Be Organized Not Disciplined

When it comes to healthy eating, you don’t need to be disciplined, you need to be organized!

The truth is I’m not more disciplined than you are, I’m just better organized!

In my experience, the number one reason why some of us don’t stick to a healthy eating regimen is lack of planning.

Because we didn’t plan, we end up in the fast food line, eating food that comes out of a box or snacking on salty, sugary and oily foods.

Here are my 4 steps to eating healthy without having to be disciplined!

Step 1: Fill your pantry with staples

Staples are foods that you need on a daily basis like rice, rolled oats, quinoa, beans (cooked and dry), pasta, nuts, crackers, spices, sweetener, and flour.

I recommend that you organize your staples. You want to be able to see what you have.

Here’s a picture of my pantry.

You shop for your staples only about once a month when your reserves start getting low.

Avoid putting things in your pantry you know you can’t resist.

I’m not disciplined, I just don’t buy cookies because I know that I can’t just eat one!

If I want something sweet then I have to go through the “trouble” of making it from scratch.

And when I make my own treats, I don’t need to eat as much as I would eat if I had bought them. Bought sweets have a lot more sugar and fat that make my brain crave for more!

That’s how I resist temptation. Hahaha!

Step 2: Prepare a weekly menu

Think about what you want to eat during the week. I like to create meals around foods that are in season.

They provide the nutrients that my body (being a product of Nature) needs at that moment in time.

I highly recommend that you belong to a Community Supported Agriculture or CSA.

However, if you’re not close to a CSA, the best way to know what’s in season is to go to your local supermarket and see what’s abundant and cheap.

Step 3: Make a shopping list

Once you have a good idea of what you’re going to be preparing, make a shopping list.

I call this list the weeklies list.

The weeklies are your vegetables, fruits, herbs, if you live a plant-based lifestyle like me, as well as meats, fish, eggs and dairy products if you eat animal products.

You shop for these once a week. I recommend that you buy exactly what you’re going to eat so your food doesn’t go bad and go to waste.

Making a list helps you save time at the grocery store.

Knowing how to manage your time is of the essence when you want to eat healthy and lose weight.

Step 4: Shop, chop and organize

Once you’ve shopped, I highly recommend that you chop all of your food in advance.

So make sure you choose a time to shop when you can dedicate an extra hour to chopping.

This will save you so much time with cooking, I can’t even tell you! Then if it’s quick to make, you’re less likely to go for the other kind of fast food.

As I said, it’s not about being disciplined, it’s about being organized.

Also, I used to wash all my vegetables, but I realized that they last longer if I cut them and then only wash them when I’m about to cook them.

Then, place all vegetables, herbs, etc. in containers that are visible, so you don’t forget what you have bought.

Here’s a picture of what my fridge looks like when I’m finished.

Preparing your own meals is the most important aspect of a healthy eating lifestyle.

It’s not only the best way to ensure that what you eat is pure, wholesome, fresh and filled with the nutrients your body needs, it’s also an act of freedom and self-sufficiency.

Cooking is the best way to express your self-love and self-care.

You don’t just feed yourself and your family when you cook, you nourish both their physical bodies and their minds and emotions.

And it takes organization not discipline!