Weight loss is not simply about calories in and calories out. Otherwise we would have mathematicians telling us what to eat instead of nutritionists. Our physiology is simply not that simple.
Today let’s talk about breakfast. Beginning your day with these two keys for more energy and successful weight management:
- balance your blood sugar (hormones)
- fuel your body with a nutrient-dense breakfast that will get you through a great workout and/or a productive day at the office.
It’s All About Your Hormones
Building health, managing your weight and training like an athlete is about understanding and balancing (maybe optimizing is a better word) several hormonal systems in your body. Hormones are barely understood by most people, though we all know they are crazy important. How many times have you accused someone of being “hormonal?” Diabetes is a hormonal issue. What helped Barry Bonds hit home-runs? That’s right, hormones. Are you feeling stressed about life right now? Stress hormones basically cause your body to store fat and waste muscle. Do you know how a healthy person knows that they are full after eating a meal? A signal to the brain from a hormone.
In an attempt to simplify, here are three categories with a few common hormones you may recognize:
- Blood Sugar Hormones – including insulin and glucagon (balance these hormones by avoiding sugar highs and insulin rushes. Try this by eating lower carbohydrate meals, balance your meals with more protein, healthy fat and fiber, eat more lower than higher glycemic carbohydrates.)
- Stress Hormones – including cortisol and growth hormone (balance these potentially fat storing versus fat burning hormones by getting good sleep: when it is dark outside, sleep … when the sun is up, wake up. Also, consider the stress in your life and what you are doing to practice more stress relieving, happiness-generating feelings in your world. Too much stress = an increase in stress hormones = fat storing processes in your body.)
- Metabolism Hormones – including leptin and ghrelin (balance these by watching your portion sizes, minimizing inflammation throughout your body (google “inflammatory foods” for a list of what you may want to cut back on, eating smaller meals, eating more often.)
We have talked about balancing your blood sugar, specifically to avoid an insulin crash we are all too familiar with. This ensures we are burning sugar and fat (not storing them) and we are not experiencing the high’s and low’s of our energy levels and mental/emotional states that are seen when our blood sugar shoots up and down throughout the day.
Here is an overview of a day for planning your four daily meals:
- Breakfast – higher in protein and some fat, comparatively
- First Lunch – balanced amount of carbs, fat and protein
- Second Lunch – balanced amount of carbs, fat and protein
- Dinner – light dinner with protein and slow carbs (carbs that do not raise your blood sugar or result in a big insulin response)
So without getting too detailed here, let’s just get right into the three options we discussed this week (there are obviously thousands of ideas, but this is what came up in discussion):
Oatmeal with Chia Seeds
*this is recommended to people who typically eat cold cereal or yogurt for breakfast, or haven’t chosen to make more time for preparing breakfast in the morning
- Oatmeal – 1/4 – 1/2 cup rolled oats (not instant, and steel cut is great, but not necessary) – why? Slower carbs, some fiber and trace of protein
- Chia Seeds – 1 tablespoon – why? Great source of fiber and healthy fatty acids (I get Bob’s Red Mill Black Chia Sheeds and sprinkle a tablespoon or so on top)
- Sprinkle cinnamon – why? for taste and research shows as little as a teaspoon may increase insulin sensitivity therefore, you experience a lower insulin response
- Stevia – (I use Truvia) or a more natural version of stevia plant extract is ideal – why? It is a natural sweetener with minimal to no chemicals
2-4 Whole Egg Omelette (Poached, Soft-Boiled, or Lightly Scrambled Eggs) with Veggies, Fruit OR Starch Side
- Scramble eggs – do not let your eggs brown; a little soft or runny is better
- Heat your pan for 4-5 minutes first and then put your ghee, butter or coconut oil in, and then put your eggs in the pan to cook in less time. Do not heat the pan while the eggs are in it to reduce the amount of time the eggs are heated. (This may prevent you from oxidizing the cholesterol. )
- Dice up some green bell peppers or onions or whatever veggie you want in your eggs (I scramble mine)
- Why? I strongly recommend starting with eggs, or a healthy serving of a breakfast meat, and then experiment with how you feel 1-3 hours after this meal in terms of energy, mood and mental focus. This can then determine what to add to your eggs in terms of more veggies, fruit or a side of starch. Personally, I do green bell peppers in my eggs and either oatmeal or hash browns on the side as I have found this a good combination for my body.
