How to eat healthy when cooking feels like too much
When you're not feeling your best, whether physically or mentally, it can be really hard to even muster the interest, let alone the energy, to make food that nourishes you. When your motivation, executive function, or endurance levels are low, cooking complicated healthy meals is one of the first things to go. Ordering in doesn’t require the planning ahead, the time commitment, or the physical work that spending an hour in the kitchen every night does.
So you order in. And then the next day, your motivation, executive function, and endurance are still low.
So you order in again. Or you stick a frozen pizza in the oven. Or you eat some toast and call it a day.
Photo by Artem Labunsky on Unsplash
But as someone who has experienced this firsthand, and has worked with many people stuck in this pattern during my clinical internship at naturopathic college, I can assure you of this:
When you eat in a way that nourishes you, you WILL feel better.
And when you feel better, you have more energy. And when you have more energy you have the motivation to do things like...make healthy food that makes you feel good.
So how do you break the cycle? By eating the easiest possible food that will keep you fuelled, happy, and satisfied.
Nourishing yourself does not have to be complicated. Eating as simply as possible will allow you to start eating foods that will help you get your energy back. And I’ve made that even simpler for you with my Zero-Motivation Nutrition Guide – it contains over 35 simple snack and meal ideas, all with mood-boosting properties. They all use simple ingredients, all of which are vegetarian, with many vegan options. And they are all prepared in zero to twenty minutes.
I don’t believe in telling anybody to eat healthy food "because it's healthy”, unless they come to me specifically with the goal of general health. When it comes to boosting mood and motivation, there are very specific nutrients that it’s important to optimize.
Blood Sugar
Blood sugar highs and lows aren’t just a problem for diabetics. Most people unconsciously experience changes in mood that correlate with changes in the amount of glucose in our bloodstream. Glucose is the fuel that our bodies run on – but most importantly, the brain needs glucose to function. Glucose is so important to the brain that unlike most cells, brain cells are given unlimited access to the glucose in the blood – which means it is very sensitive to highs and lows.
Highs happen after eating something sweet or carbohydrate-heavy without fibre, protein, or fat to slow down absorption of the sugars. This tends to make people feel jittery, and can exacerbate anxiety.
Lows happen an hour or more after a high, and can also cause anxiety, as well as low mood, and insomnia where you wake up in the middle of the night and can’t get back to sleep.
So making sure that you’re eating fibre (abundant in vegetables and legumes), fats (especially anti-inflammatory ones like olive oil), and protein (more on that later) in every meal can make sure that your body’s fuel levels are consistent throughout the day and night, leading to a more even mood and better night’s sleep.
Protein
In addition to the major benefit of helping to control blood sugar, getting an appropriate amount of protein has another BIG benefit for mood. When we digest proteins, we break them down into little units called amino acids. Our bodies then use these amino acids to create lots of things in the body, including new proteins and….wait for it….neurotransmitters. Yup, if you’re taking medication to boost the amount of serotonin in your brain but you’re not eating enough of the raw material to create serotonin (and melatonin and GABA which help you sleep, and dopamine and norepinephrine which get you motivated and excited to do things) you’re not doing yourself any favours.
If you’re eating a fair amount of meat, you are probably getting enough protein (or more than enough), but if your diet consists of a lot of toast or salads or fries, you might need to think about including a serving of protein at each meal.
Photo by Liat Aharoni
Inflammation
Most chronic illnesses, including depression, have some element of inflammation. Inflammation is the body’s natural response to threats, but when we’re in that state for too long, it can lead to all sorts of problems.
Some foods are naturally anti-inflammatory, and can decrease the overall levels of inflammation in the body – fruits, vegetables, and healthy fats are the superstars here. Meanwhile, some foods are pro-inflammatory, fuelling the fire of any inflammation that is already present and worsening chronic illnesses. This is why so many people feel their chronic illnesses get better when they stop eating gluten, pro-inflammatory oils, and processed foods.
This doesn’t mean that you need to cut any foods out of your life – but a healthcare provider like a naturopathic doctor can help you determine whether working towards a more anti-inflammatory way of eating could help quell your symptoms and increase your energy.
Deliciousness
Hopefully this is a no-brainer to you: delicious food makes people happy.
Being able to enjoy food with great flavours and textures, spiced and seasoned to perfection, and shared with loved ones (even just through sending a photo) is one of the true joys of humanity.
Eating depressing food is depressing. Celebrating yourself by feeding yourself delicious nutritious food is the best feeling ever. Especially when it doesn’t exhaust you to make that food, and you feel even better the next day.
Why is it so hard to nourish ourselves?
Feeding yourself nourishing food is an act of self-love. And it can be very hard to do when you don’t love yourself. When you’re bogged down by what your body can and can’t do.
But instead of punishing yourself with boring food that makes you feel terrible the next day, why don’t you cut yourself a little slack, accept what you’re capable of in this moment, and nourish yourself anyway.
If you’re ready to break the cycle, get your 35+ simple, delicious, motivation-boosting snacks and meals here: