you: A. Take time to make a plan and stick to itwith regard to refrigerator recreation, and B. Incorporate exerciseinto your work day. An important caution here: Before you changeyour diet and/or exercise regime, be sure to check with yourhealth-care provider. Your mileage may vary, and every suggestiondescribed here may not necessarily apply to every body.

Steering Clear of Temptation

Tips for what I call "kitchen avoidance":

• Plan ahead. If possible, rent or buy a mini refrigerator and amicrowave or hot plate for your home office. Stock the refrigeratorwith bottled water, low-calorie drinks like vegetable juice, andcoffee creamer. Put a stash of coffee or tea in your office. Limityourself to the beverages kept only in your office. No room ormoney for a refrigerator? Get an insulated ice chest.

• When it's mealtime, move out of the office and fix yourselfa relaxed, sit-down, nutritional lunch (or mini-meal, if you like amorning and/or afternoon snack.) Have vegetables or a salad, andprotein (such as sliced turkey breast or tuna) on whole-grain breadwith mustard. It doesn't take long to fix. A cup of instantsoup (not the cream kind, which is generally the most caloric:Check those labels!) can make a good, simple snack, as can carrotand celery sticks or a sliced apple with a small slice of low-fatcheese.

• Even if you're not seeing clients, avoid wearing thosecomfy, loose sweatpants day after day. They make it alarmingly easyto ignore any weight gain because your clothes always fit. Wearjeans or other outfits that have a waistband. If it doesn't zipor fasten, you know you need to re-examine your food and exerciseplan.

Bodies in Motion

Which leads us to. . .exercise. Yes, the "e" word.Recently both the Surgeon General and Health and Human ServicesDirector recommended that adults should engage in moderate physicalactivity for at least 30 minutes a day.

The good news: Researchers have discovered that those 30 minutesof exercise can be broken up into 10-minute intervals. So even ifyou're short on time, you don't have to short-changeyourself when it comes to getting fit. For example, suppose youneed to mail a letter. Check your watch. Now walk briskly to thenearest mailbox and, if you need more exercise to accumulate those10 minutes, walk all the way around the block to return.

Enjoy watching the evening news? Go ahead-but jump ropeduring every commercial break. Or invest in a stationary bike andexercise your heart and mind at the same time.

Annaliese Furnas succeeds in meeting her goal of taking dailyexercise breaks by planning them into her day. Her tip: "Iusually set a kitchen timer and place it in the room right outsidemy home office so I have to get up to turn it off. That's atrigger for me to go for a walk or pop an exercise tape in theVCR."

Another homebased entrepreneur, Becky Bace, runs her own networksecurity consulting company, Infidel Inc., from the Scotts Valley,California, home she shares with her business partner, TerriGilbert. Her tip for incorporating exercise into a busy day? Get adog or live in an area where you have easy access to attractivewalking areas-Bace takes walks in a nearby redwood forest ordrives to Santa Cruz's seaside walking paths.

"Our dog [a 13-year old Border Collie] is insistent abouttaking periodic walks. Of course, the fact that we live in [an areawith] stunning surroundings and good weather helps a lot,too," says Bace, 45, who moved to California two years ago anduses her family home in Baltimore as an East Coast base. "Itwas much harder to get myself to exercise in Baltimore, where theweather was often too hot or cold for comfort. There are days whenI skip exercising-for instance, when I have client meetingsor conference appearances-and I invariably feelworse."

No More Excuses

But what if you don't have a dog or you live in a section ofthe country where it's too rainy/cold/hot for comfortablewalking? If you're hoping those facts excuse you from acquiringan entrepreneurial exercise regime, think again. Consider theseways of working exercise into your day:

• Follow Furnas' method and use an exercise video for yourworkout breaks. Regardless of the weather, you can exercise. Andthe increasing number of fitness videos available means you canenjoy variety. One of the best online sites to purchase thesevideos at is Collage Video, which offers fitness videos for alltypes of workouts, from stretch to cross-training to dance.

• Invest in a health club membership. Make sure the gym offersthe types of equipment and features you like. For example, ifyou're a beginning exerciser, you'll want to look for a gymwith certified fitness trainers. If you enjoy taking classes, suchas aerobics or yoga, check out the course schedule. Then schedulein a tri-weekly visit to your gym.

Sandi, who has gradually started to lose some of the"entrepreneurs' extra," as she refers to her weightgain, sets her alarm for 7 each morning and lays out her gym attirethe night before. "That way, I get up, get dressed and go. Idiscovered that if I waited until the afternoon or evening [toexercise], it was too easy to come up with excuses," Sandisays. An unexpected bonus of her gym membership: "I've metother women and men with home offices, so I don't feel soisolated anymore."

• Purchase exercise equipment for your home. It can be as simpleand inexpensive as a jump rope, a few weights and a single fitnessvideo, or as complex as a stair climber, recumbent exercise bikeand a variety of weight-lifting machines.

Stretch Those Muscles

But suppose you've dutifully driven off to the gym in themorning, returned home and had an intense day at the computer.It's mid-afternoon and even though you aren't hungry, yourshoulders and neck hurt and you need a break. Seekingentertainment, you dreamily contemplate those pretty frostedcupcakes left over from your daughter's Girl Scout meeting.

Quick! Before you succumb, take a virtual visit to one of theseonline stretch-at-your-desk sites:

• InteliHealth offers a series of"deskercises" for every part of your body. Scroll down toHealth Resources and click the Deskercise link.

• Ergoaerobics will banish those aches and pains. And ifyou're concerned about such potential problems as carpal tunneland repetitive stress syndrome, this is definitely a Web site youshould check out.

• iVillage's Keyboard Yoga can invigorate you andhelp you relax.

Joanne Eglash has written for publications and Web sitesranging from Shape Magazine, the San Jose Mercury Newsand Tech Week to KidsHealth.org,CareerLink, Oxygen.com and NetsurferDigest.