Photo Credit: Natalie Dee
Apparently September was Better Breakfast Month. Who knew? Just so you don’t get caught off guard, November is listed as the month for Pancreatic Cancer Awareness, National Novel Writing, Alzheimer’s Disease Awareness and National Homeless Youth. If you can write a novel about a homeless youth suffering from pancreatic cancer which gets misdiagnosed as Alzheimer’s (wacky hijinks ensue!) then you’ll have all your bases covered. See, I’m good for something!
Anyhow, not being idiots nor living under a rock, you all know by now that eating a hearty breakfast is one of the biggest health tips out there. However, new research offers some ways to tweak the meal to make it even better.
First surprise of the day comes to us via a Venezuelan study: Eat More! Dieters in this study ate half of their 1200 daily alotted calories for breakfast. The result was more weight lost and more weight kept off and less hunger than dieters who ate a smaller breakfast and less overall calories. Their 600-cal breakfast contained, “a cup of milk, turkey, cheese, two slices of bread, mayonnaise, 1 ounce of chocolate candy, and a protein shake.” Being American, this doesn’t sound like “breakfast” to me but when I was in Europe, this was pretty much what everyone ate for breakfast. Minus the protein shake. (We will, for the moment, ignore the fact that 1200 calories is a ridiculously low alottment and my heart really goes out to that second group who got even less. Man, dieting sucks.)
Second surprise tip comes from the same study: Eat More Carbs! The dieters that ate the bigger breakfast ate more total protein and carbs than the lower-cal group but they also ate a higher percentage of carbs as the control group was on a “traditional low-carb diet.”
The second study from Purdue, with an inexplicably tiny sampling of nine overweight men, highlights the importance of adding the extra calories to the first meal of the day. When the men added more calories through protein to their breakfast, as opposed to breakfast or lunch, they felt fuller longer and had an easier time sticking to their diet the rest of the day.
All of which is not to say that the nutrition myth “don’t eat after 5 p.m.” or any of the other silly variations on that theme are true. A calorie is still a calorie and your body will process it the same whether at 3 pm or 3 am. The difference, I think, comes in setting the metabolic mood for the day. (Um, yeah, I just realized how weird the phrase ‘metabolic mood’ sounds.)
In my own life, I have found this to be true. When I eat my typical breakfast of lumberjack proportions, I seem to have fewer sugar cravings and less problems with the munchies at night. The problem for me, however, is thinking that far in advance. I sometimes still fall into the mindset of “saving” my calories for later, especially if I am going to a dinner or party later on. Inevitably this backfires as by the time I get to the party I’m starving from eating lightly all day and then I go crazy with the cheez-whiz (apparently I attend very low-brow parties).
My philosophy fall in line with the “eat like a king for breakfast, a servant for lunch and a pauper for dinner.” This is important to me for my kids as well. I always make them a home-cooked breakfast and it is often our largest meal of the day. I guess we’ll see when they get older and the therapy bills start rolling in if this works for them or not.
Things also don’t go well for me if I try and restrict carbs at breakfast time (love it when research backs up what I’m already doing!). I think that was one of the biggest problems I had on the primal diet. I just need my carbs in the a.m.
Behold my breakfast today:
1 cup cooked steel cut oats (1/4 cup dry)
1 egg with 2 whites (go freaky chicken!)
1 cup blackberries (Picked ripe in Seattle and frozen – do you know blackberries just grow wild there? Like you don’t have to pay for them or anything! Sure you run the risk of a dog peeing on your fave bush or growing a third head from eating the ones too close to the railway lines but hey, that’s why we wash our produce right?)
2 apples (Don’t judge me, it’s apple season here and if you have never had a fresh Minnesotan honeycrisp then you don’t know heaven. I can put down a 5-lb box in a single day and I make no apologies for that. We have freakin’ cold winters here people, they owe me with the apples!)
1/4 c walnut halves (Yeah I’m too lazy to chop them)
By my estimation that’s about 580 calories. And I loved every bite of it. (For the love of little green apples, did I really just write one of those this-is-what-I-eat posts?!? I’m up to my eyeballs in SAT essays, that is my only defense.)
So, what did you have for breakfast this morning? What’s your philosophy about the a.m. meal?
