For those of us career driven busy-bodies juggling 2 jobs, a rent, a relationship, social circles, and everything in between – life gets pretty damn hectic. It’s tough to keep everything in balance when you’re constantly thinking about your next thing to check off your to-do list. So a lot of us tend to shift to what I call “on the run eating” aka finding myself in the car with one hand on the steering wheel and the other holding a sandwich.
I would make the bold statement to say that I’m a self-proclaimed foodie. But as much as I absolutely love the joy of eating great food, I will admit that when I’m busy, I tend to forget to eat regularly.
What do I mean, right? How can you forget to eat? I know, it sounds bizarre.
When I’m running around from meeting to appointment, from this errand to that event, my mind is on such an adrenaline rush that I honestly forget that I’m starving. As a result, I’ll admit, I’ve noticed myself feeling drained and a lot more tired. Obviously though, because my body has no fuel no run off of. My internal battle with myself when I notice this is happening normally goes along the line of: “Mel, you’re starving. Stop and get something to eat.” “But I’m going to be late to my next appointment” “Well, you’re starving” “It’s fine, I’ll just eat something when I get home”
But by 9 PM, I get home, snack on something and am so exhausted, I just conk out. Definitely not a healthy eating routine.
Recognizing you have a problem is the first step though, right? I recently decided that I would have to make it a priority to eat properly, not simply a chore I could let fall to the side lines.
These tips are sort of my personal reminders and resolutions to get back on the right path. No more smoothies on the run to curb my hunger. Hopefully, if you have the same problem, they’ll help you eat better too!
1. Pack Stuff
I’m so bad at this. So many of my friends will spend an hour every night packing their meals for the next day to bring with them. They have “on the run eating” perfected. I’m the type of person who doesn’t enjoy planning my meals for the next day (much more a “what do I feel like” type of gal) – BUT I have decided that I’m going to try. At the very least, I’m going to keep larger snacks with me at all times (I hear greek yogurt parfaits and salads are great for on the run eating).
2. Block Off Time
When you make your own schedule and are trying to pack as many things into a day as possible, you tend to forget that you need some YOU-time in your day. I’m committed to trying to block off 1/2-1 hour every day to lunch (not including lunch meetings, because I’m talking during most of those and not eating).
3. Buy In Advance
As much as I really want to block off that time slot to just eat, it’s likely my hardest resolution to follow through on. I’ve been using this awesome new app called Ritual (for all your Torontonians ), that not only lets me order and pay online but it keeps me posted on the progress of my order. So I’m not waiting in line with every other working person or waiting on a delivery to finally get here. The service that goes along with the app is incredible. You literally get notified when your order is complete and you walk straight up to the front of the line and pick up your chow. Badass right? If Harvey Spectar used an eating app, Ritual would be it 
4. Discover New Places
I think I might have been stifling my taste buds with my current “on the run eating” (which basically consists of bananas, granola bars, a smoothie, and junk). So I end up not even eating what I bring with me. Ritual has actually been helping me with this too. It’s been recommending hidden gems in TDot that I keep hearing about but never took the time to try. It’s awesome when you can be told what you want to eat when you can’t decide. Little side note, when you order from Ritual and go to pick up your food, they call you by your name too – talk about premium service. Young professionals in Toronto, download now. Thank me later.
5. Using Technology To My Advantage
I mean, technology is involved in my efficiency of every other thing I do during the day, why not make it a part of my on the run eating too? I’ll be honest though, I’ve tried. All the eating apps (even Yelp) don’t cut it for me. I end up finding a restaurant and either their menu isn’t displayed, or there’s no phone number, or they do dine in only; and I find myself feeling like I just wasted my time. Ritual has been awesome for this – everything’s in one place: order, pay, notify, eat. And pick up isn’t this whole big confusion of when you ordered and when you think you should pick up your food. In fact, it’s probably the best service I’ve had in a long time downtown.
Juggling and balancing is hard, but I’m going to stay committed to making sure I don’t let my eating (even if it is on the run eating) fall off the radar. If we don’t have health, what’s the value in anything else right?
