The first meal of the day offers your body an enormous opportunity to turn on Muscle Protein Synthesis.
This is your body’s ability to build and protect skeletal muscle simply through the amino acids you’re eating in your protein foods.
You want to make sure you’re getting at least 30 g of animal protein in. When you do that, you’ll be getting the amount of leucine (just an amino acid) needed to turn that Muscle Protein Synthesis on.
Toast & Eggs
Great foundation! 2 eggs = about 12 G protein so we just need to add to this.
You can try adding egg whites, simply having a third egg, (maybe both), you can add some yogurt to this and you’ll be good to go!
Oatmeal
Oatmeal has tremendous fiber and also quite a bit of carbohydrates. Which can be just fine! It needs to be balanced with adequate protein however.
Some people like just adding a protein powder to this.
Others will have 1/2 the amount of oatmeal they typically have, add some peanut butter powder to this and have some eggs or yogurt alongside. Or perhaps some breakfast sausage of some kind.
Cereal
This is not an ideal start on its own as it is primarily just carbohydrates with (typically) very little fiber. Not very balanced and not conducive for blood sugar control, clear thinking, or preventing that 3 pm slump we all know and love.
If cereal is an absolute, you might try something like Magic Spoon which has more protein and fewer carbohydrates.
If you tolerate milk, using cows milk with give you an extra 1 g of protein per oz you use. If you don’t tolerate well, A2 milk could be considered and so can an organic soy milk which has close to the same protein content as cow milk.
Bagel/Pastry/Muffin
Pasties and muffins are treats. They are not breakfast foods. When you want to have them for breakfast because of a special occasion or an opportunity to enjoy something super unique, have a protein shake first to get that protein in and then enjoy your treat.
Bagels are very rich in carbohydrates – again, this might work well for you depending on your goals and your lifestyle! If you’re not happy with where you are however, try having 1/2 the bagel and add some of the above choices in to get to that 30 g protein
Nothing
This is actually the most common “breakfast” I hear from my patients.
If you have a hard time getting food in your belly in the morning, start small with a protein shake. I like using Ascent personally.
This is a very simple way to get some consistency under your belt. You can start to make changes from there if you’d like to.
You can get 30+ g of protein in your shake in a super simple way. Admittedly, I’m more of a “chew my breakfast” kind of gal but I find this tool works well to get you accustomed to the feeling of having something in your stomach in the morning, it hits the goal of 30 grams of protein, and it starts to create a habit that you can build on and adjust later.
Black Coffee
Perhaps the second most popular option I hear. I’m going to tell you to absolutely get a shake in as well, or add protein powder to your coffee depending on how you like it.
If nothing else, you can use some collagen. Collagen on its own isn’t going to cut it, it won’t turn on Muscle Protein Synthesis, and it’s not a complete protein (lacks Tryptophan). BUT…it will add something and that’s a great start for some of you. If you want to try a handful of berries with this just to see how you feel, that’s a good idea too.
None of these ideas are ABSOLUTE. They are simply some ideas to consider based on what a lot of my patients come in telling me they eat first thing in the morning.
Don’t let yourself be taken advantage of! Get the first meal of the day optimized, see how you feel and what changes throughout the rest of your day.
You can be looking for things like:
- Clearer thinking
- Less energy crashes
- Fewer cravings
- Overall fewer calories being taken in because you’re not snacking all day
Just to name a few.
Share your favorite breakfast ideas with me! If they’re amazing, I’ll share with all of us, if they’re need some support, I’ll give you some ideas to try out!
If you need more support, you know where to reach me!
Unsubscribe
|
