Is Meal Planning Stressful for You? Maybe It’s Not You

Thinking back to four years ago, I had over 500 saved recipes in my planner. Before I started Weekly Table, that number had crept up to 800. 800.

Every time I sat down to meal plan I would scroll through the listing of recipes thinking, ugh, none of these sound good. But, 800?! I never assumed that was the issue, it was always on me. Because honestly, who would ever cook that many?

It felt like I was doing what I could to be organized. Looking at it now with a fresh set of eyes, I see that my meal planning process started to feel stressful. I can now see that’s why I couldn’t stay consistent.

Around that same time, I went to a practitioner to find answers to why I was tired, why my skin seemed to itch, why I was losing my hair… the list went on and on. With confidence he said it was stress. My first reaction was disbelief. I didn’t feel stressed out. I was able to get through the day and get done what I needed to. I had processes in place, I had hundreds of recipes, I was on top of it!

But, what I didn’t realize at the time was that my body was used to the daily stressors of work and home. Now I can see stress a bit differently. To me, it helps to see an empty cup. For each daily stressor a drop of water is added. Soon those droplets flow more frequently and get larger and larger, until before you know it the cup is overflowing and it has nowhere to go. I believe our body works the same way. When our body can’t handle the built up stress, it gives us warning signs that what’s happening isn’t working and change is needed.

What is Stress?

Stress is our body’s response to a threat, and it releases hormones to help us get through the danger in front of us. In our human existence this was initially for those one-time occurrences to help survive a threat. But in today’s world it has become normal with our everyday tasks: the job we have, the responsibilities at home, taking care of our children. Our bodies still experience stress in the same ways as if we are being chased by that tiger. There’s no tigers today, just the daily stressors that still spike our adrenaline.

Often times, it’s assumed that stress only comes with really big life events, such as a job loss, the death of a loved one, or an illness. It can also be the daily tasks that add up and create big stress, too, like a never-ending to-do list, not having enough time, or getting enough sleep.

During those times, when I was looking at hundreds of recipes and frustrated that my hair was falling out, work emergencies or high-pressure situations were things I felt in my body. My heart and mind would race, and I just thought that it was because of the excitement of the situation. But really, my body was thinking there was a tiger after it… and it was preparing for survival.

The Meal Planning Routine That Stressed Me Out

While supplements, self-care, and a look at the big stressful areas were a great start for me, what I learned most was that my everyday tasks may have been causing me the most stress.
 
Before I started Weekly Table, meal planning looked a lot different. I would spend 10 minutes scrolling through my endless list of recipes. And with 800 saved recipes? That really is an endless list.

I felt that old familiar feeling of “ugh, nothing looks good” every time. I couldn’t see myself making any of those meals for the week. They weren’t giving me the urge to make them. And honestly, I was completely overwhelmed by all of the choices in front of me.

Then I would open a new tab and head over to Pinterest or to my favorite blogs to search for new recipes. Nothing sounds good? Time to add more recipes to my collection! The new recipes gave me some hope and excitement, because the pictures were so beautiful and it felt like I could definitely see myself cooking that for my family. And my family would love it! There would be no complaints. Soon, my week’s plan would then then be based on those new recipes.

Which meant I was always cooking new recipes, shopping for new ingredients, and searching for said ingredients in the grocery store. Sometimes my family would like it and other times I would get pushback. I was making dinner so hard on myself, all the while getting frustrated when everyone simply asked “what’s for dinner”?

There’s so much information in our world today. No matter where we go, we can find a recipe. Even if we aren’t trying! The recipe our co-worker said we had to try, the recipe our sister texted us, or the newest trend viral recipe on social media. This has shifted things significantly, mostly because it’s natural to want to try it, too.

What My Meal Plan Looks Like No (Without the Side of Stress)

Now, that I have Weekly Table, my meal planning process looks a lot different (hint: there’s way less stress). I didn’t bring along all of my saved recipes. Because who will ever actually look at or cook hundreds of recipes?

I wanted to start fresh and not bring the stress with me, which I realized were packaged up in these little nuggets of ingredients, instructions, and perfect photos. I imported my most favorite recipes along with the recipes from the Weekly Table recipe packs. With my recipes in Weekly Table, it means that the meal plan gets built for me.

For me, the person that would spend so much time browsing through my collection trying to find what to make, this takes the deciding out of it. Which means that I can see what’s on the plan and get excited. Because every meal plan uses your recipes, so there’s no bad surprises.

Take a moment to think about your own meal planning. What does it look like? Can it be simplified? Where does it cause you stress?

As I went through my journey to release stress and get back to myself, I found that I was spending so much time trying to chase something new. I forgot I had exactly what I needed right in front of me, and I just needed help to stop the stress cycle that I was so adapted to given my life at the time.

Sometimes we just need to take a step back, release control of the situation, and be good with the outcome.

If you want meal planning to feel simpler, give Weekly Table a try. Get started with a free trial using your recipes or recipes that other moms already know and love.

read all of our blog posts about mental load here.