Why Healthy Eating Feels So Hard

The art of food. The love for food. The desire to learn every aspect of food across cultures, cuisines and generations. The role that food has played in my life for as long as I can remember is profound. I could write a book dedicated to this alone.

Healthy eating has waxed and waned on my list of priorities for as long as I can remember. Early on, it was wanting to look a certain way and being able to keep up in high school football that had me aware of what I was eating. The late 90s didn’t offer much education around healthy eating, so my idea of healthy meant less candy, Little Debbie’s, steak and cheese subs and pizza, and more grilled chicken, eggs and vegetables. That was as far as my nutrition knowledge went through high school and most of college.

Today, I thrive on solving complex dietary requirements. I have the pleasure of attracting clients who range from pro athletes looking to achieve peak performance on the field to those following a physician-led protocol to regain normalcy around eating behavior and a better quality of life. What I see as common across the board is a lack of execution and consistency. Creating a system that is attainable and enjoyable is the only way to achieve the outcome one desires.

Healthy eating is not usually an information problem.

Most people already know they should eat more whole foods, more vegetables, enough protein, less processed food and probably give more attention to staying hydrated by drinking more water with minerals. The harder part is making those decisions consistently when life gets busy.

Why Is Healthy Eating So Hard?

The strongest point I want to make here is that your meal planning, eating habits and the way you nourish your body need to be a top priority in your life. I can tell you in 30 seconds or less upon meeting you where this area of your life lands on your list of priorities, make a prediction around what you’re consuming and, therefore, where your health is now and where it is headed.

You don’t have to be Nostradamus to predict where someone’s eating habits are taking them, especially your own.

So now we know that making meal planning a priority is part of the problem. Why can’t we easily fix it? Move it toward the top of the list and start eating the most delicious, whole-food-focused meal plan to optimize our health outcomes?

Decision fatigue, schedules already packed with other “priorities,” stress, kids and family responsibilities, travel, conflicting nutrition information, information overload and simply not knowing how to prepare food are all reasons we feel stuck and unable to execute and build a reliable system.

Discipline is where things get shaken up. This is the phase that can be daunting for some, painful for others, but always necessary. The point at which we make the decision to flip our schedule on its head to prioritize our health can come on our own time or, for some, when the doctor tells us it’s time. This is inevitable for most.

The good news is that once we have formed the habits of prioritizing our health and creating consistency with our eating habits, sleep schedule, exercise, stress management and the rest, it no longer feels like discipline. We cross over into a new environment, a new realm of existence where feeling good and living optimally comes to us seamlessly.

On the topic of environment, this can be a bigger differentiator in these vital decisions than discipline itself. Who we surround ourselves with and what we absorb from our environment, including social media, news outlets and conversations throughout the day, are some of the biggest factors to consider.

From busy families to startup founders, CEOs and pro athletes, I see the same problem. The intention is there. Often, the knowledge is there too. What’s missing is a system capable of adapting to the actual pace of their lives. Travel changes. Training changes. Schedules change. Families have different needs. A plan that only works when life goes according to plan isn't much of a plan.

Healthy Eating Gets Harder When Every Meal Requires a Decision

In a world that has us in front of a screen for a third to half or more of our day, we’re becoming better at efficiently prioritizing what the world tells us to. Our calendars, appointments, deadlines and responding to emails and texts. The space to answer these questions fall by the wayside.

• What am I eating?
• Do I have the ingredients?
• Do I have enough protein?
• What vegetables am I having?
• Do I have time to cook?
• Does everyone in the house want the same thing?
• What am I eating tomorrow?
• What needs to be used before it goes bad?

Becoming a master planner of my own health didn’t come naturally to me either. It wasn’t a priority until I didn’t have a choice but to make it one.

I started having digestive problems and major complications with my inner ears, hearing and even taste around 14 years old. Not caring for myself meant physical pain, the potential of going deaf, losing my taste buds or what I was told could have been far worse. I was forced to learn how to address the health issues at hand from an early age. I was able to save half of my hearing and half my taste buds and improve my digestion over time after years of antacids and symptomatic responses.

