What does this picture have to do with a food routine, Tessie? I thought you were going to give us a delicious recipe for cupcakes!

Well, I got your attention, eh? The picture represents many of our food routines- Looking desirable and perfect on the outside… and not so good for us on the inside.

Now, this is nothing against cupcakes. I’ll eat a cupcake any day!… but just not every day. And if your food routine involves cupcakes everyday, it’s ok. Keep reading.

Having a daily Food Routine may seem boring, or restricting. But the fact of the matter is… even if you eat differently everyday, and at different times… that’s still a “routine”.

Today I invite you to gain awareness about:

What is your current food routine?

Why it is that way?

Would you change anything?

How might it benefit you if you did change that something?

If you have your routine, and you don’t have any complaints related to mood, energy, weight, digestion or the like… well, congratulations! Feel free to go play pokemon go… For those (the majority 😉 of us that may want to make a tweak or two… Read on.

The point of gaining awareness around our current food routine is that it takes us out of automatic mode to see if our behaviors are working for us. If you’re anything like me, you don’t want food to rule your day, and you also know there is truth to the statement that food can make or break our day.

If we skip meals, do not have any sort of macronutrient balance (carbs/fats/proteins), calorie-restrict or eat in a stressed state, then it is safe to say that our food routine is not working for us.

So, how do we find a routine that works for us, and doesn’t seem overwhelming? The short answer? Baby steps 😉

Here is your checklist to upgrade your food routine:

1. Answer the questions above. Here are my answers
   • Current routine-
     • Eat breakfast around 8, usually oatmeal, eggs and bacon, or a smoothie
     • Snack around 10:30am, nuts, or one of the things above I didn’t already have
     • Lunch around 1- Salad, veggies, sometimes an animal protein or boiled egg
     • Dinner around 8- Usually cook at home, chicken or fish with veggies, or zucchini spaghetti with ground turkey.
   • Why is it this way? I have experimented with many different ways of eating, and this incorporates a lot of what I love and what makes me feel good.
   • Would I change anything? I have recently started buying mostly organic, and that was a great change for me. From here what I would change is eating dinner earlier, and having more green juice, which would require a change in schedule and purchasing a juicer 🙂
   • The benefits? I know I feel amazing when I have juices, and I see it supporting with daily energy and nutrients. Eating dinner earlier would allow my body to truly be in a fasting state overnight as it is designed to in order to detox and rebuild cells optimally.
2. Ask yourself what your number one health complaint is, and see if it is related to your food routine.
   • I sometimes feel big energy dips in the afternoon and mid morning if I don’t eat enough for breakfast and lunch.
3. Choose one thing you can do this week that would move you towards your desired food routine.
   • This week, I am committed to having 2 green juices, and researching price points for juicers.
4.  Share with a friend/co-worker/partner what you are committed to trying.
5. Check in at the end of the week, and see if you can do it for another week. Remember, it is just an experiment. And if you can give it some trial time, it may just become a new habit!

Thanks so much for reading. Please leave a comment with any Food Routine Breakthroughs you have had!

Here’s to your Baby Steps,

Tess

Related posts:

Eating Intuit: Step 4 – REDEFINE PART 2 Celebrate Like a Kid How to Build Healthy Habits x3 – Part 2: Creating Balance (6min video) Making Self-Care Your Priority: What You Can Do