Protein Shake – A Few Options
(1) Whey Protein Powder with Superfood Greens or Other Greens Powder
- Looking for an convenient “greens smoothie” … while you can buy many of your “greens” from the store and blend them up with your whey (not soy) protein, this takes a while and while awesome, is easier said than done. Therefore, I am currently using Green Superfood. The Amazon link is below … you can also check it out at Whole Foods (with $1.49 sample packets too) if you want to see the package for labeling.
- So check it out, use a quality, cold processed whey protein powder with a scoop of SuperFood Greens and a dash of almond milk for an easy, protein rich greens smoothie you can mix in a shaker bottle in seconds.
- I mix this smoothie with 3-6 grams of krill or fish oil caplets so I get some protein (whey), carbs (greens) and fat (fish oil) – and that is the balance we are talking about.
(2) Fruit Smoothie with Whey Protein Powder
- 1 scoop of quality, cold-processed whey protein (22-25 grams of protein) (Optimum Nutrition, NOW, Jay Robb, if in St. Louis, check out Supplement Superstore’s brand – and right now I am using TrueNutrition.com which is another great option for cold-processed, reasonably priced protein.)
- 1 tablespoon flax seed oil – provides a healthy fat and lowers the glycemic index (blood sugar-raising effect)
- 1 cup of frozen (or mostly frozen) berries – you can mix your fruit, but don’t go beyond 1 cup as the sugars add up
- 1.5 cups of water plus 6-10 ice cubes – add liquid first (or use unsweetened Vanilla almond milk)
(3) Almond Butter (or Peanut Butter) Whey Protein Shake
- 1 scoop of quality, cold-pressed Vanilla whey protein (22-27 grams of protein)
- 6-10 ice cubes + 1 cup of water (coconut water works here and adds just a little bit of sweetness and some rehydrating electrolytes for pre- and post-workout shakes)
- 1 cup Vanilla (sweetened or unsweetened) almond milk
- 2-3 tablespoons of almond butter (you can use a natural peanut butter if you wish, though the monounsaturated fat in almond butter is a bit more stable and recommended)
- Every once in a while I will toss in some Oval-tine for some chocolate flavor.
*Experiment with these smoothies, just remember to add close to equal parts of protein, fat and carbs, don’t over do it with the fruit, and try different combinations. I know a few college/pro athletes who use the Magic Bullet and whip these up a few times per day.
Final notes:
- Drink 2 cups of water upon waking in the morning and around 15 minutes before every meal to get your digestive juices flowing to aid in digestion and metabolism of your food – remember, it isn’t necessarily what you eat, but what you digest and absorb that counts when it comes to getting nutrients and energy from your food
- Higher protein for breakfast to keep your energy levels high and mental focus on target – too often we blunt the early morning energy we get from our “good” stress hormones by eating a high sugar breakfast such as sweetened yogurt, instant oatmeal or cold cereal
- Note how you feel 1-3 hours after your meal using this Journal (opens up to a printable PDF) – this is key to figuring out the proper ratio of carbs to fat to protein at each meal
- If you eat the same food around the same time of day for a few weeks using that journal sheet, you will find the perfect breakfast foods, quality and quantity for you
Enjoy breakfast. If your first reaction to breakfast recommendations is the fact that you just do not have time … nothing else will matter or will ‘work” for you. Your number one priority, that is, if you truly want to build health and lose weight is to decide where your priorities lie and what you want from your life. Get up earlier, mix your eggs in a bowl the night before, do whatever you need to do …
… because just as with exercise, if you are too busy to eat breakfast, you are simply too busy.
As always, let me know what you think!
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Thanks!
