I'll be the first to tell you ~ no matter how hard I try, I cannot maintain a 100% natural, organic, fresh-food lifestyle 24/7. I'm not sure I know anyone who can unless they spend every Sunday meal prepping for the entire family.
We all have busy lives filled with work obligations, kids' activities, date nights, chores, family time, the list goes on. "Cheat" days are absolutely necessary. Actually, I don't even like calling them cheat days anymore. That makes it sound like a bad thing, and nobody needs that much pressure all the time.
In my opinion, that kind of rigidity turns your normal, everyday life into a list of tasks or bullet points to be checked off instead of being able to go with the flow and enjoy the freedom of not always having a plan. Unless you're a paid bodybuilder or fitness model whose livelihood depends on your meal plan, or you have a medical reason to follow certain guidelines, I believe you're creating more stress than necessary.
And stress? That's the number one epidemic of our civilization. If you're doing more stressing over ingredients and meal plans than the good those foods actually give you, you might need to regroup. ;)
So here's what I do.
I follow the 80/20 rule on most things. There are some products I absolutely won't compromise on (like milk), but this rule generally works for most families. Eighty percent of the time, we're on top of our game with fresh, chemical-free, non-packaged foods. Twenty percent of the time, we order pizza, go out to a restaurant, or splurge on some "not so great for you" foods.
And you know what? That's okay.
Sodas and sugary juices aren't even an option my kids want. They think most fast food is gross. They love veggies and sushi, fresh venison and fish. If you teach them how wonderful these foods are in their non-processed form, they grow up to love them just like we do.
The key here is balance.
I've learned over the years that balance is an essential practice to maintain. As much as I'd like to be superwoman all the time, give my jobs my complete dedication, keep my house immaculate, stay on top of all the laundry, keep up with studying, go to all my friends' get-togethers, you get the picture. If you give too much in one area all the time, other areas will suffer.
Priorities must be aligned in order to create the life and household you envision for your family.
Step 1: Boundaries
You have to be able to set appropriate boundaries in order to say "no" to things that don't align with your priorities. Please, please, please read the book Boundaries by Dr. Henry Cloud and Dr. John Townsend. It changed my life!
Setting boundaries is a way of caring for yourself. It's absolutely necessary for healthy relationships. I didn't even learn about healthy boundaries until I was over 30 years old. Had I known in my teens and twenties what I know now, I would've saved myself from an immense amount of turmoil and bad decisions.
Step 2: Plan, But Stay Flexible
Set up a guideline, not a strict regimen. If you have a guideline to follow with your meals and schedule, you're more likely to stick to it. And remember, if you stray from this guideline a couple of times, it's okay! Don't stress it. Just gently push back to it. Creating healthy habits takes time.
Email me for a sample meal plan if you're ready to take that step.
Step 3: Meditation/Prayer
One of the things that makes a dramatic shift in how I react to those I love and those I associate with professionally is my alone time. I believe we all need time to ourselves to decompress, process our thoughts, pray, and meditate. During those times we can breathe and wait for God to give us guidance.
The point is to figure out exactly what needs to stay in our lives and what we need to let go of.
Learn to live between effort and surrender.
