3 reasons why clients say they can’t meal prep, and my responses

With the same commitment and dedication people put towards Sunday mass or Sunday family dinner, I put towards meal prep. I have probably meal prepped all but a handful of Sundays for the past 10 years, and by now, I have it down to a science. So, when clients tell me that the thought of prepping food for the week sounds challenging, overwhelming, or time-consuming, I meet them with grace. When you’re just starting out with meal prep – or with just about anything – those feelings and apprehensions are normal. In fact, they are so normal that the majority of my clients express the exact same concerns. 

Keep reading for the three most common meal prep concerns I hear, and how I typically respond to them. 

1. I don’t have the time 

Now, I hear this a lot, whether a client is describing nutrition or exercise. How do I make time for this? 

When it comes to mealtimes, consider how much time you spend thinking about and obtaining meals when they’re not already planned and prepared. Some may say they don’t have the 30-60 minutes to prep food on Sunday, and instead, they spend 30-60 minutes every single day at meals thinking about, debating, scrolling, ordering, and/or driving to pick up lunch or dinner instead. The time is there, I promise. You just have to be more efficient and strategic with it. 

If you have a partner, roommates or familial support, tell them you need an hour to focus on something for yourself. If you have children, roommates, or other family who are able to help, let them join in. If you’re on your own, put your meal prep time in your calendar and stick to it like an appointment. Make time for it on Sunday and get more time back in your week. 

Another take on this is in the form of a little tough love: if you don’t make time for well-rounded nutrition now, you will likely need to make time for illness in the future. The upfront time investment is worth it. 

Psst: If you need tips for how to keep up with meal prep during a busy summer, I’ve got your covered. Click here.

2. I need variety

As often as I hear clients explain their need for variety, I hear them explain their stress in day-to-day life. Much of this stress is out of our control, but there are some things that we can do to combat it a bit. The one I preach the most: limit decision fatigue. 

It’s a tale as old as time. You get home from a long day of work. Your family asks you, “What’s for dinner?” And you begin to fantasize about jet setting off to Bermuda. Or even about going to the dentist by yourself. Anything, anything to not have to answer that question. 

Truthfully, you don’t know what’s for dinner. So you tell the family to order take out. “Where do you want to order from?” your partner asks. And you have to take deep breaths to prevent yourself from screaming, “Can you please just pick somewhere to order from and leave me alone? Why do I always have to make all of the decisions for all of us? What would you ever do without me? What if I actually just up and went to Bermuda?!?!?!” 

It sounds dramatic, but I know you can relate. 

With this in mind, I ask my clients what would be more helpful: a week full of variety, or a week full of decisions already made in advance to save your post-work, tired self the strain? More often than not, clients choose the latter. 

Now picture this: you come home from work and the veggies you need for dinner are already chopped, the sauce you need is already made, and the rice you need is already boiled. All you need to do is put it all together and bake. No decisions need to be made. No threats to leave for Bermuda need to be made. Just your almost all-the-way prepped dinner needs to be made. 

*Deep exhale* 

Meal prep can happen in two different ways. Option one is to make a large batch of the same meal and then portioning it out for 4-5 servings throughout the week. Option two is to boil, bake, mix, chop, etc. whatever you can in advance so putting a meal together is easier when it’s time (i.e. make your own meal-prep kit). Think: using one large batch of rice and veggies to make a Mexican, Greek, and Thai version of chicken each evening. 

For my variety fans, I recommend option two and preparing enough to have leftovers for lunch each day. So instead of eating the same batched meal for 5 days in a row, you are just eating the same meal twice each week. 

3. I don’t know where to start

Once the excitement of setting a new goal settles, the overwhelm sets in. “How am I actually going to do all this?” is a common thought. In my holistic programs, I have a proven process that helps my clients to adopt and implement a new behavior. 

The first step forward? It’s actually taking a step back. 

Having a goal of meal prepping your breakfasts, lunches, and snacks for the week is wonderful. But implementing this new behavior overnight may be extremely overwhelming and unrealistic. So instead, we take a step back and think about what small habit we can easily implement into your schedule right away. Would it be easy for you to fill some small containers with yogurt, fruit, and granola? Great, let’s start there. After a few weeks of success, we reflect, reevaluate, and build from there. 

It likely sounds nearly impossible to change up your whole meal routine in a single Sunday. But overtime, we can work towards the bigger picture with smaller, more digestible (pun intended) steps. 

I am not saying meal prep is easy, I am saying it is doable. If you need more guidance, click here to schedule a no-strings-attached, complimentary consultation. We’ll talk about your goals and the best way to help you reach them!