Mindset Shifts 🕰️ Working with a Regular Eating Structure
We've reached Episode 3/3 of our Regular Eating series, and the outcome of our program, which involves selecting a structure for daily eating.
From what you can see over the last few episodes, I think we need to spend a little more time on the deeper Why behind eating patterns.
And now that we’ve given things some thought, let’s pick that structure and get to practice.
Tune in to hear some key mindset shifts around regular eating patterns:🕰️ Releasing perfection around our daily eating
🕰️ Sticking with your new eating structure for longer than you think
🕰️ Eating in the early part of the day, even if that means giving the cold shoulder to the anti-processed foodies
Then, we get down to business and choose a visual, abstract structure, something we can picture throughout the day.
And finish it all off with a practical and straightforward plan.
Now, it's your time to practice!
🍝 Download the FREE Regular Eating Guide📮 Sign up for the Departure Menopause EMAIL LIST for Future Episode & Updates-
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Melinda Staehling:
Welcome to Departure Menopause, a podcast about weight-inclusive and neurodivergent-affirming care in the menopause transition. I'm your host, Melinda Staeling. On this podcast we discuss making compassionate health and positive body image change through practical steps and gentle care. To stay connected and go deeper, head to the show notes to subscribe and download the regular eating guide.
Welcome. Welcome to Departure Menopause,
If we haven't met yet, I'm Melinda Staehling, your host, coach, certified nutrition specialist, and today your travel agent on this regular eating experience,
For my perimeno update this week, after a full month of swapping pharmacies and figuring out my new estrogen patch, I can finally say that I'm happy with it. Sometimes I read too much Reddit and everyone shares their nightmare stories of switching patches, especially with generics, which is what I always end up with.
A few months back, I switched my patch because I needed to switch my pharmacy. I wasn't getting my full three-month supply where I was, and I wanted to see if I could just have that one less step every single month. And you know what the new patch seems to be doing its thing and it's actually thinner.I like the material better, and it's a little more sticky. I still do get that gross residue, which is not cute, but mine peels off just fine with some easy soap and water,
I wanted to share that, really, not a share, because sometimes we only get negative reports, especially when we're doomscrolling Reddit for answers and sometimes just, things work out okay. Also, no “weiriod” this month, which is our word for weird periods in the menopause transition. That was cool. It has not been the greatest, um, for perimenopausal migraine, and I was the insomnia queen last night as we're entering the full luteal zone.
So if you were up from 2:00 to 4:00 AM , I just wanna send you a shout out. But the matcha is matcha-ing and I'm feeling excited to be here and chat with you.
We are in our third and final episode of the Regular Eating Series. If you followed along with me throughout the month, thanks for being here.
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And if you're picking up with me, uh, from the future, be sure to download our companion Guide to Regular Eating. If you're finding yourself caught in a cycle of daytime restriction and then feeling challenged with evening eating, then this is a free training for you. The guide includes a list of prompts to help you dig deeper into why your eating might be irregular assessments to work through, and tools to gently assist you in planning your specific yet flexible eating structure going forward.
Link to the Regular Eating Guide is in the show notes at Departure Menopause dot club backslash regular dash eating dash guide.
Next, my disclaimer and content warning. As always, we do talk about eating disorders, disordered eating and body image on this show. So please listen when it's the right time for you
And today's more specific disclaimer for this episode is that if you already have something that's working for you as far as your regular eating structure and plan, of course do that. This is a take what you want and leave the rest episode.
So. We've made it to part three. We've done some organization and assessment of our regular eating and emotions. We've marked the start of our journey with a ritual, and then we explored education and concepts around regular eating and also the reasons why eating is challenging in both neurodivergence and perimenopause going on in the same timeline.
And here we are at this final piece. We're going to pick our regular eating structure, and then we're going to practice from now until forever. I kid, I kid, but eating sometimes feels like that.
Some of this regular eating and choosing a structure comes from the grounding that people feel when they have a plan, like three meals and three snacks. That is a classic for a reason. Some of this is because that plan or that structure might not work for everyone or every brain or every schedule. So here today, we're gonna imagine some new options that might, but first, let's get into a few mindset pieces.
Let me remind you here that our outcome for this entire regular eating experience is we are picking a structure for eating. And what that means is letting go of perfectionism, letting go of perfection.
And what I might ask of you is when we're getting started with choosing this structure, it's knowing that whatever you choose, it's not going to be perfect.
And while we have this framework in place, each day is going to be different. One of the best things about choosing a structure is that once it's in place, you can mess around with it a little.
It is kind of like time blocking where you put the piece of the puzzle in the place on the calendar and you give it a home, and when that actual day or time arrives to do the thing, you might need to do it a little differently.
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I don't know about you, but sometimes I make it to Thursday evening. Last week I had a dinner in mind. It was a brief recipe to prepare, and I got to that place and I said, oh, hell no. It is boxed macaroni and cheese night. And that is exactly what I did. But having that semblance of a structure makes my day go so much easier.
You might already have some certain parameters when you're thinking about structure. If you have a break for lunch or other times, then you know where some of this fits already.
