It’s post-work, pre-dinner and you’re snacky.
It’s been a long, stressful day, and you still have several hours of dealing with people (ya, family counts) til you can finally have a minute to yourself.
Where do you find yourself during this Witching Hour?
The kitchen, of course!
If you can’t tell everybody to just leave you alone for the rest of the day, at least a snack will taste good.
So we reach for whatever we can get our hands on: chips, crackers, candy, cereal, whatever our kids like for snacks that we say yes to to avoid a grocery store meltdown.
Thennnn that snacking cuts into how hungry we are for dinner so we find ourselves scavenging around the kitchen come 8 or 9pm when we’re settling in for some Netflix.
Hoowwwww do you break the cycle of eating all the snacks between 5pm and bedtime?
One of the best things you can do is makeover your kitchen so it’s harder to mindlessly eat a day’s worth of calories!
I’m teaching you how to makeover your kitchen so it’s less of a minefield. You’ll learn:
✅ how to clean out your kitchen to create a space that supports your goals
✅ the best way to organize it so you’re not stuck in a cycle of overwhelm
✅ about grocery shopping with your pantry in mind.
You can listen to the podcast episode here…
Or keep reading the post below:
Kitchen Clean Out
If you’re planning to makeover your kitchen to support your health and fitness goals, the first thing you have to do is clean it out!
The pantry, the fridge, even the Tupperware cabinet need to be purged.
Those random spices you bought for that one recipe two years ago? Toss ’em.
The yogurt from three months ago that you took one serving out of and then shoved to the back of the fridge? It’s got to go.
Stained, warped, and lidless Tupperware? Directly to the trash.
When you’re starting with a clean slate, the next two steps will feel sooooo much easier.
Kitchen Organization
So now that you’ve cleared out the clutter in the kitchen, you might be wondering how that’s going to keep you from grabbing the bag of chips and mindlessly munching until they’re gone.
This is where the organization comes in.
First, you’re going to organize your cabinets and drawers in a way that doesn’t overwhelm you when you’re looking for storage containers or that specific tool for meal prep.
You probably don’t even realize it, but if you’re Tupperware drawer is a mess and you have no clue where the vegetable peeler went, you’re going to be less likely to meal prep. Trying to make your way through the disorganization is enough to keep you from even starting so get that part taken care of first!
After your kitchen necessities are in order, you can work on organizing your food in a way that supports your goals.
If you tend to buy a lot in bulk (especially if it’s food you know you’re prone to overeating), take time after you get home from shopping to pre-portion those snacks so when you go to grab them you already have appropriate portions laid out for you.
While you’re pre-portioning those snacks, grab some of that organized Tupperware and wash, chop, and store any fresh fruit and veggies you might need or want later in the week.
Grocery Shopping
After those first two steps in operation Make Over Your Kitchen, you’re ready for the final step – relearning how to grocery shop.
You’re not alone if you’re in the habit of going to the store and grabbing the same things each week even if you know you’re likely going to overeat some of it.
But, just because it’s a common occurrence, doesn’t mean you have to let it continue to happen in your house – remember, you’re the adult and sometimes you have to parent yourself.
If you’ve been buying all the snacks and telling yourself they’re for the kids, but you end up eating just as much if not more than them, it’s ok to just stop bringing those things into the house.
When you shop in a way that supports your goals and leave the temptations on the shelves, you’ll be more likely to eat more of the things you want to be focusing on.
Something that we do at EA Coaching is help our clients dig deeper to figure out what’s actually holding them back. Maybe you really do hate meal prep and the thought of snacking on veggies doesn’t appeal to you. Or, maybe, after a little more digging, you realize that it’s not really the meal prep, but the mountain of Tupperware that’s overwhelming you and maybe it’s not the veggies, but the time you think it will take to prep them in the moment.
With our team of coaches and community of other women just like you, you can figure out what’s really holding you back and troubleshoot ways to get on the right track. Check out estheravant.com/coaching for more info!
