Think You Don’t Have Time to Heal Your Eating Habits? Think Again

Spoiler alert: You don’t need a wide-open calendar or a weekend retreat in the mountains to finally start healing your relationship with food. 🙃

What you actually need is 5 minutes.

Yes, you read that right. Five. Little. Minutes. ⏱️

Because friend, I know what your days look like. Between work deadlines, kids’ practices, church commitments, and that never-ending pile of laundry that magically regenerates overnight (seriously, how?!), finding “extra” time feels impossible.

But here’s the truth that might just change everything for you:

Healing your relationship with food isn’t about finding time. It’s about dedicating time and using what you already have with intention.

In this post, we’re going to get super practical (and maybe a little sassy 😉) about how to stop waiting for the “perfect time” to start your food freedom journey and start using those tiny, overlooked moments in your day to make big progress.

The Myth of “More Time” in Food Freedom

Let’s be honest. How many times have you told yourself something like this?

“Once life slows down…”
“After the kids’ sports season ends…”
“When things are less crazy at work…”

Sound familiar? 🙋‍♀️

The problem is, life doesn’t slow down. It just changes shape. There’s always another busy season waiting around the corner. And when we keep waiting for the magical “right time,” we stay stuck... stuck in diet culture, stuck in food guilt, stuck in self-criticism.

The truth is, you don’t need hours to start making progress toward food freedom. You just need intention.

Even three minutes in the carpool line or five minutes during nap time can move you closer to peace with food and your body.

Think about it: how often do we say, “I’m just going to scroll Instagram for a second,” and suddenly… it’s 20 minutes later, and we’re knee-deep in someone’s vacation photos and a sourdough starter tutorial? 😅

What if, just once this week, you redirected one of those scroll sessions toward something that feeds your soul instead of your screen time report?

The Power of the 5-Minute Food Freedom Practice

Small actions, big impact

Five minutes might sound insignificant, but friend, it’s not.
Those tiny pockets of time are building blocks for lasting change.

Over the course of a week, fifteen minutes a day adds up to an hour and forty-five minutes! That's 75 minutes of time you can use to learn, reflect, pray, or practice gentle nutrition. Imagine the progress you could make if you gave yourself even that much intentional focus every week!

Instead of asking, “Do I have time for this?” start asking, “Where can I make space for this?”

Because time isn’t something that shows up on your doorstep like an Amazon package. You create it.

How to Get Intentional (Even with a Busy Life)

Here’s your permission slip to keep it simple. 🎟️
This isn’t about revamping your entire schedule. It’s about repurposing what’s already there.

Try this:

• Pick one small recurring time block each week (literally just five minutes).
  
  
• Add it to your calendar (bonus points if it’s a pretty color and labeled “Food Freedom Focus”).
  
  
• Treat it like an appointment with your future self. Because it is.
  
  

You wouldn’t skip your dentist appointment or your kid’s school pickup, right? Then don’t skip this, either. Your relationship with food and your mental health deserve the same respect.

5 Ways to Use Those 5 Minutes

Not sure how to use your new “mini” time block? Let’s brainstorm!

1. Listen to a short teaching or course module

Pop in your earbuds while folding laundry or prepping dinner. The lessons inside The Joy-Filled Eater course are intentionally bite-sized (most are under 15 minutes). That means you can literally start and finish one in the time it takes to make and drink your coffee.

2. Journal or Reflect

Grab your notebook (or Notes app, no judgment here) and answer a quick reflection prompt:

“What’s one food rule I want to loosen my grip on this week?”
“What’s something my body is asking for that I’ve been ignoring?”

Five minutes of honest reflection beats fifty minutes of self-criticism any day.

3. Practice a “Body Check-In”

Pause and ask:

“What is my body feeling right now?”
“Where do I feel tension?”
“Am I actually hungry, or am I needing rest, comfort, or prayer?”

This simple check-in helps build what I call body wisdom -- learning to listen to the signals God designed your body to send to you.

4. Pray It Out

You don’t need fancy words or a devotional marathon.

Sometimes all it takes is, “Lord, show me what needs healing here. Help me trust You more than my reflection or the scale.”

Faith and food freedom go hand in hand. When you invite Jesus into your struggle, He meets you there with grace, not guilt.

5. Move Gently

If movement is part of your healing, try a five-minute stretch, walk, or dance session. Set a timer and notice how it feels to move your body for joy, not for punishment.

Consistency > Perfection

Progress isn’t about doing it perfectly. It’s about showing up consistently, even in the small things.

The more you follow through on those tiny, intentional actions, the more you build something powerful: self-trust.

Each time you honor that five-minute commitment, you’re proving to yourself that you can follow through, that you can prioritize your health, and that God can do a lot with your little.

“Do not despise these small beginnings, for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin.”
— Zechariah 4:10

Friend, your five minutes matter.

You Don’t Need a Perfect Season to Start Healing

Let me give it to you straight: There will always be something.

The busy calendar. The toddler meltdowns. The work deadlines. The mental clutter.
But those things don’t disqualify you from healing. They make you human.

Food freedom isn’t reserved for people with wide-open schedules or unlimited self-care budgets. It’s for you, right where you are, in the middle of the mess, asking God to work through your small steps of faith.

So instead of waiting for the “perfect time,” start now, with what you have, where you are.

Take the First Step: Your 5-Minute Challenge

Ready to put this into practice? Here’s what I want you to do before you close this tab:

1. Open your calendar.
   (Yes, right now—before the next notification steals your attention.)
   
   
2. Pick a day and time.
   Maybe it’s your mid-morning coffee break or right after bedtime routines.
   
   
3. Create a recurring 5-minute “Food Freedom Focus” block.
   Add color, emojis, whatever makes it stand out. 💖 Then set it to repeat every week on that same day at that same time.
   
   
4. Decide what to do in that block.
   
• Listen to a Joy-Filled Eater module
  
• Journal through a reflection prompt
  
• Pray for peace with your body
  
• Do a quick body scan
  
  

And that’s it! One tiny block of time, repeated weekly, can change your entire relationship with food.

Because you get to decide that your freedom is worth five minutes.

Want to Take It Deeper? Join Me Inside the Joy-Filled Eater Course

If you’ve been craving structure, guidance, and a Christ-centered roadmap to food freedom—without the overwhelm—The Joy-Filled Eater course is your next step.

Each module is designed to fit perfectly into your new five-minute rhythm, so you can start healing on your schedule.

Final Encouragement

You don’t have to overhaul your life to heal your relationship with food. You just have to begin.

So friend, grab your calendar, carve out those five minutes, and trust that God can multiply your small steps into big transformation. Because He will.

“Do not underestimate what God can do with your small steps.” 💛

Until next time,
Keep chasing joy and choosing freedom.

— Brittany Braswell, MS, RDN, LD
Host of Faith-Filled Food Freedom

🎧 Listen now: Faith-Filled Food Freedom on Apple Podcasts 

💌 Get free resources: Join our VIP podcast list for Christ-centered food freedom tools and weekly encouragement

📲 Connect with me on Instagram: @brittanybraswellrd