Is it just me or does each year bring more responsibility, more work and less free time?
It can leave you feeling like Bilbo Baggins right?
No, not because you're short.
Or hairy.
Or because you've stolen from a dragon and lived to tell the tale.
If you've managed the last one, hit me up and I'll buy you a pint while you tell me all about it.
What I'm talking about, in the words of Bilbo himself, is that you're "like butter spread over too much bread".
You're spread thin.
You're busy, overwhelmed even.
I'm telling you this because in the last two years the above scenario reflects my life. I've come to realise just how scarce time is.
Time is your most precious resource — the only thing we can't buy or earn more of.
So when it comes to nutrition and eating to achieve your goals, I'm a big believer that your plan needs to fit with your lifestyle. There's no point in trying to eat eight small meals a day if you barely have time to eat three.
Being the stand-up guy I am, I decided to open my chest of secrets and pull out my top five tips for nailing your diet when life gets a lil’ cray.
To ensure that you not only survive during those stressful times but thrive.
Let's dig in, shall we?
1. Plan Ahead
"Failing to plan, is planning to fail"
When it comes to managing your nutrition when you’re busy, there's almost a perfectly linear relationship between busy-ness and necessity of planning and being organised.
That is, the busier you are, the more crucial planning becomes.
Without a plan, you're forced to make more decisions.
You see, as we gain more responsibilities, we also tend to accrue decisions.
Like leeches after crossing a slow running river, decisions will suck your willpower dry. Leaving you a shallow husk of your energetic self.
It's why most people break their diet of an evening or night. They've had a stressful day at work, having to make hundreds of decisions. Some subconsciously, others, like whether or not to break a monitor over their obnoxious colleagues head, consciously.
By the end of the day, you're so drained that you no longer care. So when your partner asks "what would you like for dinner?" or you open the fridge and have to decide what to cook, you're more likely to say "screw it" and order Uber Eats.
ACTION POINT:
Schedule time at the end of each week (or whenever you have time) and plan for the week ahead. Think about what you have on, when you are limited in time, or out and about, etc. Plan your meals for the week and create a shopping list based upon the plan.
2. Focus on the big rocks.
“It is not a daily increase, but a daily decrease. Hack away at the inessentials.”
Bruce Lee
It's all butterbeer and pumpkin pasties if you know where you should be investing your time. But in my experience, this is rarer than a phone box in London that doesn't smell like urine.
You could be the Marie Kondo of the nutrition world, have everything planned and prepared. Your meals may even spark joy. But if you're not investing that effort into the right factors, it can all be for naught.
This is why I preach what I call a HIGH ROI (return on investment) approach to nutrition.
It simply means investing most of your resources into the factors that are going to have the most significant effect. This becomes more important the busier you are. Because any time you invest in one thing is time lost for another.
So if you're investing your time in trying to eat at specific times of the day or only eating particular foods, yet you have no idea how much you're consuming, then we need to establish some priorities.
Starting with the big 3 (dietary principles) would be a smart move.
1. Eat enough. (Not too much, not too little for your goal).
2. Eat mostly whole foods.
3. Optimise protein. (1.6 - 2.6 g/kg/bw)
ACTION POINT:
I'm going to assume that NUTRITION and FITNESS or looking good naked is a priority for you at the moment. If it's not, why are you reading this? (Don't leave, I'll make you giggle in a bit). If that's the case, then you need to establish your goals, and what the most significant factors for those goals are. The three key things you NEED to do that will provide you with as much juice for minimal squeeze. Then, commit to consistency and work.
3. Outsource
"I don't have a witty quote for this point, but it's about outsourcing."
James
It's rare that I meet a client who doesn't have time to prepare the majority of their meals.
Saying you don't have time is admitting that it's not a priority (in most cases).
On the odd occasion that I do come across these individuals, we're limited in our options. Apart from the other points in this article, outsourcing some of your meals can be a convenient and appropriate option.
Not only does it require very little time, but these days you can find meal prep services that will even custom make meals to fit your macros.
Having ready-to-go meals that are in line with your goals and require little effort can be a life-saver for busy folks. And the good news is, with the range of options increasing, so too is the quality. No longer do you have to suffer through another Lean Cuisine butter chicken.
I have clients who utilise Gym Meals Direct and MacroFresh in Australia and HIIT Kitchen in the UK for some of their meals.