So our first mindset shift here is leaning into the unknown, embracing imperfection, and hopefully building a world that works for you.
My second idea around mindset is that when you're working with this chosen structure, this is gonna take a little longer than you think, especially if you haven't been practicing regular eating for a while and you're working with it and you're. Trying to lean into imperfection and your new tools along with your meals and snacks.
This just takes some time. Sometimes I'm seeing clients and after six months or even longer, they'll show up to a five 30 or 6:00 PM appointment and say, “Hey, I actually feel really good right now. I had food the entire day and I had my late afternoon snack, and now I'm sitting here with you in the appointment and my brain is calm and I'm not in desperation, DoorDash mode”.
And this did not happen for them overnight. And I think part of that is building on number one, which is embracing the imperfection and letting this play out over a time span that's longer than you think.
It would make me so happy if in six or eight or 12 months I got an email from one of you saying, Hey, I listened to you doing this thing back in May of 2025, and it's finally clicking for me, and my regular eating is feeling a little more regular-ish.
The third and final mindset shift I have for you today, especially for my divergent brains that struggle with mornings, that even if the AM hours or the early hours for your day are not your favorite eating time, if these are more challenging times that you still need a little something. I really think that this is a non-negotiable.
There are so many options here. We can use all the tools in our technology toolbox that we have available.
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But going from bed and sleeping and waking hours, and then powering through the day until noon or later is not the move here. What I mean here by tools is any combination of bars, supplement shakes, higher energy products, non-traditional breakfast foods.
We have options, but let's work to find you something that works for you. This might mean looking the other way and plugging your ears when the anti-process food evangelists come out. If eating is tough for you in the morning or in your early day hours, here's your permission slip to eat whatever feels comfortable for you.
I said before that we're not so focused on the what of what the food is in this outcome, but let's set out with the intention to get some early to your day food in. If your schedule is adjusted, please adjust my language accordingly.
Okay, so now we've made it to the point where we're choosing our structure, and the first thing I'd like for us to do is choose a visual structure, something that you can imagine throughout the day. If you're a more visual thinker, one thing that you might want to do or maybe even before you choose. Your actual structure is to choose a more visual representation of what your eating pattern might look like.
I think that, again, this might be helpful, especially if you struggle with the mornings. Maybe you see you're eating like a gentle sine wave that sort of rolls from the time you have. Your first bites then grows as the day goes on. Or maybe it's like a series of little abstract eating clouds or colored blobs.
Throughout the day and they represent your snacks and meals. What other patterns can we come up with? If you think in patterns, maybe stripes of various sizes. So think and visualize and create some ideas for visuals, and if you come up with something really cool, I definitely wanna hear about it.
So we've done some visualization and now I would love for you to write this out so you have something more practical to work from. Is it five medium-ish snacks? Is it three meals and two snacks?
If you have some drastically different schedules on workdays versus your weekend, for example, you have timestamps, you need to hit like a lunch break, and then your weekends are much more open. Maybe you do wanna have two structures.
So yes, we've made it this far in our training, and now here we are at our practical outcome piece, which is you choosing your structure for eating for the day.
Okay, so now you've made your choice and it's time to practice. Here's where we can spend a little more time to do what might look more like traditional meal planning and hopefully get you started on the right foot.
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Some of you are going to make a list on your phone, others in your cute notebook, or you might have an app that you like, but here's where you're going to practice. And I do recommend doing some self-monitoring here.
Like if you have no data to work with, it's gonna be tough to see what you did. Most people do not remember what they ate yesterday, let alone for a week or a month. And again, let's not get too in the weeds with this system.
Just some simple check marks are just fine. I recommend sticking with your structure for at least a week before making any changes. If you absolutely hate what you chose in a couple weeks, you can obviously go back and change it. We don't have any contracts here, so I'm going to leave you with this part of practice with a few questions.
One is how can you make this more enjoyable? And if you're not there on the enjoyment level, then maybe how can you make it more interesting and still honor your structure you've chosen? And my second question is, while you're in this phase of trying something new, how can you simplify even more?
All right friends, so that's what I have for you in this regular eating experience.
If you want the visuals and you wanna work in a more notebook like situation, go download the guide and at the end I do prompt you to go back through those initial assessment questions and see how you feel now that you've made it through.
If you've made it this far, thanks so much for listening and I'm so excited to announce that I'm working on my first guest interviews.
I literally have that ADHD dopamine rush from chatting with my guests yesterday and working out some logistics. I think you're going to find our first guests and topics and our conversations a real treat and thought provoking. We're going to do some follow up to regular eating with a deeper dive into ADHD and meal planning.
We're talking about heart health and menopause and sleep. So I have some very cool and highly experienced clinicians to introduce you to
So signing off for today and looking forward to our next episode. Keep departing from the usual in menopause. Our podcast art is by Barb Burwell.
Thanks so much for listening. You can find show notes and links in our episodes and on Departure Menopause Club. If you enjoyed this show, I'd appreciate it if you shared it with a friend. Be sure to subscribe and download the regular eating guide. I'll see you next time on Departure Menopause.