Honeycrisp apples are orgasmic. We only have organic ones in TX and I will gladly pay the 3 bucks per lb. One thing about working late, I get to be the first commenter for a change. Yay! š
Quix – you’d think living where they actually grow the honeycrisps, they’d be cheaper, right? We pay 2.49$ a lb for NON organic ones. Sigh. And “orgasmic” pretty much nails it:) (Sorry you are working late!)
loved this article. who knew? i’ve naturally been migrating to this idea (been a lunch is the biggest meal for years) but after the birth of my son (and finding my only quiet time is in the morning before he wakes up), i’ve been eating larger breakfasts. my question to you is… how does this affect your morning workout? also any recommendations on healthy breakfasts for toddlers? i get kindov stumped — nuts are verbotten for another year and a half for the short guy). he’s sick of scrambled eggs, tolerates steel cut oats with dried cherries, and isn’t into cottage cheese unless it’s hidden in an omlette.
Kamboja – great questions! I do find I need to eat my morning meal a couple of hours before my workout. I usually eat around 7 am and workout at 9:30. If I eat within 30 minutes of heavy exercise… woof! If I have an early workout scheduled, I'll usually skip breakfast until after the workout and then load up! As for toddler breakfasts, we go by a weekly alphabet menu at our house: Muffins on Monday (whole wheat with blueberries usually), Toast & Eggs on Tuesday, Waffles (whole wheat) on Wednesday, Oatmeal on Thursday (yeah, yeah, I know), French Toast on Friday and then I'll let them have cereal on Saturday. Sunday is usually something special like crepes or German pancakes. And most days I also offer some kind of protein like yogurt or cheese or chicken sausage along with the main dish.
I like the idea of this, and I know it’s been proven to be true. However, I have a hard time rationalizing that number of calories in the morning. It’s frustrating, too, since I put down about a pound of candy corn and peanuts today. I think if I eat that much in the morning, I freak out that I don’t have much left in my “calorie budget” for the rest of the day. Ugh!
I’m a BIG breakfast eater too. I get up and, after the necessities (bathroom and brush teeth), I immediately start coffee and breakfast. I usually have oatmeal – oats with half an apple, almond butter, cinnamon, a little maple syrup and milk to thin it out. Plus 1-2 cups of coffee with a little sugar and milk. Usually some other fruit of some sort, too.
This morning, my husband was up early (he stays up late working, so I usually let him sleep in a bit), and he made chocolate chip pancakes. Not perfect, but very yummy! My husband is a great cook (and I am not).
My boys are 4 and 2. They used to eat oatmeal with me. My 2 yo still will if I make it with raisins, but he won’t touch it the way I like it. Lately they eat rice cakes with nut butter and fruit, or some kind of leftovers – I see no reason why certain foods have to be stuck to certain times of the day. As long as it’s a healthy food, I don’t care too much about when it gets eaten.
Oh, and what exactly is the deal with steel cut oats? I swear everyone seems to love them but me. I tried them and they tasted like dirt, like certain vegetables sometimes taste. I ate the bag I had, but don’t get the love for them. Am I missing something?
It’s funny — I have been ‘saving’ my calories and eating more at the end of the day. Is it some cavewoman instinct? Something along the lines of ‘yes, I’m hungry now but I might be a lot hungrier later so I should wait.’ Huh. Talk about self-fulfilling prophecies.
I totally agree. When I eat a bigger breakfast I am less hungry for the rest of the day. I usually have an omelet for breakfast with grits.
I miss Iowa honeycrisp apples, and I LOVE steelcut oats. Thanks for the breakfast tips for kids. I am always struggling to keep things interesting for them in the morning!
When I’m in a hurry I like All Bran with a little bit of granola and raisins for sweetness, and so I don’t feel like I’m eating rabbit pellets. Keeps me regula!
I usually eat greek yogurt for breakfast (full-fat kind, I follow a paleo-ish diet) with some assorted mix-ins. Lately I have been adding canned pumpkin, flax, cinnamon and pecans (I like walnuts, too, but the husband bought pecans last time he was at the store).
I have been reading a lot about IF, which generally involves skipping breakfast, and also claims to create a good “metabolic mood.” Any thoughts on IF, which seems to contradict the idea that a big breakfast is the key to feeling full all day/losing weight?
PS I’m from Seattle and I seriously miss the blackberries.
Oie… I’m working on the morning food. What I really eat? Like 5 days out of the 7 day week? A sugar free, carb free Rockstar! Wow, isn’t that horrible! And I just told you… gezz honesty.. it’s overrated!
