by Beth Klenner | General, Mindset
Often when we are starting a new eating habit, there is an initial ‘shock’ factor and concern that we are not going to be able to manage the family and that everyone has to eat so differently and how is that all going to work out, as inevitably is up to you to do all the food preparation in an effort to appease everyone and get the results that you desire.
Here are some tips about how to manage your family and their needs as well as yours and how you make everyone’s world pivot in a good way.
So, to begin, how do you plan meal? – What is everyone going to eat?
- In your planning, think about the protein component first. Is it going to be a fish, meat, chicken, legume dish etc? For meals that you are going to share, have a protein type that suits you, everyone needs proteins, ideally three times per day.
- How are you going to cook it? Slow cook, fry, poach, bake? You can cook proteins in water (poach, slow cook), fry or bake with good quality oils (olive, coconut, ghee). No vegetable oil, please.
- You may decide that one night, the family will have a premade batch-cooked meal from the freezer while having your own special protein that may not be in the family budget. You are healing, this is your medicine.
- What vegetables are going to be eaten, what are the standard ones the family will eat? It is quite common that likes and dislikes are seen here, it doesn’t take much to add or take away to suit various requests, or you have a ‘try it all on your plate” general rule.
- It doesn’t have to completely be a ‘you and them’ scenario, it can be a blend, and as a parent, preparing meals with slightly different combinations is reasonably common.
- Remember that every ‘body’ is designed by nature to eat proteins, vegetables and carbohydrates. Everyone needs all of these things in a balanced way.
- Think about the foods you already prepare? Do they compose of these things? If not regularly, then the whole family will benefit to eating in a healthier way.
Planning meals – Putting pen to paper
Consider a 14-day cycle of meals, if you feel that is too overwhelming then begin with a week. Then the following week, make up a new menu and so forth. You will soon start to see that common meal feature. You can then recycle these meal planners.
Or if you want to think for a longer time period straight up, then start with family favourites that you may like to have once or twice in that time.
Include then a few dishes of yours that you think that the family can eat, you may have to make a slight variation for yours. Include an easy ‘treat’ or a simple meal for one night a week, Friday night works well, so you can take a break.
Batch cooking – A huge time and decision saver
Choose meals for the family that can be made in bulk and easily frozen that will still turn out well when thawed like stews, slow cookers, soups, lasagne, crumbed chicken, schnitzel etc
You can batch cook all in the same day or if you are making meals as you go, make a double batch and freeze the second.
Meal preparation – Making life easier
For meals that are going to be freshly prepared before serving, do the prep soon after you’ve purchased the product. Trim, cut, and weigh meats before freezing for the recipe that you are using. If you are making several meals this way, you may have to label the item and dedicate it to that recipe dish, especially if you are sharing meal prep with others, who are ‘doing their own thing’ so they don’t eat what is specifically for you.
Shopping – Using lists make it easy
Do a stock take before shopping to make sure you have all the ingredients for your recipes, simple I know, but it’s easy one and forgetting an item can lead to a no-meal deal and it’s easy to get caught out.
Do one big shop per week for all your big items, so you have food at the ready all the time. Plan for the shopping day and allow time for the shop and time once at home to sort, prep and store, as it can take a few hours.
You may have to ‘scheduled’ in your shopping time, so it comes before something else pops up. Apart of eating well for your health is the respect you give yourself and honour the time you use to nurture the future you.
Encourage others – It’s more fun to share the load
This is a great learning time for those that surround you, I know it is bliss going out shopping on your own, and maybe the only time you get for yourself! But at the right age, it is a great learning tool for your children, I get mine to read labels and chat about sugar content all.the.time.
If you’d like to know more, you are welcome to join my free membership on facebook. Thyroid, Metabolic, Hormone Harmony Hub.
I’d love to see you there
Inspiring Wellness
Beth
by Beth Klenner | Mindset
When it comes to any major positive change in your life, there comes the excitement and anticipation. The vision of what will be. You have already crossed the first hurdle, recognising that your current situation will simply not change if you don’t do something different.
This realisation has come from feelings of being ‘stuck’ or backed into a corner, and the frustration you feel when no one has been able to provide a solution that works for you, and through this desperation, you may find a flood of strength comes up and you finally take the ownership of being your best advocate for your health.
I want you to keep in your mind the power of the strength of your decision, as we will need to refer back to this later in this conversation.
So now you have your ‘plan of attack’ whatever that be, for e.g eating GF and DF, doing AIP or following a wholefood nutrition plan that’s made to order from your blood values which is what I work with.
