What is the first thing you eat? Does it affect your energy levels throughout the day? Does it affect your mood? Does it affect your following food choices?

You may be confused because some people say it's good to fast in the morning, and others say it's the day's most important meal. And if you do, what should you eat and avoid?

I want to help you make your own judgment and decide what works for YOU through a simple experiment.

Why do this experiment?

Chances are you've done some diets or restrictive eating, which means your eating habits may follow food rules (even if you're not following an official diet). Maybe you count calories to know what you should eat; perhaps you eat only at certain times regardless of your hunger cues; maybe the number on the scale dictates what you eat; perhaps you're 'good' Monday through Friday, but the weekends are a big 'cheat meal'; maybe you're afraid of carbs and avoid them like they're evil, or perhaps you've just given up because you don't know what to do anymore.

Regardless of the external tools you use (or have used) to monitor your food intake, I bet they have disconnected you from your body. What do you mean, you might be thinking. Think about when we were kids: as babies, we intuitively know when it's time to eat; we don't care about what time it is; as kids, we also eat intuitively; we know what we want when we're hungry, and we stop when we're full. Kids don't use external rules to determine what or when they eat.

Only as we grow and receive all the diet culture messaging do we start relying on external tools to decide what, when, and how much to eat. We move away from our intuition as we use those external tools. We don't connect with our hunger and fullness cues (we can even forget them!), step away from true satisfaction, and punish ourselves (and our bodies) when things don't go as planned. We lose trust in our bodies and end up mistreating them, thinking we're doing something good because we can't trust ourselves around food.

Reconnect with your body

After years of dieting or simply having food rules that disconnect you from your body, it's time to reconnect with your it again and start building the trust it deserves. After all, our bodies work with us, not against us. Why not give them a chance?

The experiment

Whether you eat breakfast or not, this week, do it. Why not? You will learn about how foods affect you and whether eating in the morning works for you, not because some diet or trend tells you, but because you have experimented with it.

Think of this experiment as an opportunity to reconnect with your body and yourself, rediscover what works for you and what doesn't, and break free from all those external tools that disconnect you from your body's wisdom. It's an opportunity for you to start reclaiming your power.

Let's start, shall we?

Download the "breakfast experiment" document below. You can either print it or fill it out on your computer (the document is fillable). Each morning, have the indicated breakfast and fill out the document. At the end of the day, take some time to reflect and answer the questions "end of the day reflection." Finally, at the end of the week, take some time to reflect and answer the questions "end of the week reflection.

Sounds easy.

But there's always...

Arising limiting beliefs

It might sound scary to do this experiment because of the different types of food. However, I encourage you to do this one-week experiment. By doing so, you'll start reconnecting with your body and understanding what foods make you and your body feel good or not.

Before you say NO WAY, I can't do it, I want to reassure you: it's just one meal a day for one week where you'll eat different foods. It will not ruin your health or weight if you're worried about this.

If you start feeling guilty for what you ate, remember that you're not a good or bad person depending on what you eat; there's nothing to feel guilty or ashamed of, just experiences to learn from. Ask yourself, what am I making this mean about me? Is this a fact or an opinion? Is my worth related to what I eat? If I compare this one 'bad' meal with all the rest of the meals I have left in my life, will it make such a difference?

Not having time for breakfast can pop up in your mind. However, remember that you're doing this with a purpose: finding what works for you, discovering how different foods affect you and your body, and learning to listen to your body. You'll get many benefits from it. Are you worth putting your alarm a bit earlier to try this for one week? Yes, you are!

If you have any other limiting belief coming up for you, challenge them!

- What does the limiting belief say?

- Is that a fact or an opinion?

- Is it true?

- Is my brain trying to keep me safe by avoiding doing something different?

- What's the worst-case scenario?

- What's the best-case scenario?

- What is an alternate, more neutral/positive belief that feels true to you?

Requirements

- Start the experiment with curiosity and compassion in a beginner's mind. Erase all your information about those foods and instead tune in to discover how they make you feel on all levels.

- Set time aside. Set your alarm 20-30 minutes earlier to have time to eat your breakfast without rushing.

- Download the experiment, print it, or have your journal to write and reflect

- Listen to your body's hunger and fullness cues

- Eat mindfully (if you don't know how to do this, I tell you all about it in these articles)

- Tune in with your body throughout the day so you can reflect on how each food affected you

- At the end of the day, take some time to reflect on how the day went and answer the 'daily questions."

- At the end of the experiment, take some time to reflect on how the experiment went for you and your takeaways.

Reflection is needed

Eating different things every morning will bring only some of the awareness and understanding we need to listen to our bodies and make informed and aligned changes in our eating habits. For this, you need to make the intention of tuning in with your body when you eat and a couple of hours after so you can understand how you feel, as well as taking some time to reflect at the end of the day and the end of the experiment. By reflecting on the following questions, you can see patterns and connect the dots to determine what works best for you.

Daily reflection

End of experiment reflection

I did it! What now?

Once you complete your one-week experiment, the first thing to do is to congratulate yourself! Be proud of sticking to it from start to finish. Be proud of the 'aha' moments you may have had. Be proud to start listening to your body again.

And if you didn't finish the experiment. That's okay! I encourage you to reflect on what came up for you that prevented you from doing it. What limiting beliefs stopped you?

What can you do with the information you got from this experiment? Well, now you know two things:

- If eating breakfast affects you in a positive or negative way

- The foods that help you feel better, give you more energy, keep you full longer, reduce cravings, and how they affect your mood.

You empowered yourself with knowledge about how food affects you not only physically but also mentally and emotionally. You can use this information to your benefit; you decide how.

Feel free to experiment more with different breakfast ideas or combine other foods so that the meal has protein, fat, and carbs. Try doing your own experiment with other meals.

If you're ready to dive deep into your relationship with food and your body, transform your emotional eating habits into mindful nourishment, and finally break free from food guilt and body shame, I'd love to chat with you.

Book a free discovery call

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