So today I ate a 180 calorie Southbeach cinnamon rain bar. I know, still crap, but better then nothing! It had 10 grams of protein which has to count for something, the Rockstars don’t. =)
I think it’s true, the more you eat in the AM the better off you are. Makes sense in more then one way.. I might not be ripping ppls heads off around 2pm. LOL
“with an inexplicably tiny sampling of nine overweight men”
What the study didn’t say was they started out with 900 men, but only 9 could stick to it.
Oooh, I'm big on brekkie. I split mine in two…I have something at home before work, at the moment it's been high fibre rye crackers with pb&j, or some high fibre cereal with berries, and I have to have a cup of earl grey and then the other half at my morning break in work…fruit and/or an atkins cereal bar.
However I am a fiend for night time snacking, I've just fallen into a horrible habit, and it doesn't seem to matter how much I eat during the day, so there is that part of my brain telling me that oooh, you're going to still want that chocolate bar at nine tonight, skip this apple at nine this morning. sigh
Cara
š I miss wild blackberry season–they grow right outside my apartment, and pretty much all along the path to work, and the path to the gym… and pretty much every other path.
I eat 2-3 strips of bacon, 3-4 big leaves of kale or mustard greens or a roughly equivalent amount of spinach, 3 eggs, a small chunk of sweet potato and sometimes a kiwi or banana or if I want something sweet, applesauce with cinnamon. Yeah, I’m eating kinda paleo… until lunch and dinner.
Homemade fig, date and oatmeal bar & a protein shake made with soy milk. A measly 200 calories. I'm trying to drive my morning consumption up, but it's hard š
Great timing on this post Charlotte, I just had my brekkie and was feeling like a bit of a glutton for I ate Weetabix… THREE Weetabix!! (*insert shocked gasp here*) AND as if the madness couldn’t end there, I was considering popping downstairs for a Berry Smoothie but was trying to calculate how many calories I’d have left tonight if I did that.
Having read your post I think that experimenting with a bigger breakfast could be a good idea for me. Saving calories definitely doesn’t work as I get home after work resembling a starved wild dog, foraging through my cupboards for some form of sustenance!! :o)
When I used to eat a huge carb buffet in the morning my diet seriously consisted of better food choices, so this study is probably correct. Lately, I munch too late at night and wake up with no appetite til 11am (and i wake up at 4am) so it’s wrecking my habits. I guess I need to starve one night to get back on track. But thanks, because i’m eating bfast now, which would have sat in my purse til 11am if i hadn’t read this. Plus, there’s an office party and I’m pretty sure I would’ve headed straight for the cake.
So.. “a cup of milk, turkey, cheese, two slices of bread, mayonnaise, 1 ounce of chocolate candy, and a protein shake”…
Sounds like a recipe for constipation to me. Where’s the fresh produce? Oh, maybe in the shake?
I actually have 2 breakfasts; the first is OJ and a cafe au lait, because the thought of “food” first thing in the morning grosses me out, then after exercise I have a big ol breakfast. But I’d be hungry all day on just 1200 calories!
Ooooo, I’m so glad you wrote about this! I’ve been upping my intake in the mornings since I’ve started getting up at 5am to work-out…and I’ve noticed that I feel soooo much better throughout the day if I eat breakfast throughout the morning. I always have Kashi Go Lean Crunch (can’t get enough of this stuff) with coffee before I leave for work and then about 2 hours later I’ll have a banana, or almonds, or a protein bar. I have about 400-450 calories for breakfast and that seems like the magic number for me. I don’t go home for lunch starving, and my afternoon slump no longer occurs! Good topic!
I definitely think this is true. When I went to Ireland a few years ago, we stayed in Bed and Breakfasts (can I make that plural? Looks funny.) Anyway, I was scared out of my wits to eat such a HUGE breakfast. Usually I had yogurt and cereal, ham, brown bread with jam, and a splash of juice. It was HEAVEN. For a girl who normally just eats yogurt or a banana for breakfast, though, this was huge! But you know what? It kept me full until the early afternoon and I didn’t binge at night. Who knew? Now if I could only just get back over there….
Oh, and are honey crisp apples like golden delicious apples? I love some goldens!
Bethany – Isn’t it funny how even though we know something works, we still let the fear talk us into doing something else?? I’m the same way, sister!
Judy – great point about it not need to be “breakfast” foods in the a.m.! As for the steel cut oats… I dunno – I like them!
