Nutrition in Early Recovery: Why Structure Matters

In early recovery, food doesn’t need to be perfect. It needs to be reliable.

Many people underestimate how destabilising irregular eating can be. Long fasting periods followed by large meals often amplify cravings, fatigue, and emotional swings.

Why structure helps

I see food as a form of external structure when internal cues are still recalibrating. Regular meals help restore trust in hunger and fullness signals.

I rely on a simple formula:

• protein

• complex carbohydrates

• healthy fats

Repeated consistently, this creates predictability — something the nervous system responds to very positively.

Timing over optimisation

Eating every few hours keeps energy more even and reduces the urge to overeat later. Hydration earlier in the day also makes a significant difference.

Simple meals, repeated often, tend to work better than ambitious plans that are hard to maintain.