What I’ve learned from working with hundreds of individuals from all walks of life is that, yes, extreme health conditions will force many of us to adhere to better decisions. On the other side, I’ve found that when you meet someone where they are and implement changes they can easily grasp, the same outcome can be achieved.

No life-threatening illness needed. Just a well-thought-out plan built for their specific needs and lifestyle.

Preparation Changes the Decision

Now you’ve read up to this point, and you want the plan of action. This is fundamental for anyone looking to make time for preparing their own food.

Preparation does not have to mean spending four hours meal prepping every Sunday. It means making the better option easier to choose.

Becoming Your Own Private Chef

• Wash and cut vegetables ahead.
• Cook grains, potatoes and other carbohydrates in bulk.
• Have two to three proteins ready, whether they’re precooked or marinated.
• Make one or two dressings or sauces. For some, this might just be balsamic and EVOO.
• Keep eggs, fruit, hummus, oats, nuts, seeds and simple staples available always.
• Stock that pantry! Keep inventory, this is your artillery.
• Cook once, eat six meals. That is a hard and fast rule.
• Properly store and freeze portions before food goes bad.
• Decide breakfast not just the night before, but three nights before bed. Think about eating in three- to seven-day increments.
• Keep emergency meals on hand at all times. Beef stew, chicken soup and other meals that freeze well.

Those are the foundations for building this habit. You will inevitably fall off when you’re traveling, on vacation or when life simply gets in the way. The goal is not to execute perfectly every week. The goal is to carry the philosophy with you wherever you go and always know how to come back to it.

Your Environment Usually Beats Your Willpower

Create an environment that supports your overall health.

If you’re in an office for 8 to 12 hours a day that does not have a toaster oven, microwave or refrigerator, bring one in.

If you travel often, bring food and snacks with you and look at menus before you arrive. Train your favorite AI tool to know your dietary preferences and to quickly send you options no matter where you go. (another blog on this topic coming soon) If you consistently get home at 7 p.m. starving with nothing prepared, that is not a willpower problem. It is a planning problem.

The same applies at home. Stock the kitchen intentionally. Keep better options visible and available. Have food in the freezer. Have something prepared before you need it. One more time, have your meals prepared well before you need them.

And if your spouse is ordering takeout every night and wafts of pizza and McDonald’s air are constantly flowing through your personal bubble, leave them.

I’m serious.

The people closest to you have a tremendous influence on your habits, your standards and ultimately your health. If you are trying to make meaningful changes and the person you live with has no interest in supporting them, constantly works against them or makes you feel unreasonable for wanting to take care of yourself, that is a much bigger problem than what is sitting on the dinner table.

And if you’re single, I would take this even further. Alignment around food, health and how someone chooses to take care of themselves can and should be one of the top characteristics you look for in a partner.

You do not have to eat exactly the same. You do not need identical routines. But if health is a major priority in your life, choosing to build a life with someone who fundamentally does not share that value is going to create friction over and over again.

Your environment includes the people in it. Choose accordingly.

Consistency Is a System

The people who appear to be the most disciplined usually have systems around them that make consistency easier.

Their groceries arrive. Their food is prepared. Their workouts are scheduled. They know what they’re eating tomorrow. Maybe they have support from a spouse, trainer, chef, meal service or assistant.

There is nothing noble about making something harder than it needs to be.

From the professional athlete to the CEO to the parent trying to get dinner on the table, the principle is the same.

The plan must work within the life you actually live. And the more complex that life becomes, the more important the system around it becomes. Travel, training, work schedules and family responsibilities are constantly changing, and the plan needs to be able to change with them. Your physician may have one set of recommendations, your trainer another, and the person preparing your food needs to know how to execute all of it. A plan that only works when life goes according to plan isn't much of a plan.

For some, the answer is becoming better at preparing and planning their own food. For others, it means building the right support around them. The goal isn't to prove you can do everything yourself. The goal is to create an environment where eating well can happen consistently.

Healthy eating should eventually require less thinking, not more. You do not need endless recipes, another nutrition rule or to make 20 perfect food decisions every day.

The goal isn't to spend more of your life thinking about food. It's to build your life so eating well becomes one of the easiest things you do.

You need a system you can repeat.