Should You Meal Prep?
/I used to cringe when I heard the phrase meal prep. The thought of having all of my meals planned out five days in advance and eating the same thing every day sounded so unappealing. To be honest it still does...
Eating healthy shouldn’t be so time consuming that it becomes your next hobby. You shouldn’t have to dedicate a whole pinterest board to meal ideas and buy matching containers.
It wasn’t until I heard another practitioner speak on this topic that I realized I had been meal prepping for YEARS and didn’t even know it!
Three ways you can meal prep:
Make make and prepare all meals for the week
Make larger portions of meals and eat leftovers
Stock your fridge with items you enjoy and so you can make meals on the spot based on desire
I have found personally and with clients that either making extra or having the ingredients I need in the fridge is the best way to go. Here is my two cents on why...
When you’re not thinking about food or creating rigid structure around food you develop a healthy relationship with food. Meaning the more you trust yourself and your decision making abilities the less obsessive you become around food.
When you plan out the meals for the week it becomes a rigid schedule, you being thinking ou can ONLY have the items you meal prepped. Then you start down the slippery slope of feeling like you “cheated” if you decided to have something else.
For all of my long time followers you have heard this a million times, but I will say it again. The language you use surrounding food and your body is important! In your vocabulary there should never be the phrases:
“I cheated and ate...”
“I fell off the wagon”
“I was bad and ate...”
“I had this bad food”
So back to meal prepping. When you allow yourself space to choose foods as meal time comes and give yourself permission to choose other options you inherently build self trust and freedom surrounding food. Verses having to create a rigid structure because you don’t trust that you can make a good food decision.
Without a healthy relationship with food your health will never be at an optimal level. You will be stuck in the cycle of diets, frustration, and self hate.
It’s so simple! By just having health promoting foods in the house you have already meal prepped! This doesn’t have to be your new hobby.
I would also like to make the caveat that everyone’s life is different and what works for one person might not work for another. AND you have the right to change and evolve. What once worked for you might not work for you now and that is ok. Be flexible with your food.
My bottom line will always be your health and that includes your relationship with food. Know that eating healthy should feel easy and if it doesn’t I am here to help!