Anticipating Hunger & Acknowledging That Feeding Yourself Is Not Optional
Hey you! I have had some recurring topics come up with my coaching clients and I thought I'd share some of these with you because the likelihood is, you could benefit from these things too! One of those topics is on the thought of anticipating hunger and acknowledging that eating, that feeding yourself, is not something that's optional. Can you relate to this?Let me first start off by saying that I know you're busy. You have a busy life doing all the things to serve others, to pour out your heart and soul into your work, to be the best mom or wife you can be.But you can't be all the things you want to be in the way you want to be them without properly caring for yourself through food. Today I'm not talking about what you eat, but simply just making time TO eat.
Tell me if this sound familiar... You wake up after a few snoozes to your alarm clock and find yourself frazzled and needing to run out the door. You don't think about breakfast until it's around 10 o'clock in the morning and you're starving. You don't have anything packed to snack on or eat, so you find the closest coffee shop and eat a croissant, hardly tasting it because you are ravenous! You continue through your day, not eating any lunch because you just feel so darn tired so you make your way to your work break room and make yourself a cup of coffee. You figure you should also eat something for lunch and you order a salad because it's the "healthy" option. You make it home from work and it's like a switch just went off...you're starving! Yet exhausted! And all the things! It's all you can do to muster up the energy to microwave a Trader Joe’s meal and eat while watching Netflix and continuing to eat until you're so full. Then it's to bed to wake up and do it all over again the next day.
This may sound a little extreme. But I hear very similar stories and you may not be too far off from this scenario either. Just think about your day right now... did you wake up with enough time to let your body wake up and get ready to eat? Did you make time to actually prepare breakfast and sit at the table to eat? Did you take a moment to plan out what you'll do for lunch or whether you're going to possibly be hungry for a snack or two mid-meal? Do you know what you could make for dinner so you can come home from work with a plan? Related: 5 Things to Do to Start Being a Breakfast Person I want to encourage you to take on this perspective if you can relate with any of the above... Feeding yourself is not optional. And by anticipating your hunger...because we all get hungry, it's part of life... you can go into your day feeling more prepared, more energized, more at peace with food. Trust me. We are all busy. But carving out time each day to prepare to eat is a non-negotiable.I know that this can be overwhelming, so I wanted to share with you a few ways that I like to encourage clients to anticipate hunger and plan to eat...
CHANGE YOUR MINDSET
I just touched on this, but it is so important to change your mindset about preparing food. It's not something that will change overnight, so give yourself so much grace for this entire process. But know that it is so powerful to bring to light a mindset that is keeping you stuck when it comes to being prepared to care for yourself through a little planning with food. Start by simply recognizing your current routine. Notice how you feel about your day as you go through it. Approach your mindset with curiosity. Approach a possible new mindset also with curiosity. If you're feeling stuck, discouraged, or overwhelmed, dig a little deeper with those thoughts. Why are you feeling these things? Maybe your expectations of yourself are too much. If you have a mindset about meal planning and meal prepping that is rooted in past experience with dieting, this whole topic may be scary for you! I want to recognize that. But, again, feeding yourself is not optional. And if we can work to change our mindset and approaching this concept with empowerment, with "I CAN DO THIS!" I promise you will feel so much better!Like anything we do that's new, it takes time. Give yourself grace and time to find a practice that feels good for you. And if you're feeling stuck in your mindset around food, I'd love to help you through this through 1:1 coaching!
SET ASIDE TIME EACH WEEK TO THINK THROUGH MEALS
Once a week, take time to think through the "big" meals you're going to be eating. I, personally, like to pick a few dinners I want to make during the week. That way, when I get through with work and it's time to make dinner, I know exactly what I could make. I don't necessarily assign a particular dinner to a day, though that could work well for you. I find that I really enjoy having options of things to make and can choose from those which allows me the freedom to play a little with what I'm craving as opposed to maybe having a meal "assigned" to the day that I'm not really excited about. Then, the same thing goes with lunches. I try to have one or two options for lunches whether it's having sandwich or salad stuff in the fridge or *no shame* stocking up on some frozen Trader Joes meals. I'll be honest, lunch is the hardest, still, for me to think about. But this has really helped me as well as my clients! I always try to have some of my favorite breakfast basics on hand such as eggs, bread, peanut butter, oatmeal, etc. That way I can wake up and say..." Hmmm, what am I in the mood for this morning?" and go from there!Find what works well for you. But no matter what your schedule looks like, you have a few minutes to stop and think through how you're going to nourish your body. I want you to own that time and prioritize it. THIS TIME is an investment in your physical health, your mental health, the health and wellness of you as a whole.
ANTICIPATE & PLAN FOR HUNGER
Like I mentioned before, hunger is part of life. We are each going to experience it. Just like you get a physical urge to go to the bathroom, or to drink water when you're thirsty, you will feel hunger. It's so important to plan for that moment when you get hungry. You can plan for hunger a number of ways...
Eat when you're not hungry but know you will be soon.
Pack food (meals or snacks) with the knowledge that you won't be able to get food in the future.
Eat more, maybe even a little past fullness, when you're hungry and won't be able to eat for a while.
Here are a few examples of the above that you may relate with...
1. Eat when you're not hungry but know you will be soon. Say you're not a "breakfast person" but you've noticed you are super tired in the afternoon and can't stop snacking. If you typically aren't hungry in the morning first thing, I would have you ask yourself a few questions... Are you giving yourself time to actually wake up in the morning before rushing out the door? Are you waiting to drink coffee until after you've eaten (coffee can often suppress hunger)?
2. Pack food (meals or snacks) with the knowledge that you won't be able to get food in the future. If you work anywhere other than at home, you may need to pack lunch (unless you want to eat out) and also snacks if you find yourself getting hungry between meals. I ALWAYS keep a granola bar in my purse. My husband jokes (half-jokes) that I need it there otherwise I get hangry...but he's so right! You could also keep a jar of trail mix at work in your desk, or take an apple and peanut butter. I like to have the mindset of anticipating being super hungry all day so I may pack more food than I will actually eat, but it's there and if it is a more hungry day I'm prepared and if not, it's there for another day!
3. Eat more, maybe even a little past fullness, when you're hungry and won't be able to eat for a while. An example of this is, say, if you have a full day of travel and won't be able to eat much during the day or between meals (hello airplanes...definitely not enough food!). With this case, you may decide to intentionally eat PAST fullness...that's right, it's not a crime! With this, you will likely not get hungry as soon and will be able to make it for a longer time without eating. Another time I will intentionally eat past fullness is when I'm at work and don't want to be snacking all day. I'll eat a more substantial breakfast and lunch so that my mind is not clouded by hunger all day or wondering when I'll eat again, and instead can focus on work and other things besides food. Again, it is ok to eat past fullness! You can be empowered in this decision if it is going to work better for your day and life!
HAVE "EMERGENCY" MEALS AND SNACKS
Lastly, I want to encourage you to have a few "emergency" meals and snacks for when you do sleep through your alarm and have to grab a quick breakfast...those days do happen... or for when you forgot to pack lunch. I like to have some easy frozen meals in the freezer or leftovers that I freeze myself as well as some "emergency" snacks as I mentioned above in my purse at all times. Days get crazy, things will not always go as planned. And that's ok! I want to encourage you to be as prepared as you can. But know that sometimes you're going to be hungry and choose to run into a coffee shop real quick and grab a scone and that's ok! I feel like I end all blog posts with this statement, but it can never get overused in my opinion...give yourself grace!
Have you learned anything or has anything been revealed to you as you read this post? I'd love to hear your thoughts on anticipating and planning for hunger in the comments below!