For some, gradual changes over time have led down this pathway your current diet. When I use the word diet, I mean the foods that you eat daily, not a specific plan. The way of eating may have evolved over months or even years of trial and error. Others take on one huge change and expect it to be smooth running within a week and give up once they run out of their first grocery shop or have that social occasion no.1 come along.
Planning and consistency are absolute key and to accompany these things is support.
Planning is the practical part, what foods are you going to be consuming, stocktake of the pantry, shopping for supplies, etc
Consistency seals the deal, keeping an eye on the big outcome while navigating the daily hurdles and the momentum is the driving force behind the long-term execution of your plan.
Support is like a big soft cushion that will gently nudge you back on track when you stray or stubble when you face roadblocks that create a stagnation until you push through.
These three things are so important for your personal desired health outcome when working with food as your prime source of medicine to allow you to get the most out of any medications or supplements. Food can do remarkable things, but it is going to be an ongoing process and not a quick fix. Remember always, your ‘Why’.
“A goal without a plan is just a wish.” Has been quoted many of times by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry.
Remember the vision you had earlier? That is your dream. Now it is time to make it a reality. I use a goal setting exercise in all of my methods with my clients, to anchor their mindset message. It is a part of their online support library.
If you would like to set a sticky goal of your own, I am happy to share with you, exactly the same goal setting exercise. I’ll let you know the details at the end of this recording.
So, once you have your mindset on-board, it is time to appeal to the family, friends, relations, or perhaps you engage personal coach. Whoever you trust to have your back and be an honest, positive support member in your team. This is about you, your process and what you want to achieve for your health and future self.
Uh oh, I’m already hearing you groan. You’ve been sick for so long, the hubby or partner may be ‘over it’, your friends don’t understand, or you haven’t told them, relatives think it’s in your head and it seems they love to dish up gluten-laden foods all the time, just to test you. Plus you have this expectation to churn out ‘normal’ food for fear that the kids and maybe hubby won’t eat. You berate yourself and hate that you are different, or that you know you need to change for you health’s sake, but you just want to be ‘normal.’ It can be quite an internal battle.
We all know that if any one of your family members had a serious medical condition or was anaphylactic with a certain food, that everyone would be on board with change. You actually do have a serious medical condition, but as it is unseen, like mental illness it is insidious by nature. Your diagnosis of Hashimotos or underlying hypothyroidism is critical to your life and wellbeing every.single.day.
It’s time they got on board. It may sound a bit formal, but call a family meeting, tell everyone to sit on the couch for 10 minutes and discuss with them your needs and how you want their support, directly or indirectly.
They need to understand that you are not asking for change of them, but support for you. It will mean that things will be slightly different. Have you ever watched the program ‘Wife Swap’. I love the part where the new wife lays down the rules. The Father and kids all have tantrums, (which I don’t quite get because they signed or for the show), but that’s how we expect others will react when they are not the instigator of the change and don’t really care if their habits and demands impact your life.
That’s what makes this so tough, right? It’s all down to you. You have to be the leader when it would be a lot easier to be the follower, you have to do all the research, the meal planning, the shopping, the preparation and then cater to others who can seemingly eat anything and everything. Well, that’s for now, until their biochemistry begins to break down and physical signs show if they haven’t already.
But aren’t you worth it? This is one life, this is your life. Yours. No one else’s. Draw from that strength, and remember the power of the strength of your decision to make a change to begin with? That is the fuel to your drive and ultimate successful achievements.
So lets take a look at how you could plan your chat with your loved ones:
- Write pointers down so you don’t forget anything
- Ask them if they are willing to help you? You need to know who your go-to peeps are, so you want them to be completely honest here
- Mention that you are not expecting them to change, so they remain in their comfort zone and won’t become defensive and are more likely to support you
- Tell them exactly how you want them to behave, do, say, when you feel defeated and need that immediate support of will ie, – if I go I ask for chocolate you will say no and not give in to me, tell them what you want to happen (don’t buy it, hide it etc)
- You may need to ask that they respect you and not to eat certain foods while you are in the room or in a certain environment with you
- Ask them if they have any ideas to help you
At the end of the day, this journey is about you, and sometimes you need to be your best health advocate and be strong in yourself for yourself. A big part of the Methods I offer is accountability, which is essential, especially when close family members are not that supportive.
If you’d like to know more, you are welcome to join my free membership on facebook. Thyroid, Metabolic, Hormone Harmony Hub.
I’d love to see you there
Inspiring Wellness
Beth
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