I know the meal planning and prep thing really isn't easy, but it's far easier than trying to throw together a good, quick dinner every night with whatever you just happen to have on hand! Getting it done at the beginning of the week is a real game changer, and it seems that most of you are realizing that. Keep it up! I promise it will continue to get easier!
I had a question about substituting one meal with a protein shake, and which meal is best to sub it for. Real food is always best, but when that isn't an option, a protein shake is certainly better than nothing! It's a great way to get in some nutrients when you truly just don't have time to eat. As for the best meal to have the shake, I'd say the meal that's the hardest to get in! Time of day really isn't important here. Whatever works best for you and your schedule is what you're going for.
Slowing down and eating seems to be a challenge for many of you. I get it! The days are so busy, it's hard to make time to just sit and eat. Just do your best. If you can set an alarm for lunch time and stop what you're doing even for 5 mins to eat, DO IT. Fifteen minutes would be better, but 5 is better than nothing! Schedule your meal times on your calendar if you have to, just as you schedule time for everyone else. You deserve to be on your schedule, too! But there may be meal times when you truly have zero time, and that's ok. As long as you are making an effort to eat slowly and stop at 80% full every time, then you're making progress! You don't have to be perfect in achieving every goal every day, but you do need to be conscious of the goal, and doing the best you can to achieve it. Doing better than you did last week is a great step in the right direction! So don't beat yourself up if you don't get it right every single time.
BUT... even if you don't meet the goal for the day, I still need to you to fill out check-in the form I text you in the evening so that we both have record of what you are able, or aren't able to do. This is the only way you will know what is or isn't helping you make progress, and it will also help me see what's going on with you and try to help you find other solutions when something just isn't working for you. I'm not using these forms to judge you if you check the "no" box. I promise! Think of this as your own science experiment to find out which eating habits get you closer to your goal. First, you need a baseline (your intake form- finish those if you haven't yet!!!), then you need detailed information on what you're doing (your daily check-ins), then you will compare your next progress check to your baseline to see if anything is changing. The information is vital! The forms can be done right there on your phone, and shouldn't take more than a minute or two. If you're having any issues with them, please let me know and I'll see what I can do to help :)