Your mamma had it right when she told you that breakfast was the most important meal of the day. Most of us tend to skip this meal without understanding the hormonal consequences and the havoc that missing breakfast can wreek on your body and craving centers.
Breakfast is intended to break-the-fast since you’ve been fasting all night. Some of us fast for at least 12 hours having our last meal at 7pm and breakfast somewhere between 7am and 8am. When you don’t have a break-fast meal your body can go into storage mode thinking that a famine or starvation is occurring. Other symptoms can occur like your blood sugar dropping, mental fogginess, irritability and impatience just to name a few.
If you’ve skipped breakfast it doesn’t matter if your first meal is healthy, your body is more likely to store those healthy nutrient-dense calories as fat for later use. It’s more likely that your first meal is a high sugar, high fat meal since that’s what most of us crave when we skip meals.
Let me ask you a couple of questions:
1. Do you have cravings at any point during your day?
2. Does your energy and concentration levels dip at any point during your day?
3. Are you irritable and short tempered without any real stimulus to set you off?
4. Do you find yourself nibbling and snacking all evening?
If you answered YES to even one of these questions then it’s quite possible that you are skipping breakfast or that your breakfast is not fueling you the way it should be.
A balanced breakfast sets your hormonal and energetic tone for the day. Skip breakfast and you won’t have as productive and happy a day as you could have if you’d eaten a balanced breakfast. Do yourself a favor and wake up 10 minutes earlier. Try one of the 7 breakfast ideas… they are perfect for those of us who are rushed and have limited time in the mornings.
1. Hard boiled eggs: 2 (yes 2) hard boiled eggs with an apple
2. A bowl of high fiber cereal with milk or a milk alternative: look for a cereal with a minimum of 7 grams of fiber per ½ cup and 6 grams of protein.
3. ½ cup of steel cut oatmeal with ½ tsp of cinnamon and ½ cup of berries: cook the steel cut oats ahead of time and warm up individual servings.
4. A protein shake made with 1 cup fresh or frozen fruit, 2 handfuls of spinach,1 scoop of protein powder, 1 cup milk or milk alternative and 6 walnuts.
5. A piece of 100% whole grain or gluten free toast with 1 tsp of natural peanut butter or a nut seed butter and ½ cup of Greek yoghurt
6. 1 cup of cottage cheese with 1 cup of berries
7. 1 cup of Greek yoghurt with 1 cup of berries and ½ tsp cinnamon
Would you like some helping planning out hormonally balanced meals? I have a solution to your craving problems and would like to be able to help you achieve your goals. Give me a call today…
In good health,Cheryl Wahl, RHN, Fitness LeaderNorth Shore Nutrition778-836-3831