Merry – I think there is some kind of instinct at work here.
Mel – Oooh, grits! I haven’t thought of those in years but I love them!!
Wettstein Fam – I feel the same way about all bran/fiber one. Love being regular!
Sally – I LOVE greek yogurt. And actually I’m also a big fan of IF. I think the key is to not do it every day. You need to keep your body guessing.
Rozemary – a sugar free rockstar??? LOL. If it’s working for you, then go with it!
mjb – el oh el!!
Cara – I know, nighttime snacking is my weakness too!
dislyxec – Your breakfast sounds really yummy! And I hear you about the blackberries… sigh.
juleske – mmm! I want your bar recipe! Sounds delish.
Shivers – yay!! Good for you for listening to your body. You’ll have to pay attention tonight and see if it is any easier come dinner time.
anon- so glad I could help!! Good luck with that office cake:)
Crabby – yeah I had the same thought about their breakfast. But it was Venezuela so… cultural difference?
Colleen – Yay, we can eat breakfast together! I swear people think I’m a freak:) No Honeycrsips are totally different than goldens (although I love those too). You just gotta try ’em!
CDLover – Ireland?? TAKE ME WITH YOU next time!
I’m more like Merry.I do the caveman thing!
We have blackberries growing wild all over the area! Now Iām only going to pick the ones on the tops of the plants! A few big dogs in the neighborhood.
Sally, I love Greek yogurt as well, but rarely buy it. If Costco doesn’t sell it, my husband won’t buy it. He cringes when I go to Whole Foods which he refers to as “Whole Paycheck”. Yes, I have a very thrifty hubby, but thank goodness there is one of us in the family.
I too tried the Primal Blueprint diet for over a year. I would often skip breakfast and just have some coffee. Well, I would be so hungry later in the day that my lunch and dinner would be way too high in calories. I never counted, but after an initial weight loss, I gained about 10 pounds over the year. I ate all primal friendly foods – no carbs except fruit and veggies. I did go overboard on the nut butters, but I just needed something to satiate the hunger. Lately, I’ve been eating a good size breakfast including both complex carbs and protein followed by a mid-morning snack. This helps so much. I can eat a much smaller lunch and dinner now and not go to bed hungry.
We could live together Charlotte! Steel cut oats (or as my kids say: the kind of oatmeal you chew"), walnuts, berries (not sure from Seattle but typically wild, organic and/or frozen. And the apples–still have some from picking 3 weeks ago! Sadly, that wasn't my meal this morning. I have been in a B&B in Excelsior all week (is that a "staycation" if you HAVE to be out of your house?) and we are now out of cereal, which is a bigger problem for appeasing the after-dinner snack. I have 3 packs of "Dinosaur Egg" oatmeal (and that's fine cuz I ain't touchin' it), 5 bananas, a pear, 1 yogurt, bread and 1 piece of naan. I'm going for the naan drizzled with honey. And the pear. But I'm jonesing for some low-fat turkey sausage. We just found out we can't go back home until tomorrow, so we may have to hit a pancake house on the way home. And I won't be sorry about that. Oh speaking of pancakes, we like ours smothered in peanut butter AND syrup. This is unbelievably good…and calorie rich:-)
I’m feeling good so far, but tonight will be the true test. Will definitely have to give this a proper go, maybe try it for a week, what does the Experiment Expert say? ;o)
Oh and CDlover, well done for finding a healthy breakfast in Ireland! Everytime I go out all I can find is a Full Irish, ie, Bacon, sausages, pudding (not even going to explain what that is to an American audience.. ;o)) served with fried eggs, beans, toast and other stick-to-your-ribs goodness! I do like a bacon sandwich every now and then but I wish we had more variety over here!! :o)
that sounds like a delish b-fast! Can you clarify something for me, tho…when I make oatmeal, I pur out a full cup of DRY oatmeal, then mix it with water/skim milk/brown sugar/dried fruit. I can’t imaging only eating 1/4 cup of dry oatmeal. Am I just a REALLY hungry girl? Even a full cup, according to the label, is only 280 calories, which IMO is barely anything. It’s a snack, practically. But it totally fills me up.
You swept away all my guilt this morning, Charlotte! I’m drinking my giant chocolate banana protein shake…and sneaking three chocolate chip cookies. It’s Friday right? We can treat ourselves on Friday…and it seems I should eat the cookies in the morning instead of at midnight anyway.
