Key Takeaways
- 60% of Millennials and Gen Z report that they are solely responsible for meal planning in their household, making an average of four meal-related decisions per day.
- Nearly half (49%) find themselves wondering what to make 2-3 times per week, with top reasons being too tired to cook, lack of planning, and nothing sounding appealing.
- 26% of meal planners surveyed feel stressed about daily meal decisions, with women disproportionately carrying this mental load.
- MyFitnessPal’s recent survey of 2,000 people across the US, UK, Canada, and Australia reveals meal planning as a persistent source of cognitive burden that compounds over time.
The Daily Question Nobody Talks About
It happens around the same time every day. You’re wrapping up work, or picking up kids, or just trying to get through your to-do list, and the question surfaces: “What’s for dinner?”
It sounds simple. But for the 60% of Millennials and Gen Z respondents who are solely responsible for meal planning in their household, that question kicks off a cascade of decisions that most people never think about, until they’re the ones making them.
What’s in the fridge? What do I have time to make? What will everyone actually eat? Is this healthy enough? Can I afford takeout again this week?
Our recent survey of 2,000 people across four countries found that meal planners make an average of four meal planning-related decisions per day. That’s 28 decisions a week and over 1,400 decisions a year. And that’s just about food.
The Pattern is Clear
When we asked people how often they find themselves standing in the kitchen thinking “What should I make?”, the answers were telling. Nearly half (49%) said it happens 2-3 times per week. Another 22% said it happens four or more times per week, especially women and Gen Z.
Among those experiencing this mealtime indecision, the top reasons were consistent: too tired to cook, didn’t plan ahead, and nothing sounding appealing. Women were more likely than men to cite all three.
Budget, time, health goals, and energy levels were the top factors influencing cooking habits. Women were more likely than men to also factor in available ingredients and family preferences. The mental calculation happens constantly, often invisibly, and it adds up.
Who Carries the Load
Nearly three in four respondents involved with meal planning prepare meals for multiple people, not just themselves. About one-third spend 1-2 hours per week on meal planning tasks, while another third spend more than 2 hours—especially women and Millennials.
When we asked how people feel about these daily meal decisions, half said they feel neutral. But 26% said they feel stressed, and again, women were more likely to report this than men.
We also asked people how often they experience specific feelings related to meal planning:
- 67% sometimes or often feel stuck being the “food manager” (21% often)
- 72% sometimes or often feel overwhelmed by the responsibilities (22% often)
- 75% sometimes or often wish someone else would handle meal decisions (27% often)
- 72% sometimes or often feel guilty about not planning healthy meals (23% often)
The language people used in open-ended responses was revealing. Meal planning challenges weren’t about cooking itself—they were about decision-making. Choosing what to make, balancing preferences and dietary needs, and managing budgets and ingredient availability.
One pattern stood out: if the person responsible for meal planning were to stop, the most common outcome would be relying more on quick meals, takeout, and snacks. One-third said meals would simply become irregular.
Why This Matters
The meal planning mental load isn’t just an individual problem. It’s a systemic one that disproportionately affects women, compounds daily, and quietly drains us.
This is where technology can actually help—not by telling people what to eat, but by reducing the friction in the decisions they’re already making.
MyFitnessPal’s Meal Planner is designed to address exactly this problem. Instead of starting from scratch multiple times per week, members can generate personalized meal plans that account for their preferences, dietary needs, and goals. The tool handles the decision-making burden, surfacing options that fit their lives rather than forcing them to figure it out in real time when they’re already tired.
It’s not about perfection. It’s about reducing the load. Taking one of those four daily decisions off the plate—literally—so people have more mental energy for everything else.
What People Actually Want
When we asked what would be most valuable about automated meal planning, the answers were practical: saving time on planning (67%), having variety in meals (52%), and reducing the mental stress of meal planning (49%).
Women were particularly likely to say it would help them stick to a grocery budget and personalize meals for family preferences. These aren’t theoretical nice-to-haves. They’re real needs that reflect the complexity of managing a household.
The opportunity here isn’t just about building a better meal planning tool. It’s about recognizing that the daily question of “what’s for dinner?” carries more weight than most people realize, and that solving it well requires understanding the full scope of what people are actually managing.
Nearly one million people reach their goals with MyFitnessPal each year. Some of them use our Meal Planner not because they don’t know how to cook, but because they’re tired of making the same decisions over and over again. They want their cognitive energy back and that’s what good technology should deliver.
Methodology: MyFitnessPal surveyed 2,000 Millennials and Gen Z adults across the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia in October 2025. The survey explored meal planning responsibilities, decision-making burden, and emotional toll among those responsible for household meal planning.