Nutrition Tricks for The Mom Who Feeds Everyone But Herself

 

This episode is dedicated to every mom who has ever cooked a full meal for her family and then stood over the sink eating crackers because she ran out of steam before she got to her own plate.

Because that is just reality sometimes, right?!

In this episode of Embrace Your Real, I am getting into the real reason this keeps happening, how to cope when you are in full survival mode and you are the one running the kitchen, and how to start fueling yourself well without treating it like a completely separate project on top of everything else you are already doing.

What I discuss:

  • Why feeding yourself as a mom often feels harder than feeding everyone else—and why it isn't a lack of motivation or discipline.

  • The invisible mental load of planning, shopping, budgeting, cooking, and managing everyone's changing food preferences.

  • Practical strategies for staying nourished during busy "survival mode" seasons, including prioritizing eating something over eating perfectly.

  • Simple ways to make family meals work for your own nutrition by building your plate around the food you're already preparing.

  • Easy, realistic habits that make healthy eating more sustainable, such as keeping convenient protein sources on hand and using leftovers intentionally.

  • How macro counting can provide a flexible framework for understanding your body's needs without requiring perfection or restrictive dieting.

And if you loved this episode I think you will also love Episode 662: 3 Questions to Ask Before You Start Tracking Macros as a Mom. 


If you want more from me, be sure to check out…

Transcript

(0:00) Hey there, beautiful human. You're listening to Embrace Your Real with me, Julie Ledbetter, (0:05) a podcast where I empower you to just be you. With each episode, I give you a dose of real talk (0:11) and actionable advice for building your confidence, honoring your body, and unconditionally loving your (0:17) authentic self.

Stay tuned if you're ready to Embrace Your Real. Let's get it, let's go. (0:29) Hello and welcome back to another episode on the Embrace Your Real podcast.

I'm so grateful (0:33) that you are here with me today. This episode is dedicated to every single mom who ever cooks a full (0:39) meal for her family and then kind of sit over the sink eating crackers because she ran out of steam (0:43) before she got to her own plate. Because that's just the reality, right? Being a mom who cares (0:48) about eating well while also feeding little ones, keeping the rest of life together, (0:52) that is a specific kind of hard that does not get talked about enough.

And it really has nothing (0:57) to do with discipline. It's the, my kid decided tonight that she does not like tomatoes anymore. (1:02) And even though she ate them fine last week, now I'm blending them into sauce and hoping she (1:06) doesn't notice that kind of hard, right? It's the figuring out what your family will actually eat, (1:11) getting it on the table, making sure everyone is happy.

And then looking at your own plate, (1:14) realizing that you have no idea what you either want or whether it lines up with your goals, (1:19) that kind of hard. And then you wake up and you do it all again tomorrow. I'm a mom, I get (1:24) it.

I live this. And some nights by the time Blake is fed and settled, I'm just grabbing (1:28) whatever requires the least thought and calling it dinner. It really does happen to the best of us.

(1:33) So this podcast is for the mom who is genuinely wanting to take care of herself, but keeps finding (1:38) that her own nutrition is the first thing to go when life gets allowed and busy and chaotic as (1:44) it normally does. In today's episode, I'm going to just be getting real with you and really (1:49) getting into the reason why this keeps happening, how to cope when you're in full survival mode and (1:54) you're the one running the kitchen and then how to start fueling yourself well without treating (1:59) it like a completely separate project on top of everything else that you're already doing. (2:04) We're just going to dive right into today's episode.

The first thing I want you to do is (2:08) name why this actually keeps happening because I think a lot of women assume that it's a (2:13) motivation problem, it's a planning problem, and then they feel bad about themselves when they (2:17) cannot seem to just get it together. But honestly, the system that you are operating (2:21) in is genuinely working against you. When you are feeding a family, you are not just deciding what (2:27) you want to eat.

You're negotiating with a small person or small people, multiple people who have (2:32) strong opinions about food and many that change without warning, right? Blake loves this so much, (2:38) okay, he loves this so much this week and then I get a bunch of it at the store and then the (2:44) next week he's like, I want nothing to do with that, right? You are also thinking about (2:48) what is actually good for them, whether they're getting enough vegetables, enough protein, (2:51) enough of the right stuff while simultaneously trying to make something that they will eat (2:56) without a full meltdown. You are thinking about the budget because feeding a family well is (3:01) expensive and your own nutrition goals can start to feel like an extra expense that you (3:06) cannot always justify. You're thinking about time because some nights the window between getting (3:11) home and getting everyone to bed is so small that actually requiring thought just feels impossible (3:17) and you're carrying the mental load of all of it, the planning, the shopping, the cooking (3:21) before you even get to think about your own plate.

