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Writer's pictureAsja Harris

Do this one thing to slash overwhelm

Picture of a meal planning template

Ever feel like food decisions are taking over your day?

 

If so, you’re not alone.

 

In fact, it’s such a human experience that we’ve even come up with a technical term for all the thoughts we have about food each day—it’s called food noise and it may be draining your energy, contributing to your overwhelm, and ramping up your decision fatigue.

 

Food noise is so prevalent that a study published in 2007 revealed that on average, we make over 200 food decisions daily. And that accounts for just a small percentage of the accumulated number of thoughts we have!

 

No wonder you get to the end of the day, feeling downright exhausted and oftentimes incapable of making the many additional decisions that are required to put together a dinner from within your own kitchen.

 

The result? You instead find yourself whipping out that take-out menu and running your finger down it until you find your beloved go-to meal. This is a symptom of being tapped out—it’s overwhelm at its best.

 

But wouldn’t it be nice to turn down the dial on all that nutrition noise and nourish your body in a way that aligns with your goals?

 

You can, with this one simple hack: planning and prioritizing big batch meal prep.

 

Let me break it down for you.

 

Without a meal prep plan:

 

You wake up in the morning and right away the decision-making starts. What’s for breakfast? Should you have toast, oatmeal, a smoothie, eggs, or grab a protein bar and a piece of fruit on your way out the door? But suddenly you’re wondering, do any of those options have enough protein? Overwhelmed by the pressure to make the best choice, you’re incapable of deciding. Instead, you hit the drive-thru on the way to work for an extra-large coffee.

 

But by 9am, you’re starving. Now you’re at work and you might have the cafeteria to choose from or perhaps the canteen that your officemates stock. Is a muffin, toast, or a bag of Cheetos the best bet? And then someone comes around with a box of still-warm donuts. Case closed.

 

Within an hour, you’re hungry again. But because you were so consumed about what to have for breakfast, you most certainly didn’t get around to packing a lunch. So, you’re back to thinking about the dozens of options that are available—cafeteria, canteen, or lunch off-site. There’s that new Mexican restaurant, but you also love sushi, and now your office pal is talking about the soup and sandwich combo that’s within walking distance. You’d like some fresh air, but soup and sandwiches aren’t really your thing…

 

It’s not even noon and you’ve been agonizing over food for what feels like five of the six hours you’ve been awake. And to top it off, you’ve had a giant coffee and a donut. Not exactly the nourishing choices you had in mind for the day.

 

With a meal prep plan:

 

Now, let’s play opposite day. On Saturday, you took 20 minutes to plan your breakfasts, snacks, lunches, and dinners for the week. On Sunday, you hit the grocery store armed with a precise list. Because you were so well organized, you were in and out in less than 30 minutes. And superstar that you are, you also cleared a couple of hours in your schedule to power through your food prep.

 

As you made your meals, you even took the incredibly proactive step of pre-portioning them into their own storage containers so they are grab-and-go ready.

 

On the morning in question, you wake up and peacefully execute your routine. Breakfast is a breeze as you pull out your perfectly portioned container of overnight oats, packed with protein. As you eat, you bask in the knowledge that when it’s time to leave the house, all you’ll have to do is open the fridge and pull out your beautifully pre-packed lunch and snacks.

 

Simple. But also, silent. Your brain is not on overdrive, spinning through the unlimited food decisions you have ahead of you.

 

And as you stroll through the door at the end of the day when you’re at your most vulnerable when it comes to food decisions, dinner will be waiting for you. The only choice you’ll need to make is whether you’ll use the oven or the microwave to reheat it.

 

Not only are you way less exhausted, but you stayed true to your nutrition goals for the day. You ate the right amount of protein, lots of veggies, fruit, and whole grain carbs—because there were no other options. Plus, your financial food budget for the week didn’t get destroyed with one expensive take-out meal.


Now, imagine the effect this might have on your brain week after week, month after month. You’ve cut your food decisions down substantially and with it, the noise and the overwhelm.


What a difference planning ahead can make! Not only will you feel clearer and calmer, but setting yourself up for success is also going to:

 

  • Help you eat nourishing meals that fuel your best self and move you towards your goals.

  • Save time because you’ll only have to prep once or twice a week.

  • Improve efficiency because you won’t have to hit up the grocery store multiple times.

  • Save money because you won’t be relying on take-out or delivery.


Wouldn't it be nice to eliminate the mental fatigue that comes with deciding what to eat every day? You can—it all comes down to choosing to plan ahead. Here’s the blueprint for success:


  • Identify a day where you will sit down and create a menu for 3-5 days. It should include breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks.

    • Then, actually sit down on that day and do the work: make your menu.

  • Do a kitchen audit and determine what ingredients you need to purchase.

    • Create a grocery list.

  • Plan the day/time that you will go to the grocery store.

    • Then, actually go to the grocery as planned.

  • Plan the day/time that you will do your food prep.

    • Then do the food prep on the day/time as planned.

  • Prepackage your to-go meals in individual containers.

    • Take them to work/school etc. as planned.

😏Eat the food you made.

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