Madrona Nutrition and Fitness: Recipe and Nutrition Guide

Madrona Nutrition and Fitness:
Guide to Wellness through Holistic Diet
and Lifestyle

Rachel Fiske
Certified Holistic Nutrition Consultant,
Certified Personal Trainer

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Why is breakfast so important? And what should I eat?


             OR........
At this point, most of us have heard all about how breakfast is "the most important meal of the day," as they say. Who is they? I don't know...but I do know that even those individuals who recommend shockingly unhealthy breakfast menu items understand its' value (even if they don't know what to eat).

Being an extreme morning person myself (just ask former boyfriends/roommates...at this rate by the age of 70 I'll be going to bed at 6pm and getting up at 2am), I have always loved my breakfast/morning routine. Until relatively recently, I would go to bed looking forward to arising early, making a grain-based, sweet breakfast, and accompanying it with a fresh cup of coffee. Basically, I wanted dessert for breakfast, as many of us do. I still have the coffee, but have forced myself to change my tastes and ideas of what is "breakfast food." Although throughout my almost two years of formal holistic nutrition education this has been the one habit I have refused to reconsider, as of late I realized it was setting me on the wrong foot for the day to come. That is, it was setting me on the foot of craving carbs and sweets.

But oatmeal?? We have all been taught this is so healthy! And its not that its unhealthy, I promise. And by all means, if your first step in changing your breakfast routine consists of switching from lucky charms to oatmeal, go for it! And for some of us, whole grains might work in the morning. But if you are like me and feel yourself getting hungry a couple hours later, and then craving sweets/carbs throughout the day, its probably a good idea to have a more protein and fat based breakfast.

If you read my previous post on blood sugar regulation and hypoglycemia, this might be review. When we eat carbohydrates, our blood sugar spikes. Then, our pancreas releases insulin which escorts the glucose in our blood to our cells, where it can be used for energy. Excess blood glucose is stored as fat to be theoretically used as reserves and later burned for energy, however since most of us are never wanting for carbs in our diet, this in reality leads to obesity and a myriad of health problems. Of course, eating whole grains and vegetables slows this process down greatly, due to the fiber and other nutrients encasing the carbohydrate. Crunchy, leafy vegetables are not going to spike our blood sugar, what I am referring to here are more starchy foods like sweet potatoes/potatoes, squash, fruit, as well as grains (rice, quinoa, etc).

And these are exactly the things that I craved every morning! For years I would start the day with a bowl of cereal, thinking I was making a healthy choice by eating Kashi Go Lean Crunch or something touting itself as being whole grain like Bran Flakes, Raisin Bran, etc. Yuck. Once I realized that these were not real foods, but were instead processed, refined food-like products that offer very little nutritional substance, I switched to a breakfast of oatmeal or quinoa with nuts, seeds, maple syrup, sweetened yogurt, etc. Now this isn't necessarily unhealthy, but it was a sweet replacement for sugar cereals, and it left me hungry and craving carbs/sweets in the early afternoon because my blood sugar had dropped. It also didn't do me any favors in losing the ten pounds I had put on the summer before (thanks summer camp!), as I got into the cycle of craving/eating carbs and storing extra glucose as fat. One great new rule of thumb I've learned is due to EPOC (excess post-exercise oxygen consumption) the time we should really eat carbs (especially if we have a goal of weight loss) is 3 hours post exercise, when our body can most efficiently burn it.

So...lets look at some foods to eat for breakfast!! As a meat eater, I have incorporated much more meat (organic, grass fed whenever possible) into my morning, along with eggs and non-starchy veggies. If you are a vegetarian, focusing on eggs (an amazing source of protein) is a great idea. This morning for example, I had about 4 oz. of ground beef, 1 egg mixed with a splash of whole coconut milk, and sauteed with onions, garlic, chard, and beet greens, along with 1/2 cup of raw sauerkraut for its incredible probiotic benefits. Also, keep in mind that breakfast really should be your biggest meal of the day, and meals should get progressively smaller as the day continues. Your morning meal is what fuels you most, so don't be afraid to fill up! Also, it will keep you satiated and therefore eating more reasonable portions throughout the day. Lastly, experiment with how much actually fills you up. If you ate 3 oz. of meat and 1 egg and were really hungry 2-3 hours later, try eating a bit more. You should be able to sustain yourself for 4-5 hours without being starving by lunch. Here are some other ideas:

*3-5 oz. protein (preferably grass-fed meat, or if a vegetarian you could do tempeh once in awhile, but please stay away from tofu! More to come on this later). Along with this, add a ton of leafy, crunchy veggies! Mix meat with eggs, or just do one or the other. Saute with coconut oil, butter, or ghee for healthy fat which will also sustain you.

*Frittata, omelette, or scramble with or without meat

*If you do dairy (if not substitute whole coconut milk), try a smoothie with whole milk yogurt or milk (raw if you can find it), 1/2 cup berries, 1-2 tbsp. flax seeds, 1 tbsp. coconut oil, and a pinch of raw leaf stevia. You can even include 1-2 raw egg yolks if the eggs are farm fresh and from a reliable source.

*Almond-meal pancakes (1 ripe banana, heaping tbsp almond butter, 1 egg, cinnamon, other spices to taste). Mix together and cook in coconut oil or butter.

*Veggies, eggs, and nitrate-free bacon

*Anything you had for dinner last night! That does not, of course, contain tons of carbs.

Again, if whole grains work for you in the morning (not whole grain cereal, but quinoa, rice, whole oats, etc), then more power to you! But if not, try making a change and, like any changes we make to our diet, see how your body feels!

2 comments:

  1. interesting. I have gotten into the habit of cooking so that I always have leftovers, and I've found that I do enjoy leftovers for breakfast. soups especially are great, and my white bean and lentil soups offer the protein you recommend. I knew that protein was important for breakfast, but didn't realize that it should be the largest meal of the day. that might take some getting used to, I don't like feeling so full that early, but I have learned to trust your advice at this point! thanks again for raising my awareness and quality of life <3

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  2. Thanks Jeff!! As always listen to your body, and never force yourself to eat when you're not hungry. Increasing the size of your breakfast would be something to consider if you feel yourself being starved later on, or getting too hungry and bingeing on unhealthy food.

    Thanks for reading! :)

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