Nutrition isn’t a destination, or something you conquer.
It’s simply there—in varying degrees of washed, folded, and put away.
Some weeks, there isn’t enough time. Nutrition may look more like prepackaged meals, convenient snacks, or whatever gets you through the day. Plan for it.
That doesn’t make you bad, a failure, or someone who’s “not doing it right.” It makes you human—human in a fast-paced world with unending demands.
Food prep isn't always chopping vegetables on Sundays
For many people, the phrase brings up an image of spending Sunday afternoon chopping vegetables and portioning meals into matching containers. And sometimes, that is food prep. But it does not have to be.
Food prep can simply mean taking a few minutes to reflect on the next few days or the coming week:
- What is your schedule like?
- Where will you be?
- How much energy do you realistically have?
Then, make a plan for how you are going to feed yourself.
Maybe that means purchasing shelf-stable options to keep in your office and deciding which days you will eat out and where. Maybe it means putting together an Instacart order or grocery pickup list, then choosing a day later in the week when you know you will have time to pick it up. That is food prep, too.
The point is not to perform nutrition perfectly.
The point is to make feeding yourself a little easier.
Ask yourself: what is my bandwidth?
When you plan for the reality of your upcoming week, ask yourself: What is my bandwidth for this? No judgment. Notice the energy you have available for planning and honor it.
Food choices are not a measure of character
Most importantly I want to move away from the shame we attach to food. There is no “I didn’t eat well,” and there is no “I was bad.”
Sometimes you will eat candy. Sometimes you will eat vegetables. Sometimes you will eat a beautifully balanced meal. Most of the time, nutrition lives somewhere in the middle: good, better, best.
And then there is another the next meal. Or at least another moment when your body needs nourishment.
Nutrition is laundry
It will always be there. Some weeks, your favorite jeans are clean, folded, and ready to wear—you have everything lined up for the week. Other weeks, you wear something that is not your favorite because laundry did not happen.
That is not failure. It just means you make the good, better, or best choice available to you right now.
The experience of life is just a series of seasons, not something to be conquered or achieved. There is no failure. Fed is still fed.