As for breakfast in general, it’s hard for me to fix good stuff, I’ve little interest in food in the morning, and the pans I’d need are always dirty…so much easier to just sneak cookies.
Hey Charlotte I have blackberries growing in my backyard! There is nothing better than getting up early on an August morning, putting on some work gloves and eating your breakfast freshly plucked from the vine!! You wouldn’t believe how big some of those babies get! mmmm….blackberries.
Anyhoo, doing the low carb thing for me was great until I realized that I NEED my morning bran flakes – for obvious reasons! So now bfast for me is Raisin Bran and string cheese – not the best healthy breakfast, but better than the poptarts I used to eat.
As somebody who lives in Europe can I just say that breakfast sounds unprecedented, if not terrifying. Mind you, on the continent they do go for meat and cheese in the AM. But chocolate? Madness.
On a normal day (ie. calorie counting madness) I can’t justify a big breakfast to myself. I end up with very few calories left at the end of the day, and I start to panic that I’ll go to bed hungry.
It’s stupid, because I know a big breakfast works much better for me, providing I’m not thinking about the numbers.
Normal brekkie for me is 1 sachet of oatmeal and a small scoop of soy protein powder, made up with water and a tiny splash of soy milk in the top – 250 calories approx.
And yeah, I’m usually starving by 11am.
Regarding the study – do we think it’s possible the dieters who ate the smaller breakfast didn’t lose so much weight because their metabolisms started slowing? If they’re eating a way under 1,200 it’s very possible surely? I’d probably point to that before I’d point to the size of their breakfast….
TA x
Dr. J – so jealous of your free-range berries!
Heather McD – why is it that the Greek stuff is so ridiculously expensive???
Kara – wait, did you just invite me to live in your newly-refurbished home??? Done! Oh, and I have 3 tagalongs – can they come too? š PS> Dinosaur oatmeal is a HUGE hit around here too.
Shivers – lol! Yeah, one day does not a good experiment make (not that that has stopped me in the past…) but def. do it for a week and let me know what happens. Seriously!
Weighting Game – steel cut oats are more calorically dense than regular oats so 1/4 c dry is a full serving! It cooks up to a full cup! Regular oats don't fluff as much for some reason….
Anya – Yay, no guilt!! ANd I hear you about the dirty dishes. It seems like I always have to do the dishes before I can make breakfast. Yeah, I'm gross.
Jill – Love the bran!! š
TA – I know that panicky starving feeling! It does help me though if I know I'm going to have a big breakfast. But then, I don't count cals anymore so it might be easier 'cause of that too. And I wondered about the metabolism thing too! Problem is I couldn't get a hold of the original study to examine exactly what all they ate. You have a good point.
I’ve never been big on breakfast. When I was in elementary school, I would only eat spaghetti Os, Lipton cup-o-soup or baked beans. If we went out for breakfast, I’d have a ham sandwich. I’ve always eaten breakfast, just been very picky about what I eat. I switch to cereal in high school, then recently switched to fruit shakes. So I have one shake before I leave for work, then I get to work and have some toast with Nutella. Breakfast definitely makes it easier to get through the day, but if I eat a big meal, I end up feeling blech for at least half the day.
If i eat a lot in the morning, Im way hungrier all day (duh, revved metabolism) but then i EAT more all day. I usually have a mini bagel with peanut butter or something, but I snack all day long at work cause i eat when i can. it evens out, but bigger breakfast just means more calories for me.
Kelly Turner
http://www.groundedfitness.com
I can put down a 5lbs box of apples, too. Apple eating challenge??
š
I tend to eat multiple breakfasts. 2 tbsp of PB2 before boot camp, a glass of skim milk after boot camp, and a big bowl of oatmeal with a sliced banana and loads of cinnamon when I get to work. Then I usually have a big carrot shortly after that.
I need breakfast to make it through my day. Love it. And hurray for the carbsisgood study!
Totally agree about the honeycrisp apples! I though Galas were good until I had a Honeycrisp. They are finally back in season here and I’m so happy. I refuse to eat mushy old Red Delicious after having Honeycrisps.
I eat a larger breakfast but it is split into two. I usually exercise around 6AM. I can’t do it on an empty stomach so I’ll have a little something. I eat more food post-workout on the job around 8:30-ish. It all runs around 400 calories so big carby breakfast for me too.
you’re right – I spaced on the steel cut part. When I cook those, I do not make a full cup of dry oats. They’re so yummy…
ANd I am SO eating a honeycrisp this afternoon. How do they get so juicy??
