You don’t have to wait until you have more money, capacity or availability to start implementing healthy choices into your day. I love the fact that in this day and age we have so many resources at our fingertips to make things a little bit easier on ourselves. Need to go grocery shopping but have little time? There’s a remedy. You want to exercise, but feel like you don’t have time on your busy days? You can still implement movement. Want to meal prep but can’t imagine spending 2 hours in the kitchen? You can still have tasty meals and snacks ready to be devoured in way less than 2 hours. The great thing about the resources that surround us, is our ability to choose: Do I want to do this myself OR Do I want to ‘get somebody else to do it’. When we try to implement some lifestyle changes, the easiest choice can be what we need to get the momentum going. Remember, the goal is sustainability. You want to create strategies to set you up for long term success. You don’t want a 5 hour weekly routine that is just going to lead to burn out before you can actually start to see the results.
You want to go grocery shopping but don’t have any time
- Grocery delivery services – Now, so many places (physical stores and online stores) offer the luxury of delivering your groceries to your front door. Sure, there is a fee. But would you rather pay a fee for convenience or pay for the extra things you end up putting in your cart as you choose to go grocery shopping hungry, stressed and sleep deprived?
- Select the Pick up option at the grocery store – I love this option as it often has no fee. All you have to do is drive to the store (which you were going to do anyway) and either wait or literally “run in” (Because we always say, we’re going to run into a grocery store and then get annoyed with ourselves when an assumed 5 minute trip takes 20 minutes or more). Most places even offer the ability of parking in a special spot so they can bring it to your car. While you are sitting in the car, you can use this time to do many things: finally go through and reply to your emails/text messages, create a to do list for the next day, or finally sit and breathe for a moment (because you know you need it).
Want to meal prep but don’t have the time
- Fix an extra serving when you do cook – This is usually one of the 1st suggestions I make for my busy clients who wear multiple hats everyday and seem to be unable to implement healthier, CONVENIENT meals. Here’s the hack, cook when you are already cooking. Making an extra serving when you make dinner allows you to have lunch for the next day without feeling like you short changed your dinner servings. Keep this idea in your back pocket, especially when going to the grocery store. You will see that often, a family pack of some protein is cheaper per unit than the small package you would purchase for the dinner that evening. You end up spending less money on more servings – IN THIS ECONOMY, IF THAT ISN’T A WIN, IDK WHAT IS.
- Fix one dish when you are fixing another – Very similar to the previous idea, if you are already in the kitchen, why not kill 2 birds with 1 stone? You want baked chicken thighs and green beans for dinner? Sounds delish! Why not throw some salmon and carrots in the oven while you wait? Cooking an extra protein and veggie would allow you to fix 2 complete meals at the same time. By the time your dinner is prepared, your prep should be too! And while you are enjoying the meal you were going to fix anyway, your meal prep is cooling down and ready to be put in food storage containers! Guess what else you were going to do anyway… CLEAN THE KITCHEN! Congratulations, you just cleaned the kitchen once for 2 different meals. Look at you with getting more efficient with your time!
- Set it and forget it! – Long Prep time is a barrier that I will always opt to avoid. In this realm, the quicker, the better. Sheet pan meals are 1 of my go to’s when I have to prep dinner in a pinch. The key is to choose things that take similar cooking times. I love chicken Thighs and potatoes. Ill choose a large cookie sheet to scatter them about (skin side up, always). When those are cooked through, I’ll scoot over the chicken and potatoes, throw some frozen green beans next to them, on the cookie sheet and throw the entire thing back in the oven. When the green beans are fully heated through, the skin on the chicken is golden with a nice crunch and the potatoes are crispy on the outside and soft and fluffy on the inside. I also LOVVVEEE the crockpot, with which the most time I spend in the kitchen is 10 minutes throwing everything in it and occasionally 1 minute stirring and mixing everything. You genuinely cannot beat that. I like to alternate my weekly crock pot meal preps. 1 week is chicken breast that I can later shred after it is fully cooked. Another week is a delicious, satiating pot of beans. Another week I like to cook a nice cut of beef. These are wonderful proteins that can be added to amazing bowls, salads, and sandwiches. And it took you virtually no time! Occasionally I like to whip a brothy soup that is nourishing and comforting.
- Buy pretty much prepared items – YES, PREPARED FOODS CAN BE HEALTHY AND CONDUCIVE TO YOUR HEALTH JOURNEY. When Life is chaotic, I try to make sure I have an armory of prepared items that will not fail me and force me to look to fast food options for a meal. Yes, pre-packed foods have had a bad rep but you can always make prepared foods work for you. Next time you have an extremely busy week but would love prepped foods to set you up for success, add a few of the following to your grocery list:
- Proteins: rotisserie chicken, canned tuna/salmon/sardines, pre-boiled eggs, greek yogurt, cheese sticks
- Veggies: the vegetable party platters, bagged salad, frozen veggies sold in steamable bags
- Fruits: bagged cuties, bagged grapes, pre cut fruit
- Starches: portioned bags and cups of brown rice, wild rice and or quinoa, a loaf of seedy or sourdough bread
- Dark chocolate – because it’s loaded with magnesium and if you are having a chaotic week, it’ll help manage that stress (without giving into your stress induced sweet tooth)
- Dive into the wonderful world of meal delivery services – This option can be a little pricey but has been shown to be the key for busy people wanting to stick to healthier choices. Taking 15 minutes to scroll through options that align with your goals can be the difference between you hitting your goals now and struggling later. You literally have so many companies at your fingertips. I say search and see what you gravitate to! Make sure you watch the sodium content, and include protein and fiber with each meal choice.
Want to exercise but don’t have the time
- Movement snacks – Got 5 minutes? Great. Got 10 minutes? Even better. Never dismiss the small pockets of time you have that you could use to temporarily increase your HR and get your blood pumping. 5 minutes makes a major difference especially if you can fit in 5-5 minute workouts during your mundane work day. That’s 25 minutes of movement you just got in!
- Wake up a tad bit earlier – Can you wake up 15 minutes earlier to get in a 10 minute workout? This is a great gateway to creating a workout routine if you keep saying you want one but dont have the time. Trust me, create a habit out of this hack and you will start to crave more than 10 minutes.The goal right now is training your body to crave movement in the morning by consistently doing what you can.
- Look for 2-in-1 opportunities – Got emails or a document to read? Or a meeting that you have to sit through? Working from home? Or just want to keep up your wind down ritual of scrolling on social media? Purchase a walking pad walk while you are reading, listening or scrolling. I guarantee you it is better than trying to stop yourself from nodding off during that meeting you had to sit through or guiltily telling yourself to put the phone down and do something productive. An increase in blood flow will help you have more energy and pay more attention to what you need to! And don’t let anyone pressure you into shelling out too much money for a standing desk. If you really want to explore that option, you can also search for a high quality desk raiser to make whatever desk set up you have, work for you while standing! Even standing temporarily during your work day will have your legs and heart thanking you!
I say all of this to say. If you want to do it, then do it. Stop allowing perceived barriers to stop from getting started on your health journey!
bite to bloom 