So what ends up happening is this, (3:25) you pour all of your energy into making sure that everyone else is taken care of, (3:30) but by the time it gets to you, there's just nothing left in the tank. You eat whatever is (3:34) quick, whatever is leftover, sometimes nothing at all because you forgot lunch and now you're (3:38) just too exhausted to care and I want to be really clear that this is not a you problem. (3:43) This is just what happens when you are running a household and also trying to take care of (3:48) yourself at the same time.

It's a lot. Even the most organized meal prepping has a plan (3:53) mom out there can find themselves in this position and all it takes is one busy season, (3:58) one week where just everything picks up at once and suddenly the system that was working (4:02) just fine is not working anymore and you're back to figuring it out day by day just trying (4:07) to get through it. That does not mean that you failed.

It just means that life happened. (4:11) If you recognize yourself in any of this that I just went through, this next part is for you (4:16) because sometimes you're not looking for a plan. You are just trying to get through the week and (4:20) that is completely valid.

So here is what actually helps when you are in a place where (4:26) everyone else is bed and you're just an afterthought in your own kitchen. First things first, (4:30) make sure that you eat something. I know this sounds almost too simple to be genuine, (4:35) but on the days where everything falls apart, the number one goal is to just not (4:39) skip meals.

If you are just too exhausted and feel like eating nothing at all is better than (4:44) eating something that's not aligned with your goals or meal plan, I really need you to shift (4:47) your thought process because something is always better than nothing. Your body needs fuel to (4:53) function and skipping meals because they're not perfect is doing you more harm than good. (4:58) In these moments, yogurt, a handful of nuts, that can be a meal.

Leftovers eaten standing (5:03) over the counter, that could be a meal, a protein shake, a banana on the way to school (5:07) pickup or summer camp, whatever it is, that's a meal. It does not have to be beautiful or (5:13) perfectly balanced. It just has to happen and consider this your permission slip to not feel (5:18) guilty about however you are feeding yourself to get through the day.

The second thing is (5:23) piggybacking off of whatever you're already making. So if you're cooking chicken for your (5:27) family, make sure you're actually eating some of it as well. If you're making eggs for your kids (5:31) in the morning, make yourself one or two eggs as well.

You're already at the stove. It takes (5:35) an extra 30 seconds. This is not about perfection.

It is just about not opting yourself out of your (5:41) own meals without even realizing it. And the third thing is to keep one or two easy protein (5:47) sources in the fridge at all times. This could be hard boiled eggs.

This could be cottage cheese, (5:52) something that requires zero effort and zero thought because on the days where dinner was (5:57) buttered pasta and nothing else, that one thing is what closes the gap between a completely (6:02) lost day and a good enough day. Survival mode happens sometimes, but it's just a season, (6:08) right? And all of these things will carry you through it without making it harder than it (6:12) already is. Now let's talk about what it looks like when life settles down a little bit and (6:17) you've kind of come out of survival mode and you actually have the space to be a little bit (6:21) more intentional about it.

The biggest shift that makes this work is deciding to build your own (6:27) meals around what is already on the table rather than treating your nutrition as a completely (6:31) separate project because most family dinners already have something that you can work with. (6:36) There's usually a protein somewhere. There's usually vegetables.

The goal is to plate yours (6:41) with your own needs in mind instead of filling it on autopilot. So if dinners is taco, (6:47) your plate might just have more chicken, a little bit less of everything else. If it's (6:51) pasta night, add some ground beef or pull some protein from the fridge and throw it on top.

(6:55) You are not cooking two separate dinners. You are just being a little bit more (6:59) intentional about your own portion. And when you know roughly what your body needs, (7:04) like how much protein to aim for daily or in your meals, how to build a plate that actually (7:08) fuels you fuels you.

This becomes second nature really quickly. You stop guessing (7:13) and you stop feeling like you're either doing it perfectly or not at all. (7:17) Let me kind of walk you through what a realistic intentional day might look like (7:21) when you're feeding a family.

So breakfast is eggs with whatever is in the fridge, (7:25) maybe some toast or fruit, quick and protein forward before the morning gets away from you. (7:31) Lunch is something that you actually plan for yourself. This could be a wrap, (7:34) a yogurt bowl, leftovers from last night, because you know that if you do not eat lunch, (7:38) you will be running on empty by 3 p.m. and dinner will be a free-for-all.

(7:42) And dinner is whatever the family's having. Your plate can be built around protein first. (7:47) So if the day ran a little bit low on protein, a yogurt, a shake before bed, (7:51) it can be smart and easy close to a real day of eating while also taking care of everyone else.

(7:57) This is what thriving actually looks like as a mom who is trying to fuel herself well. (8:02) Not perfect, just intentional more often than not. (8:06) And this is where macro counting can be so helpful, especially for moms.

(8:10) Because when you're already making a million decisions when it comes to food for everyone else, (8:15) the last thing you need is another vague set of rules in your head. (8:18) But macro counting actually gives you real information. (8:22) It helps you understand what your body needs in a way that feels practical, not random.

