Optimize Your Breakfast

Okay, but why? This is a question I'm always asking myself, probably because I'm a curious person and always love to learn. I also love to teach, and teaching you the "why" behind everything I recommend is so much more important to me than just telling you what to do. (insert saying about giving someone a fish vs. teaching them how to fish)

Breakfast determines the amount of energy you make in the morning which is what's available all day long, it impacts your sleep that night, blood sugar stability throughout the day, and metabolism. If we skip breakfast often times we are just running off of stress hormone and that has many negative impacts.

The do's and don'ts of a healthy breakfast

Do:

• Eat within 30-60 minutes of waking up

• Hit the protein hard (25-35 grams for most women)

• Include fat and carbs too

• Hydrate (I love a mineral rich adrenal cocktail or some warm lemon water with a pinch of salt)

• Move your body after eating (it doesn't have to be a workout, just a walk or some stretching)

Don't:

• Drink coffee on an empty stomach (hello cortisol surge)

• Replace breakfast with coffee

• Practice intermittent fasting unless your brain, hormones, and nervous system can handle it

• Have an imbalanced high carb breakfast (oatmeal, cereal, fruit smoothie, pancakes)

• You can make these into healthy options when paired with fat and protein

Benefits of Protein at Breakfast

Protein is key for making hormones, regulating blood sugar, supporting immunity, regulating metabolism, building muscle, making neurotransmitters, and assisting in detoxification. So basically, everything.

There are no literal rules regarding what is considered a "breakfast food". One of my favorite ways to get protein for breakfast is make ground meat (beef, pork, chicken, turkey, bison, etc) and eat a little bit for breakfast all week- so easy to mix with eggs, top on rice, a hash, or just have it by itself with some avocado.