BUT... there is one issue.
What you gain in the convenience of not having to cook, you lose in long term skill development. Cooking, planning and preparation are all skills that will serve you for life and are worth developing.
For that reason, I suggest that outsourcing is considered a last resort or for those who are already comfortable with the above skills, and prefer it anyway.
You do you.
4. Increase Your Efficiency.
“The difference between a professional and amateur is like the difference between your dominant hand and non-dominant hand.”
― Amit Kalantri
Have you ever heard of the four burners theory?
Here's a brief explanation:
Imagine that a stove represents your life. The stove has four burners, each symbolising one major quadrant of your life.
The first burner represents your family.
The second burner is your friends.
You can see the picture above and hopefully see where I'm going next.
The Four Burners Theory suggests that to be successful in a particular area, you have to reduce the gas to one of your burners. And to be elite, you have to cut off two.
Essentially, you only have so much gas (your resources) to go around. You can't create more, so if you want to turn the flame up in a particular area, you need to take the gas from another.
To a large extent, I agree with this. Extreme results aren't created through balance. When I get ready for a photo shoot or show, almost every burner takes a hit.
The critical point is that there are trade-offs.
You can't have all your burners burning high. Otherwise, the kitchen (you) burn down.
But, the theory is assuming that your stove is working efficiently. That there are no leaks or blockages in the gas lines.
Most people I know are leaky SOB's.
Most leak energy, time and willpower all day, like a friend who survives on cabbage and beans alone.
How do we increase efficiency?
We look for ways to do more within a given time.
A wise man once told me "always cook more than is necessary. It takes exactly the same amount of time to cook five chicken breasts, as it does one."
Bulk cook grains and potatoes for carb sources.
While they're cooking, chop and blanch or steam greens.
Make extra servings at dinner and portion out lunch/dinner for the next day.
Check out one of Tasty's videos on one pan baking.
Get back to your roots with a Sunday roast, and cook for a family of six when there's only two.
Grab a sous-vide wand, and cook perfectly juicy proteins in bulk without having to be there (my fave kitchen tool).
ACTION POINT:
Seek out your energy leaks by doing an efficiency audit. Where could you improve your efficiency? Is there anything you could do in less time, or do while you're doing something else?
5. Reduce Your Options
“It does not take much strength to do things, but it requires a great deal of strength to decide what to do.”
Elbert Hubbard
You're staring at the menu in front of you.
Everyone else has decided.
The waiter's stare is burning a hole through your skull. It seems like time has slowed.
"I'll have the duck!" you blurt, instantly regretting your decision.
Or perhaps it's trying to decide what to wear each morning.
Or what to watch on Netflix (I've been enjoying Sex Education and You).
We live in an unprecedented age of options.
We think that we want options because it represents freedom.
But more often than not, it paralyses us. Because when we choose one thing, we say no to another.
In 2000, psychologists Sheena Iyengar and Mark Lepper from Columbia and Stanford University published a study about jams.
Yep, the PB & J type.
On a regular day at a local food market, people would find a display table with 24 different kinds of jams. Then on another day, at that same food market, people were given only six different types of jam choices.
Which display table lead to more sales?
While the table with 24 jams generated more interest, the table with fewer jams made more sales.
Too many options paralyse us.
Now if you're adequately planning your week, you should have an idea of what you're going to be eating and when. A plan automatically narrows your options.
But as I discovered while working as a nutrition consultant, when willpower is low, and there is an easier, more convenient, or more rewarding option available...
We jump at it.
How do we combat this?
Environment design.
“Environment is the invisible hand that guides our decisions, habits and over time, our lives.” James Clear
Rather than being a victim of our environment we can do the ol’ switcheroo and make it work in our favour. By creating an environment that has fewer options, we're saving precious energy and willpower for when it's needed.
One of the easiest ways to achieve this is by removing or hiding foods that aren't conducive to your goals. And maybe some frozen fail-safe meals for emergencies.
ACTION POINT:
Go through the house and remove foods (or at least make them hard to see and get) that you're likely to be tempted by at the end of a long, draining day.
There you have it.
Five actionable tips that if utilised, will allow you to make progress, regardless of how busy life becomes.
Pick one or two the next time you have a busy week coming up and see how you go.
Let me know what you've found helpful in the comments below.