What IS a Breakfast Food? What Time Do I Eat It?
I recently had a conversation with a client who doesn’t like eating breakfast. When I asked them what about breakfast they didn’t like, one of their responses was that they didn’t like breakfast foods.
😂
I love that.
It brought up such a great conversation. What makes a breakfast food, a breakfast food? Pancakes. Oatmeal. Bacon. Avocado Toast. Eggs. Etc. Why have we come to the conclusion that these are the only things we can eat for breakfast? Thus, if we don’t like those things, we don’t like breakfast.
Let’s take a step back and break this down.
1) Food is FOOD.
It doesn’t need a time of day to be eaten.
Why can’t you have eggs for dinner?
Why can’t you have oatmeal for lunch?
Why can’t you have pancakes as a dessert?
There aren’t “breakfast foods”
There aren’t “lunch foods”
There aren’t “dinner foods”
You can have leftover Thai food whenever.
You can have eggs whenever.
You can have fish and veggies whenever.
You can have pancakes whenever.
You can have salads whenever.
2) Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner “Time” Isn’t Set in Stone
We’ve all heard blanket statements like, breakfast is at 8am, lunch is at 12pm and dinner is at 7pm, right?
But, let me ask you this...
Amy gets up at 5am and goes to bed by 9pm.
John wakes up at 7am and goes to bed by 12am.
Do they both have to eat lunch at 12pm?
Do they both have to finish eating at 7pm?
Amy would be starving by 12pm.
John would most likely get hungry again before bedtime.
Here’s the takeway:
1) Don’t limit your food choices because of, let’s call them “societal” norms - because that’s all they are, and to prove my point, see below for images of what other countries eat for “breakfast”
2) Don’t feel like you HAVE to eat at certain times. If you’re not hungry at 12pm, you can wait. If you’re hungry at 11am, I suggest you eat. Always listen to your internal cues (hunger cues) over external noise (you should eat at this time because so and so says to). When your body needs to pee, you pee. When your body is thirsty, you drink water. What your body is cold, you put a sweat on. When your body is hungry, you _______.
If you’re looking for a safe space where you can learn how to let go of dieting for good, enjoy food without guilt, and turn exercise into something you love to do rather than something you “have” to do, submit a client application to get in contact with me! I work with clients virtually all over the world helping those who are frustrated with dieting and want to change their relationship with food and themselves.
Hi, I’m Azul Corajoria, an Integrative Health Coach, Personal Trainer & Yoga Instructor. I support my clients in making step-by-step changes so that they can live a healthy and balanced life. By recognizing the interdependent roles of mindset, nutrition, and movement I educate and hold my clients accountable for achieving their health goals through lifestyle and behavior adjustments with an emphasis on self-care. Together, we navigate the contradictory world of nutrition through intuitive eating, practice mindful movement, and implement small mindset and lifestyle shifts that empower them to be their best selves in the easiest way possible.