(8:26) You start to learn how much protein helps you feel full and supports your muscles. (8:31) You learn how many carbs you need so that you're not crashing or snacking all night, (8:35) and feeling like you have no energy. (8:37) You learn how fat fits into your meals so that you can feel satisfied (8:40) instead of constantly hunting for something else after dinner.

(8:43) And most importantly, you learn how to build a plate from the food your family is already eating (8:48) instead of making a completely separate diet meal for yourself. (8:53) This is why I created my macro counting made simple online academy, (8:56) because I do not want you walking around thinking that macro counting (9:00) means that you have to obsess over every bite or track forever (9:04) or make your life more complicated. (9:05) That's not the goal.

(9:06) The goal is to help you finally understand what your body needs so that you can stop guessing. (9:11) Inside my macro kind of made simple, I teach you how to figure out your macros, (9:15) how to build balanced meals and how to prioritize protein. (9:19) Also how to make carbs and fat work for your goals (9:21) and how to use macro counting as a tool without letting it take over your life.

(9:26) So when taco nights happen, you know how to build your plate. (9:29) When pasta night happens, you know how to make it work. (9:31) When the days get chaotic and you realize that you're low on protein, (9:35) you know what to add instead of feeling like your whole day is ruined.

(9:38) That kind of awareness is powerful and it lets you stop starting over every Monday. (9:44) You're no longer relying on willpower or guilt or perfectly planned meals. (9:48) You have a flexible framework that can move with your real life.

(9:51) So if you're listening to this, you know, like I want to feel myself better, (9:54) but I honestly don't even know what my body needs. (9:57) That's exactly what my macro kind of made simple is here to help you with. (10:01) I will link it in the show notes and I would love for you to use it as (10:04) the next step in learning how to take care of yourself (10:07) in a way that actually fits your life as a mom.

(10:10) Okay, so let's quickly recap. (10:12) So feeding a family, that's a full-time job on top of everything else that you're already doing. (10:17) And it makes complete sense if your nutrition has taken a back seat.

(10:20) When life is full and you're just trying to get through it, (10:23) the goal is simply to not opt yourself out of your own meals. (10:27) If you're fueling your body, however you can on those days and not skipping meals, (10:31) that's more than good enough. (10:33) When you have a little bit more space mentally and physically, (10:36) the goal is to just be a little bit more intentional about the plate that you're already making.

(10:40) Not treating your nutrition as a separate project, that is it. (10:43) Nothing complicated, just you finally making yourself part of the equation. (10:48) You take good care of the people around you, (10:50) the planning, the cooking, the blending tomatoes into sauce so that your kid will actually eat it.

(10:54) That's love, you guys. (10:56) And you deserve to be on the receiving end of that same care. (10:59) If this episode spoke to you, I would love for you to share it with a friend or a mom, (11:03) someone in your life that might need to hear it.

(11:05) So be sure to send that to them in a text message, (11:08) or you can screenshot this, post it up on your Instagram story. (11:10) I love hearing from you guys where you're tuning in from and also sharing this message. (11:15) If you loved this episode, I know you'll also love episode 662.

(11:20) Three questions to ask yourself before you start tracking macros as a mom. (11:24) So I will link that in the show notes if you haven't already tuned into that (11:27) so you can go check that out. (11:29) And also my Macro Counting Made Simple Academy.

(11:31) You can go to macrocountingmadesimple.com (11:34) or just click the link in the show notes. (11:36) That will bring you there. (11:37) I would love and feel so honored to be able to teach you that tool (11:40) because it has completely transformed my life and thousands of other women's lives (11:44) over the course of this last decade.

(11:47) And I know that it can transform yours. (11:49) Now, please, please, please go out. (11:51) Go fill your own plate.

(11:53) You have more than earned it. (11:55) I love you so much and I'll see you in the next one. (12:04) All right, sister.

(12:06) That's all I got for you today. (12:07) But I have two things that I need you to do. (12:11) First thing, if you're not already following me on the Gram, (12:13) be sure to do so Julie A. Ledbetter.

(12:16) Yes, it's with an A in the middle for that daily post-workout real talk, (12:20) healthy tips and tricks, and honest accountability (12:22) to keep your mind and heart in check. (12:25) The second thing, be sure to subscribe to Apple Podcasts to never miss an episode. (12:29) Thank you so much for joining me.

(12:33) It means the absolute world and I'm going to leave you with one last thought. (12:36) The most beautiful women that I have met in my life (12:39) are the ones who are completely confident and secure in being authentically themselves. (12:45) Remember that beauty goes so much deeper than the surface.

(12:49) So go out there and embrace your real because you're worth it.

 
Julie Ledbetterembrace your real, q and a, workouts, scheduleComment