There is a quiet exhaustion running through a lot of households right now. It shows up in half finished plans, abandoned routines, and the constant feeling of being behind, even when people are doing their best.
Cooking every meal from scratch. Eating clean. Staying active. Being present at work. Being present at home. Somewhere along the way, taking care of yourself became another full time job layered on top of everything else.
For many families, food is where this pressure shows up most. Batch cooking on weekends. Researching recipes. Shopping, prepping, cleaning. It starts with good intentions and slowly turns into another source of stress.
What often gets overlooked is the cost. Not just financial, but mental. Decision fatigue. Guilt when plans fall apart. The feeling that if you cannot keep up, you are somehow failing.
The truth is, most people are not struggling because they lack discipline. They are struggling because the systems they are trying to maintain are unrealistic long term. Life changes week to week. Schedules shift. Energy dips. Kids get sick. Work gets busy.
Trying to do everything perfectly leaves no room for real life.
What works better is removing pressure instead of adding it. Fewer decisions. More predictability. Accepting that consistency does not have to look impressive to be effective.
The people who sustain healthy habits the longest are rarely the most intense. They are the ones who build routines that bend without breaking. The ones who allow convenience without guilt. The ones who understand that doing less, more consistently, beats doing everything for a short burst and burning out.
By Denis Analytis, CEO, Meal Prep Ottawa
