The Freedom you gain from Planning and Structure

16 Jun The Freedom you gain from Planning and Structure

Many people shudder when they think about the prospect of planning ahead when it comes to food and exercise. This is especially true if one of the reasons they haven’t made a change thus far is because they are short on the time they have to spend on themselves.

This is especially true for many of us during the pandemic, with other responsibilities and a loss of structure and routine present in our lives. There’s also an understandable need for the types of food and drinks which are lovely in-the-moment but may not necessarily be aligned with our long-term wellness goals.

One of the things I work on with my clients is the truth that planning and structure doesn’t have to take time from your day, nor add to your stress / ‘To-Do’ list. In fact, the opposite is true once you get over the initial resistance to the process. Planning meals ahead of time removes a lot of the ‘snap’ decision-making about what to eat, which if done when hungry/under time-pressure can lead to less appropriate choices for your goals. Planning ahead means that you’re thinking about what your body needs, and what you genuinely like to eat, rather than what would ‘satisfy’ RIGHT NOW or what you’d like, to give you an immediate lift. Planning meals in advance saves time because it enpowers you to overcook amounts so that one cooking session can take care of three or four meals as opposed to just the one.

And of course, planning your meals in advance means that you’re far less likely to snack in-between meals or choose foods to ‘fill a hole’ because there’s just nothing available to eat in the moment that you find yourself hungry. I find that many people who aren’t currently planning ahead naturally assume that it will be in some way ‘regimented’, and take out the spontaneity of eating what you like, when you fancy. This, again, doesn’t have to be true – especially if you have room in your freezer, or you can invest in some Tupperware and can make a little space in your fridge. At any given moment you could have a choice of three healthy and nutritious pre-prepared meals available in your fridge and a few more a ‘short-defrost’ away in your freezer.

There are some simple structures we can put in place to get you to this point, and then it’s just about rolling things forward… like anything once you start, it’s easier to maintain momentum. This is one of the changes I encourage with my clients right at the start… and it’s one of the changes which has the biggest impact.

It’s similar with exercise, regardless of what kind of exercise works for you in this moment. Whether it be some Yoga from YouTube, a home routine designed by your personal trainer,

or a walk around the block with your loved ones, it is far more likely to happen if it’s in your diary and scheduled as if it were a meeting with a work colleague. It might seem like overkill, but putting these things in your diary gives them the immediate status of an ‘important’ part of your day which of course they deserve. It is strange that two of the things which are fundamental to our wellbeing as human beings (namely movement and quality nourishment-preparation) are two things which rarely appear in peoples’ diaries or calendars. Putting them in there makes them much more likely to happen. And of course, like anything else we practice regularly, they soon become a habit.

This week, why not try adding a little more planning and structure to the way that you think about your meals and your exercise? Instead of fearing the myth of restriction, look forward to the freedom that it will provide when thinking ahead regarding two areas that will genuinely improve your wellbeing.

For further information or for a bespoke plan contact Ayo at: https://www.ayotrainingnutrition.com/contact/

Ayo Williams