17 March 2026

I missed my self-imposed deadline for weekly Monday articles - I apologize to you, my readers. But this gives me a chance to talk about structure. For various reasons, my Monday was different than previous ones. Ironically, in trying to introduce some new habits to my day, I lost track of some old ones.

Routine creates a sense of safety. And makes habits easier to maintain. Sometimes, structure frees us up to make other important decisions.

The concept applies to our eating habits. Half of my family are people who eat to live - if I didn’t make food, my husband would forget meals and my eldest son has been through phases where he’d rather consume meal replacement drinks than “waste time” on a proper meal. But meal patterns are important.

Our body needs to have a sense of when the next meal is coming. It’s why people (and pets) who have experienced food insecurity are often at risk of eating disorders. Food scarcity disrupts normal hunger cues and creates stress around eating. Our kitten Ace, whose mother had excluded him from nursing, was a ravenous eater for the rest of his too-short life. Obesity and unhealthy eating behaviors plague the campus where I work - the youth often come from living conditions where nutritious food was not consistently (if at all) available.

Structure is the reason diets work…but only when we’re “on” them. It’s also the reason dietary patterns help us meet our nutritional needs on a more permanent basis. When a client wants to make changes, I don’t typically recommend changing everything at once. That would likely disrupt the structure too much (think: remodeling your kitchen, bathroom, living room AND replacing the roof, all at the same time). Choosing specific, smaller behavioral goals - and incorporating them into the daily pattern before moving on to the next - has a greater chance of long term success.

Eating whatever we want whenever we want sounds like it could be a lot of fun. And yet, it really isn’t. When the body doesn’t know if it’s going to consistently get the nutrients it needs, it leads to unease or dis-ease.

At the other extreme, there are those who obsess over every morsel (orthorexia) or exert unnatural control over meal timing. As a practical dietitian, I’d always prefer to find the “Goldilocks” compromise between structure and freedom (although the exact formula might be unique to each individual).

When there are too many options - and in every day, there could 35,000, but at least 200 are about food - the stress of choosing can actually make us less happy. A jam experiment demonstrated this. A total lack of structure would mean infinite choices, less satisfaction and even more stress.

Some people eliminate many of the food choices of their day through intermittent fasting or one-meal-a-day. Others restrict the specific foods they will or will not eat. Weight loss diets encourage a repetitive [boring?] breakfast daily, because that makes the morning choice simpler. The MyPlate guidelines provided a proportion framework for balanced meals. Structure.

I decided I need a better breakfast plan. According to at least one psychologist, a good morning routine is non-negotiable. It empowers us, reduces decision fatigue and sets the tone for a positive day. With my knee and the weather [sort of] improving, I’m getting back to morning walks and I set out to commit to a couple of nutritious morning meals that I could have “in my back pocket”. One will be some variation of these High Protein Overnight Oats. For a savory option, I’ll try these Chickpea Frittata Muffins. If there are some tasty leftovers available, though, that’s still on the table!

Would more structure make your life easier and happier? If yes, what new goal would you add to your routine?