It's time to take control of your week and your life.
The alarm hits on Monday morning. You may hit snooze once or twice before finally rolling out of bed, 15 minutes later than you originally intended. You head to the kitchen to get your coffee rolling, and start your morning routine. Soon you look at the clock again realizing that you've got 15-minutes before you need to get out the of the house and aren't even dressed yet. You open the fridge only to realize that you've got no breakfast food ready to go, and no lunch for that matter either. "I'll figure it out later", may be something you tell yourself.
If you're lucky in this scenario, you may stop by Starbucks for a coffee and breakfast while on your way to work. If you're not so lucky, you forego breakfast all together. Either way when lunch rolls around you are starving with no solution to fix that hunger in sight. Ordering delivery or heading to a quick-food restaurant is a viable option and you take it. When 5:30 finally hits and it's time to head home, you've got ZERO energy, motivation or mental space to make a decision about what to have for dinner, let alone prepare it. You decide your options at this point are to ask your significant other to stop and grab food on their way home, or settle for a bowl of cereal.
The blur that was your day is over, and it's time for bed. For a lot of us, we will wake to the same cycle of go-go-go the next day allowing the day to completely control us, and the cycle never ends.
If you're tired of life feeling like you're one of those huge inflatable tube dancer guys with their arms flailing and body slamming side to side from the wind, it's time to take control .
Changing the flow of your life isn't easy, but it is possible. Through small, consistent actions you can harness control of your week and reduce a lot of the stress you may be used to feeling in the process.
The first skill I always start with when working with my clients is learning to create a plan. This plan is unique to them, their schedule, needs and current skills. Where you are on your journey to a healthier life will impact how easy this is to implement in your life. Some people are perfectly ready for this level of organization, have the skills to cook and prepare food, and know pretty well what foods work for their life. Others may feel like you lack all of the knowledge, skills and abilities to live a healthier life, and that you are really starting from ground zero.
I am here to tell you today that it is OKAY.
You don't need to have it all going on to start to do things just a little better. All you need is the desire to start trying.
By starting with planning - you are gaining clarity of your week and can establish realistic expectations for you to reach. It will allow you to have a general idea of what you can eat for breakfast, lunch and dinner, and what days may challenge you more than others. It is a HUGE first step in cultivating healthier habits and an improved relationship with your food.
I am going to walk you through how I coach my clients to do a little leg work in planning out their week to save a lot of stress in the following days. Let's get into it!
If you didn't get to download my Weekly Meal Guide, you can access it here.
How to plan for a week of success.
Initially, you'll want to carve out 30-45 minutes to sit down and plan. That number will shrink once you've become comfortable with the process. The time spent planning is so worth it.
STEP 1: Invest in a weekly planner and write down all of your events. If you are new school and rely on your calendar on your phone, that is fine, I just find a lot more success when I have it written in front of me. The more details you can include in your week the better - this is going to give you a better idea of the overall volume of your day/week.
Work schedule
Appointments/workouts
After work/school activities
Birthdays
Scheduled dinners/lunches out
STEP 2: Identify the days where it will be possible/impossible to cook dinner the same night. On nights where you have more time, that would be a good opportunity for you to be able to plan on making a meal. On days where there is no time, you might consider prepping a crockpot meal or healthy meal delivery service instead.
STEP 3: Pick your breakfast for the week (limit it to two options). Do these need to be make ahead meals, or do you have time in the morning to cook eggs?
STEP 4: Pick your lunches for the week (limit this to no more than 2 options or leftovers). Love the idea of cooking a meal for dinner, doubling the recipe, and using the leftovers for the next day or two of lunches.
STEP 5: Pick your dinners for the week. Whatever that looks like. If you have low skills in the kitchen, maybe rely on a local pre-made delivery option. If you have decent skills, you can take a stab at 1 or 2 recipes. I never recommend more than 2 new recipes a week as it becomes too overwhelming. I recommend this formula to have staples ready to go for dinners through the week:
2 proteins (e.g., chicken, beef, salmon, beans)
2-3 vegetables
1-2 starchy carbohydrates (e.g., brown rice, quinoa, sweet potato)
STEP 6: Make your grocery list. Take inventory of your refrigerator and pantry and write down what you need to have everything on your list.
STEP 7: Shop! If you "don't have the time" use a grocery shopping service or grocery delivery service.
STEP 8: Prep what you need to to be successful for the week.
Using this guide to help create clarity in your week is the first step in being able to execute the goals and vision you have for your healthier life. Is every week going to go according to plan? No. That is life. But minimizing "surprises" through your week will help keep craziness at bay.
If you start using this template, please let me know! Happy to hear how a little preparation and planning can impact your mood and success in your week.
Have a wonderful weekend!
Katie