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A new viral TikTok hack has racked up more than 3.7 million views and 15,000 comments — and it claims the secret to cooking more at home is as simple as not changing out of your work clothes right away.
"The key to cooking after work is you gotta come home, you can't take your clothes off — I still have my badge on," Saadiq Ali of Flint, Michigan, says in the clip, which she posted in late October, appearing with her jacket on and purse still over her shoulder. "Shoes off, but I can't even sit down. … I gotta start now."
She's then shown peeling the potatoes that she'd left out on the counter with a cutting board, peeler and knife to give herself a head start that morning.
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Ali, 27, a credit union employee, told Fox News Digital she's been living the hack since early October.
"I realized toward the end of October that the hack worked — I was eating out way less due to having dinner and leftovers."
Saadiq Ali's viral TikTok hack is inspiring scores of people to cook dinner at home without changing out of their work clothes first. (Saadiq Ali/@saadiqimani)
"Eating takeout now can range from $6 to $20," she said. "By planning my meals and shopping for the groceries once a week, I'm sure I'm saving close to $60 a week — and probably a million calories."
As a young adult, Ali said she's always trying to find ways to stay motivated and productive after work. Her mother inspired the habit, she said.
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"I come from a General Motors family, so my mother followed suit and started working for GM in 1999," she said.
"Watching her work first, second and third shifts throughout my childhood until her retirement this year, I have witnessed her cooking with her work badge still on and belt loosened to ensure we had dinner every night. My mother cooked almost every day while working an intense job and juggling two sassy daughters. I remembered that image and knew I would have to replicate that."
In the video, Ali says that in the morning, she leaves out the items she'll need that night for cooking as soon as she gets home. (Saadiq Ali/@saadiqimani)
Ali said she didn't expect the video to go viral. She just recorded it on a whim after work one day. It even resulted in a free air fryer from Ninja, she said.
The idea has resonated with millions of viewers who say the no-nonsense strategy works. One viewer summed up the logic: "If I take 10 minutes to chill after work and sit down on the couch ... done for."
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"Five minutes turns into [a] Chili's pickup order," another commented.
Still another person joked, "Object in motion stays in motion."
"Cooking while still wearing my work clothes signals to my brain that there is more work to be done."
And there may be some science to back it up.
Research has found that, according to the theory of "momentum bias," once you stop moving, it's harder to restart.
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"Cooking while still wearing my work clothes signals to my brain that there is more work to be done," said Ali. "Once my meal is completed, I am free to get into my comfy clothes and enjoy my evening."
The viral TikTok trend has viewers rethinking how to make home-cooked meals easier. (Jaque Silva/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
Other commenters offered variations of the hack: using a slow cooker, meal prepping on Sundays or pre-chopping ingredients to make cooking easier later on.
Those who work from home said they face a similar challenge.
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"If you work from home, you have to start cooking during your lunch or afternoon break," one woman advised. "Do not wait until you're off."
Still, not everyone said they're sold on the habit.
"After a ride on the subway in NYC, you gotta take them off."
"I'm gonna have to meal-prep because I'm not cooking after work," one woman wrote.
"That's more work."
Commenters shared their own hacks — from using slow cookers to pre-chopping veggies — to keep dinner on track. (iStock)
"I need to relax first ... I'll suffer later," said another.
"I'm sooo mentally drained after work ... I'm sitting down and ordering DoorDash," one commenter admitted.
Others, especially city commuters, shared hygiene concerns.
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"After a ride on the subway in NYC, you gotta take [the work clothes] off," wrote one woman.
"Take your clothes off, wash your hands and then begin," another person weighed in.
"I can't cook in my clothes — they get to smelling like food," one woman added.
A new TikTok trend has people cooking dinner in their work clothes — but some have pushed back on it. (iStock)
Some agreed that certain jobs make the hack impossible — especially healthcare workers, who noted that their uniforms are unsanitary.
"I work around bodily fluids and I can't keep [those] scrubs on," said one woman.
Another TikToker said, "I need to shower the hospital germs off me first."
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For many, though, the appeal of the hack is its simplicity — no meal prep or pricey subscriptions.
"The success of this video has inspired me to share more tips because I don't know who else they might help," Ali said. "Sometimes you may need a small tip from a stranger."
Deirdre Bardolf is a lifestyle writer with Fox News Digital.
