The Breakfast Experiment Find Out Your Metabolic Type Before you can dive straight into the foods that will heal your body, we need to consider this from a bio-individuality standpoint, meaning that each human body is different from another. The best way to find out how to eat for your hormones is through experimentation, which I have mapped out for you in this Breakfast Experiment document. Instructions: There are 6 breakfasts in The Breakfast Experiment (vegan and non-vegan options available). You do not have to follow these exact ingredients, although the general idea is we want to experiment with how your body reacts to fats/proteins versus carbs, so whenever I suggest fruit versus a more fat/protein rich food like avocado or nuts, please follow this. Eat each breakfast for 2-3 days and fill in the tracking sheet in the following hours after each meal. Your tracking sheet is on page 3. I will ask you to focus on each of the 6 breakfasts for 2-3 days due to the fact that when I was doing my own experimentation I found that no matter what it is I was eating, anytime I changed to a new breakfast meal I usually felt hungrier a lot faster than usual. This is because our body needs to adjust to new types of foods so it s natural to feel quite hungry after eating the first time you consume this type of breakfast. My suggestion is to give each of them a try for at least 2-3 mornings.
The Breakfast Experiment - Menu Breakfast 1: Oatmeal with fruit and honey Breakfast 2: Oatmeal with one or more of the following: - 1 tablespoon of nut butter - 1 handful of pumpkin or sunflower seeds - 1 handful of shredded coconut - 1 tablespoon of coconut oil - 1 scoop of protein powder Breakfast 3: Gluten free toast with butter (or your vegan alternative) and fruit Breakfast 4: Gluten free toast with nut butter and half an avocado or a handful of walnuts Breakfast 5: Fruit smoothie - nut or coconut milk with fresh or frozen fruit Breakfast 6: Non Vegan - Eggs with cooked sweet potato and kale Vegan - Fried tempeh or chickpeas with cooked sweet potato and kale
The Breakfast Experiment Tracking Sheet You want to become SUPER tuned into how your body is feeling. This means, running around like a headless chicken and feeling super stressed is not what we want to experience during The Breakfast Experiment. Try to slow your day down. Tune into your body and be constantly observing how you are feeling. Keep checking in with yourself in the following 2-3 hours after eating breakfast. It also helps to place your hands on your belly after eating. Ask your belly how it feels after eating this meal (bloating, heavy, gurgly, gasy, cramping) and note down what you are feeling. (Do this template for each of the 6 breakfasts outlined on page 2) How was my energy? How was my mood? How soon was I hungry (was it less than 2 hours?) How did the food feel in my stomach?
The Breakfast Experiment - Results Protein Type: If you felt great on breakfasts 2, 4 and 6 and you felt hungry or were craving carbs/sugar/salt after meals 1, 3 and 5 then you fall into the protein type category. Most women fall in this category when they are hormonally imbalanced. This means you store carbs as fat at a faster rate as there is some level of insulin sensitivity, which prevents glucose from coming into the cell. Essentially your body finds it more difficult to burn carbs for fuel, therefore sustains itself better when eating more fat/protein to carbs ratio. Carb Type: If you had tones of energy and were in a good mood after eating breakfasts 1, 3 and 5 then you are leaning more towards a carb type, which is quite rare when it comes to women with PCOS although it does happen, especially for women diagnosed with skinny PCOS. This means that glucose (carbs) comes into your body and is burnt at a fast rate for fuel, giving you lots of energy. There is no resistance in the cell membrane so you can burn sugar easily for energy. Mixed Type: If you felt good on a variety of the breakfasts and didn t feel good nor bad with either a carb heavy versus fat/protein heavy meal, then you are a mixed type. This just means there isn t a large amount of insulin resistance going on, therefore further experimentation will be necessary for you to understand what proportions of macronrients you need to sustain balanced blood sugar. Tip: experiment with cooking meals and serving yourself different amounts of whole grains (20% of your plate versus 40% of your plate) then observe how you feel. Also experiment with adding more fat/protein to your meals and see if you feel more energised or heavier/more tired.
Remember, You Are Your Own Doctor, Your Body Always Knows Best! This experiment is the first step of your journey to get to know your body on a much deeper level. Create your own meal experiments with lunch and dinner. Experiment with fat/protein rich foods and carbohydrates. See what proportions work best for your unique body type. Only through your own experimentation can you understand how your body reacts to fats, proteins and carbohydrates, although below is a test you can also do which will help you with further awareness on your specific metabolic type: Metabolic Type Test: (This one is a little lengthy there aren t very good ones available online. If you d prefer, just stick to the breakfast experiment). http://uprightmovement.com/wpcontent/uploads/2014/06/the_metabolic_type_self_test.pdf Other resources: http://www.beyond-diet-reviews.com/how-to-determine-your-metabolic-type/