How To Keep Eating Healthy Even When Life Gets Busy and Stressful (Easy 5 Minute Lunch Idea Included!)

Easy, healthy, and delicious is my jam.

I like yummy food that leaves me feeling strong, satisfied, lean, and energized throughout the day. Really, who doesn’t?

When my life gets stressful and busy, I keep eating the same nourishing food I always eat because it’s quick and doable for my lifestyle. 

If your healthy habits tend to disappear when life gets busy (or you’re putting off eating “better” until you have more time), that tells me that at least one of these is true:

1. You have a belief that unhealthy food is more convenient than healthy food (understandable but not true - see below)
2. The food and recipes you make when you’re trying to be healthy aren’t realistic/sustainable for your normal lifestyle OR it requires more brain power right now because it’s new and you don’t have easy, go-to meals (this is an easy fix!)
3. You view your unhealthy food as more desirable than healthy food (totally understandable but you’ll be surprised how much this can quickly change even if you feel totally addicted right now!)

Which of those sounds familiar? 

When you stop labeling food as “good” vs “bad” or associate eating healthy with calories, the number on the scale, or judgments about what you “should” be doing, and you start paying attention to how it makes you feel, your experience and relationship with food starts to change.

Food is the fuel that your body uses for every process in your body. And the type of fuel you nourish your body with has a direct impact on your energy, brain power, mood, gut health, hormones, and the way you feel inside and out.

So imagine the impact when you stop eating the food that gives you good energy, brain power, and a more positive mindset when life gets busy and stressful, and you replace it with food that causes your energy to crash, makes it hard to concentrate, and contributes to feeling anxious or depressed.

You’re understandably trying to make your life easier and to add a little pleasure into a stressful day, but it actually makes most of your day less pleasurable and even harder! Yet this is very much the norm in our society, because we’ve been conditioned to see unhealthy food as more convenient and desirable. 

How do you escape that cycle?

Your brain looks for proof that backs up your beliefs. Start by being open to the idea that:

• healthy food CAN be quick, yummy, and totally doable even when life gets crazy
• your favorite healthy food is actually more desirable than your favorite unhealthy food when you look at the entire experience (check out Ep. 56 on my Life Boost with Amelia podcast: “How To Not Want “Bad” Food” form ore on this topic)

Part of my 6 month programs involve transforming the relationship you have with your body and food. Whether you like it or not, the food you eat influences how you show up in all aspects of your life. It’s something that should add pleasure, energy, and fulfillment to your life, not drain them. 

On the side, I had my blueberry brain bowl of goodness for nourishing carbs and healthy fats. If I was packing lunch for a hospital shift, a good option would be a chopped up apple tossed in lemon juice and cinnamon drizzled with tahini (+/- flax seed) to enjoy warm or cool or mixed nuts on the side. 

If you want to feel satisfied, prioritize protein + plants + flavor. A big part of what makes healthy SEEM more time consuming is that it’s probably not your norm so it takes brain power to come up with ideas. You also probably don’t have convenient options in your kitchen (yet). 

Once you have a few go-to easy protein options (think canned fish, rotisserie chicken, or tempeh), frozen and jarred veggies that are prepped and ready to go, and pantry staples to add flavor like sauces, infused EVOO, and vinegars, the sky’s the limit! I teach you all my hacks and tricks in my 6 month mentorship program.

Send me an email at amelia@lifeboost.today saying “curious” to learn more, because even though you CAN do everything on your own, you don’t always have to. When you’re ready to feel like a weight has been lifted off your shoulders, I’m here for you. You can also learn more about my programs here.