Eating While "Busy".
One of the busiest times of my life, thus far, was when I was coaching college basketball full time, studying for my dietetic exam, had just moved to a new apartment with a young puppy and fiancé, was planning a wedding, was training for my first ever Ironman, and was trying to navigate life as a young adult in general. It was crazy, but also awesome. What’s ironic is that while I was studying nutrition during this busy time, it was my nutrition that took a back seat. Nowadays being “busy” might look a little different than it did then, but nonetheless it still exists. So, how do you navigate a busy schedule and maintain good nutrition? I’ve tried all different approaches and still haven’t found the magic potion that makes it easy, but I’ve learned a lot.
Approach 1: Meal Prep
Meal prepping has become more and more popular, especially in the world of sports nutrition. It sounds great, taking couple hours on a Sunday to get your meals in order for the week so that you stay on track with your nutrition goals, but it’s not for everyone.
I thought the only way to eat healthy during the busiest weeks of my life was to spend hours every weekend recipe searching, grocery shopping, chopping, cooking, and cleaning. For the first couple weeks I loved it. I didn’t have to think about what to throw in my bag for lunch every day, I felt on track, there were healthy snack options for my fiancé and I to choose from, it was great. But after a couple weeks of being on board, I got burned out. This burnout then resulted in not so healthy eating habits and I felt like I was caught in a cycle.
Approach 2: Day by Day
Growing up, my parent’s were the MVPs when it came to meals. I don’t remember ever even having to think about what was for dinner because they both always had it ready. I realize this wasn’t what it was like for everyone, so I am so grateful. Every night I would come home from practice and my mom or dad would be finishing up cooking dinner, so I was set. I figured if they could do it, so could I.
I went grocery shopping weekly and got a variety of foods (proteins, veggies, sides, snacks). I liked being able to put together different meals depending on what I was craving. Sure some lunches or meals weren’t the most glamorous, but I definitely enjoyed cooking and eating more. I learned quickly that I am not a recipe developer so our meals were kept very simple. What I didn’t account for was not having a convenient grocery store close to our downtown apartment for last minute ingredient runs, or the amount of food that accidentally went to waste because we didn’t use it in time.
Approach 3: Meal Service
More recently, my husband and I thought it might be beneficial to utilize a meal service that delivers all the ingredients you need for a meal, to the door. I was struggling to grocery shop without wasting food for just two people and too often we would be so indecisive about what we wanted for dinner and would end up ordering out. We thought this would solve all our problems, and for a while it did. We got to choose our meals ahead of time, I didn’t have to go to the store as often, and we were able to try new foods and recipes. We went strong for about a month, but then the same food options kept showing up, we would forget to cancel a week’s order if we were out of town, and there were onions in every single dish, we hate onions.
So, with all this trial, here’s where I/we ended up:
It takes work. No matter what approach works best for you, it takes work and a little bit of planning to stay sane and not break the bank. As if I didn’t look up to my parents enough, this just made me realize how amazing they truly are.
Your needs will change. It’s ok to switch up your routine and adapt to your environment. Certain things worked for me at certain times. This also includes ordering out. I’ve become a pro at ordering out in a healthier fashion.
Make your food accessible. Whenever we get back from the grocery store we try to get everything organized. We clean and cut all our fruits and veggies so they’re ready to eat or cook, we look through cabinets and take a quick inventory, and make note of anything in the fridge that needs to be eaten in the next couple days. It makes eating it much more appetizing.
The freezer is our best friend. Frozen fruits and vegetable have been a life saver, they don’t spoil and are super quick to make. We also always keep a frozen pizza in there because you just never know when you might need it.
It doesn’t have to be fancy. I had this picture in my mind of having these big wonderful dinners with my husband after a long day of work, and that’s great if it happens, but it didn’t happen often for us. I used to stress when a recipe didn’t go to plan or we didn’t have anything to make the perfect meal for dinner. But stressing didn’t help me. Instead I made it work. Sometimes that looked like a bunch of leftovers in the fridge tossed in a bowl with some rice. It tasted good, it gave us all our key nutrients, and it still gave us dinner time together,
My point here is that it’s messy. Even to this day, some weeks are better than others. Whether you’re a parent, student- athlete, professional, high school athlete, or someone who tries to live a healthy lifestyle, it won’t be perfect, but there are ways to make it easier. Take it step by step and do what works for you.
-Brooke