Starting Your Day the Fat Burning Way

One of the trickiest things to get your head around once you’ve nixed the grains and the dairy is what the heck to eat for breakfast.

Starting the day off with that bowl of oatmeal and low fat milk or the whole-wheat bagel with low fat cream cheese, in actuality, isn’t the best route to go.

While it’s better than stopping at McDonald’s for an Egg McMuffin, beginning the day with a carbohydrate-heavy meal, even if you’re an athlete, ranks at the top of the list for what not to do when you’re trying to:

• Lose weight
• Stabilize energy levels throughout the day
• Achieve better mental focus
• Perform at a high level at work, at sport or in life in general!

Breakfasts higher in protein and fat take longer to move through the stomach, allowing us to feel full longer, which bolsters the ability to resist reaching for more food. High-protein breakfasts reduce the amount of ghrelin, the hormone that stimulates a feeling of hunger, in the bloodstream more effectively than do high-carb breakfasts, according to the Institute of Food Technologists[1].

In addition, a higher protein breakfast leads to greater satiety and lower reward-driven eating behavior than a low-protein breakfast, according to a University of Missouri study published in “Obesity” in 2011[2].

One study found that women who ate egg breakfasts lost twice as much weight as women who started their days with bagels[3]!

Don’t make the mistake, though, of going uber high in protein, avoiding all carbs (including veggies) and adding low fat to the mix.

We need fat, and enough of it. The right fats, that is, of course.

A study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that consuming fatty acids boosts metabolic health.

Plus, old fat stored in the body’s peripheral tissues, such as around the belly, thighs, or butt (also called subcutaneous fat) can’t be burned efficiently without “new” fat to help the process, according to researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis[4].

Aside from that, fat tastes good, helps us absorb nutrients and frankly, makes the difference between feeling like what you eat on a daily basis is enjoyable and not lacking in anything compared to a run of the mill diet with an endpoint.

So what, then, exactly might one eat for breakfast if they want to start the day off well, but don’t exactly have a ton of time on their hands to prepare a veggie and lox soufflé with truffle oil?

• Keep in mind, there is no such thing as ‘breakfast food’ or ‘lunch food’ or ‘dinner food’. It’s just food… or it isn’t. Any veggie, any protein and any fat will do.  
• For many, the simpler, the better. Steam up some broccoli the night before, soft boil some eggs and plunge them into ice to enjoy the perfectly yellow, runny yolk and then mix the two with olive oil, avocado and some lime juice in a bowl.
• Or stick with standards; it’s not too time consuming to do a ground grass fed beef and veggie stir fry in duck fat with your choice of your favorite herbs. Be sure to throw in some garlic, too!
• If you’re in a super hurry and need to drink while driving (drink a smoothie, that is), you can still go this route, so long as you make it yourself to make sure you’re not ending up with buckets of sugar such as what you’d find in many a ‘healthy’ prepared juice. The popular Naked Juice’s Green Machine contains 28 grams of sugar per serving in its two serving bottle[5]! 56 grams of sugar with no fat and a total of 4 grams of protein per bottle is no way to rev up your fat burning engine. Instead, if you’re going the liquid route- think savory. Whiz some of last night’s chicken stew in the Vitamix and throw in some avocado, some raw kale and some garlic ad voila- you’ve got a meal to go. Feeling self-conscious? Pour it in your stainless steel coffee mug and no one will ever be the wiser.
• Maximize your gains even more by getting in a workout before breakfast. Studies[6] show this further helps you to be the best fat burning machine you can be, and who doesn’t want that?

 

 

 

[1] “Should You Eat Carbs or Protein in the Morning on a Diet?” LIVESTRONG.COM. LIVESTRONG.COM, 20 June 2015. Web. 20 Aug. 2015.

[2] University of Missouri News Bureau; Eat a Protein-Rich Breakfast to Reduce Food Cravings, Prevent Overeating Later, MU Researcher Finds; Emily Martin; May 2011

[3] 3 Breakfast Rules to Follow to Lose Weight – CNN.com.” CNN. Cable News Network, n.d. Web. 20 Aug. 201

[4] “Eat Fat To Burn Fat.” LIVESTRONG.COM. LIVESTRONG.COM, 05 May 2015. Web. 20 Aug. 2015.

[5] http://www.nakedjuice.com/our-products/juice/green-machine[6] “Training in the Fasted State Improves Glucose Tolerance during Fat-rich Diet.” National Center for Biotechnology Information. U.S. National Library of Medicine, Nov. 2010. Web. 20 Aug. 2015