Flexible Meal Planning
Can the framework of intuitive eating and the idea of meal planning co-exist? At first, they may sound counterintuitive, because for many, meal planning can become rigid and has been co-opted by diet culture. Meal planning also often times does not consider day to day body satisfaction (ie. what you’re in the mood for, what tastes sound appealing, what temperature food sounds appealing, etc.) which is an important aspect of intuitive eating.
That being said, at Tory Stroker Nutrition, we believe meal planning can be a helpful important tool as an intuitive eater, if practiced in a certain way. The biggest aspects to remember are to keep meal planning flexible and use it as a tool of self care, to help you honor your body’s needs, rather than as a form of rigidity and control. Therefore, we like to call this type of meal planning ‘Flexible Meal Planning!’
How Can Flexible Meal Planning Help Me?
Meal planning helps with Intuitive Eating by being prepared with food on hand for the week, allowing you to ultimately take care of your needs better. Think about it, if you don’t have any food on hand, you’re not going to be able to eat when you’re hungry and honor your own body cues. You will likely end up extremely hungry, turning to anything to eat or waiting to eat until starving, leading to a non-satisfying experience for your body.
How Can I Get Started with Flexible Meal Planning?
Start off by looking at your week ahead. Make sure to plan according to your schedule and what works best for you and your time. One night of the week you may be working late and you need a fast, easy meal for dinner. Another day, you might want to make a recipe that is more involved, because you’ll have the time and energy to do so. Another night you may have dinner plans with someone or your children may have sports practice late– take these kinds of things into account when considering your weekly meals to have on hand.
Ask yourself what you really want to eat this week. What foods or meals you have been craving or have been catching your eye? Eating what you like is key to keeping you satisfied, not what you think you should plan to eat. We find it helpful at Tory Stroker Nutrition to keep a running list in your phone or in a notebook of recipes that are catching your eye and you want to try and make - that way when you go to plan your week you’ll easily remember those recipes.
Consider how many nights/week would you like to have a plan for, and how many nights you want a loose plan for. For instance, maybe you want to try and cook 4 nights/week, 1 night have leftovers, 1 night have take out, and 1 night go out to eat. That is all a part of your meal plan for the week.
Make a general plan of what you’d like to eat for the week, but not necessarily assigning meals to certain days. Assigning meals to days can put us in a rigid state with food, rather than staying flexible to your current needs. How do you know what you’ll be craving on Tuesday? Instead if you have 4 meals to plan from with all the ingredients, you can pick and choose which meal matches your current needs and desires.
I have my plan for the week, now what?
Now it’s time to put your intuitive eating tools to practice. Consider how you feel on a daily basis. Your hunger level, mood, activity level, how your body is feeling, and desire for certain temperatures (hot vs. cold foods), texture, and flavor. Are you in the mood for salmon? Or does pasta sound more appealing that night? You have ingredients for a few meals for the week in your fridge, now you pick and choose what sounds good for you that meal. Here, is a great example of how this all works in practice.
Overall, meal prepping and intuitive eating can work together and co-exist, as long as you’re remembering to honor your body, and customize it for your needs and desires on a daily basis. Make it work for your needs, no one else’s! Remember, you are the expert in your body.
