{"id":1576,"date":"2022-03-25T10:03:18","date_gmt":"2022-03-25T10:03:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.spotlight.com\/?p=1576"},"modified":"2026-03-13T14:12:05","modified_gmt":"2026-03-13T14:12:05","slug":"healthy-food-prep-for-the-busy-actor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.spotlight.com\/news-and-advice\/lifestyle-wellbeing\/healthy-food-prep-for-the-busy-actor\/","title":{"rendered":"Healthy Food Prep for the Busy Actor"},"content":{"rendered":"

Actor and food-blogger Jodie Barchha Lang shares her quick tips for preparing healthy food, and explains why healthy eating is as vital as any acting skill.<\/h3>\n

As an actor, my eating habits in the past have been somewhat questionable. I would often get on and off trains and grab a packet of crisps, a pizza or a bag of chips.<\/p>\n

I put on a lot of weight. I used food as a coping mechanism\u00a0for nerves and stress, which in turn made everything else much worse. The overload of processed and unhealthy food was not fuelling my system with the energy it needed to go from one job to another.<\/p>\n

I decided to develop my food blog as a sort of guide, I suppose – a visual reminder of how good and easy to make healthy food can be. I started cooking healthy meals and freezing them for when times were busy, which was much better than running to the takeaway.<\/p>\n

I prepared healthy snacks for on the go, and started to really pay attention to self-care. What was supposed to be a hobby grew into something I never could have imagined, and although not at my ideal weight yet, I am on a better path and have improved not only my own wellbeing, but that of others too.<\/p>\n

Make Better Choices – Feed Your Body the Fuel it Needs<\/strong><\/h4>\n

A great inspiration for me was the legendary director, teacher, and mentor David Crowley of ActUpNorth. I remember telling him how down I felt about being so focused on exercise, sleep and food and that I hadn\u2019t applied to any auditions that week.<\/p>\n

He told me that taking care of ourselves was as crucial as learning our craft, because the body we are in is all we have. We cannot be the best version of ourselves if we\u2019re not taking care of ourselves. He made me realise that all those things I\u2019d been focusing on that week were actually counting towards my acting goal, and that was a real turning point for me. If we are learning lines, developing character, or simply focusing on our health, these are all factors in moving us forward.<\/p>\n

Now I see wellbeing as a puzzle; if a piece is missing then it can\u2019t be completed. If we\u2019re taking care of our relaxation but eating constant junk food, or eating well but not taking care of our mental health, the puzzle can\u2019t ever be complete.<\/p>\n

Often, the way we talk to and treat ourselves can be at the heart of the problem. This can also be down to our expectations of ourselves. We expect vegans to be thin, gurus and meditation teachers to have life all mapped out, teachers to be perfect. But the reality is that none of us are perfect, we are all learning as we go and we mustn\u2019t be so hard on ourselves.<\/p>\n

Sometimes it can help to re-write your narrative. If, previously, you were living on a takeaway three days a week, and you\u2019ve reduced that to one day, then that\u2019s a positive step in the right direction. However, a constant regime can also be unhealthy, so it\u2019s also good to utilise the 80\/20 principle. If we look after ourselves in the best way possible80% of the time, then it\u2019s okay for us to have a little of what we enjoy for the other 20%. In order for our bodies to run efficiently, we must give them the best chance we can for the majority of the time. If we had a car and filled it with cheap lemonade, and only gave it some proper fuel on the odd occasion, then we couldn’t expect it to take us on a long journey. Our bodies are our tool, and that includes our minds. Healthy body, healthy mind – the two go hand in hand!<\/p>\n

A Few Tips for Eating on the Go\u2026<\/strong><\/h4>\n