Intuitive eating can transform your relationship with food, but it’s natural to encounter challenges along the way. Between juggling work, parenting, and/or household responsibilities, finding the time and energy to prioritize your well-being can feel like an impossible task. Let’s tackle the common obstacles that busy moms may face when implementing intuitive eating and look to practical solutions to make the process more manageable.
Common Obstacles
Time Constraints ⏳
As a mom, it’s no secret that time is one of your most precious resources. Between work, school runs, extra-curricular activities, and homework, finding time to plan meals, grocery shop, and cook can be overwhelming. However, implementing an intuitive eating approach can make meal times less stressful and more enjoyable. Including satisfaction and enjoyment into your meals without the guilt helps everyone feel less stressed at meals. Having food ready before you or your kids dip into hangry mode is one of the best ways to help the whole family show up to the meal in a way that encourages staying tuned into your body. But time is always working against you so here are some tips to help overcome this challenge:
- Plan Your Meals Ahead of Time:
- Set aside time each week to plan your meals and create a shopping list.
- If this feels overwhelming try this simple hack, just consider what each of your family members would like to eat and you could have about half the week or more planned in 2 minutes.
- Meal Prep Saves Time:
- Prepare meals and snacks in advance to save time for busy weekdays.
- If budget allows consider what foods you’d like some help prepping and buy those foods in a more prepared way. example: if you hate cutting vegetables, consider buying them pre cut or frozen for easy prep time.
- Include the Family:
- Get your family involved with meal planning to get their input and make it a collaborative process.
- You might be surprised at what your kids can help with. Check out my blog post here for age appropriate tasks.
- Trying to Do It on Your Own:
- If you are new to healing your relationship with food for yourself and to help your kids grow up with a healthy relationship with food it’s perfectly ok if you want to do it on your own. But it’s going to take more time. Consider joining a group program like the FED Mamas program for support, gentle accountability and a proven plan.
Rising Food Costs 💸
The cost of groceries has been increasing, making it difficult for families to eat healthier foods. However, by learning to honor your cravings and listening to your body’s natural hunger signals, you can make more direct decisions about what food to buy. Here are some helpful tips to overcome this challenge:
- Shop with intention:
- Buy groceries in bulk or look for sales.
- Buy frozen vegetables in place of fresh ones to save on costs and reduce food waste.
- Using processed foods when they are helpful can actually save you money and time.
- Cook at Home:
- Cooking meals at home can be more budget-friendly especially with ingredients that are just hanging around.
- You can search Pinterest based on ingredient if you have something you bought for a specific recipe but don’t know what else to use it for.
- Focus on inexpensive nutritional powerhouses:
- Eggs, whole grains, beans/legumes are often overlooked nutritional powerhouses that sit on the less expensive side.
Pressure to Meet Societal Beauty Standards 👙
The societal pressures to fit into a certain body type or reach a specific weight can feel insurmountable, especially as a mom, with bounce back culture still hanging around.🙄 However, with intuitive eating, you can shift your focus from external standards to nourishing your body and feeling good in your body. Here are some ways to overcome this challenge:
- Change Your Perception of Beauty:
- Embrace the beauty within and focus on internal signals above external appearances.
- Curate your media to include people who are doing this too and if possible, include individuals with a similar body size/shape to yours that are just living life!
- Understand Your Health:
- Reflect on what health looks like to you and choose realistic goals to work towards that.
- Cultivate Body Acceptance:
- Focus on body neutrality and celebrate what your body can do rather than what it looks like.
As a busy mom, implementing intuitive eating can be challenging, because your plate is already full! But with practical tips, guidance and support, it’s possible to make healthy, mindful decisions about your food and eating habits. By changing your mindset, planning ahead, shopping smart, and focusing on nourishing and satisfying foods, you can make intuitive eating a sustainable part of your #momlife.
Stay tuned for some practical tips and guidance in the third and final blog post of this series!
With kindness and compassion,
Lindsay