When my kids were little, my hubby used to start work at 1 pm. We started cooking dinners (chicken, vegs, potatoes, you know what I’m getting at) in the mornings for breakfast so he could take the left overs. We have never been in such great shape. My weight went down to my pre-baby high school weight without me even having to think the word exercise. Once the kids started regular school and hubby’s job changed, breakfast turned into normal american breakfasts and I suspect it is one reason my hubby and I both have at least 60 lbs to lose now!
I have never had a fresh Minnesotan honeycrisp, but I have had a fresh Nova Scotian honeycrisp…They are the Best. Apples. Ever.
I don’t eat a big breakfast because I am not a morning person and I just can’t face large amounts of food first thing in the morning. One bowl of oatmeal, and I’m stuffed. This morning I had multi-grain toast with almond butter, and coffee. That’s it. Got hungry mid-morning and had 6 almonds. I was fine til lunch time.
Hi Charlotte, I’m a new reader to The Great Fitness Experiment and I just spent about an hour reading your old posts… you are an AMAZING writer!!!
Ooh. Breakfast. yum. I eat it. I have to be up super early for work and it’s hard to have that much of an appetite before dawn, so I usually have something small like an english muffin with nut butter/fruit, and then at my break during work some sort of granola bar. I totally agree that I need food most in the mornings, I cannottttt function w/o breakkie!
take care, can’t wait to read more of this blog š
I eat 6 Mini meals of 200-300 calories a day. Having a huge breakfast would sidelong that methodology. Nice looking breaky tho. I love apples.
I basically agree with that philosophy, pretty much because I’m a breakfast lover. Mmmm pancakes.
It actually depends on when I workout, though. If I run in the morning, breakfast has to be smaller, so I don’t hurl it up on the street. Today I had 1 C. bran flakes, 1 Tb ground flax seed, and sliced banana with soy milk. Through most of the winter I have oatmeal with flax and cinnamon. Oh boy, I could really go on a tangent here.
BTW, saving calories always backfires for me, too. But sometimes what works is eating low-calorie, high-volume foods like salad and veggies or a broth-based soup.
Wow- 43 comments in less than 24 hours. I guess alot of us eat breakfast so we can comment on something š
I LOVE your weekly breakfast menu- what a fun idea. Two questions for you: 1. What do you suggest for quick breakfasts on the road (or is it better to wake up 45 min earlier to fix it before work?) and
2. Where do you buy steel cut oats? What kinds of healthy foods do you recommend that we could buy at Target or Smiths Marketplace?
Breakfast is my one meal that I enjoy all by myself every day. I typically have a huge bowl of Kashi Autumn Wheat with soy milk, a little flax and covered with raisins or blueberries. Once in a while I will have a hard boiled egg but the cereal usually does it for me. I savor every bite and this particular breakfast seems to keep me full the longest. I have no idea how many calories. Oh, and let’s not forget the coffee I MUST have.
And by the way, I am FAR from perfect. I wish diet coke was my only vice!
I love me some breakfast, man. So do my teammates. Going along with what you were saying, my teammate M will eat 2 donuts, cereall with milk, and some eggs for breakfast usually- then not be hungry for the rest of the day. I’m the same way, minus the donuts. And don’t judge, we totally burn it off during practice.
I agree that big b-fast is the way to go. My mother was one of those old style types that “wouldn’t let us out of the house without breakfast”. If it were my grandmother than it would have to be a warm breakfast. but who has time to make warm (nutritious bfasts anymore, not me.
i tend to think about breakfast as getting out of the starting gate for a longer race – you hit the ground running hard and fast, so I eat pretty big bfasts, and then taper off with a slight increase at dinner. Althought I eat on average about 5-8 times per days – ranging from full blown meals (bfast, lnch, and din) to a range of various snack times. Like, for example, every single day at10 am and 4 pm – must snack. Usually a rice cake or two w/ peanut butter in the am and a fruit and nuts, or trail mix in the afternoon.
i also think that the am bfast is great energy for a morning workout (kambo) – without it I have nothing!
anyhow, every morning, pretty much without fail I eat a bowl of cottage cheese topped with high fibre, low sugar cereal (shredded wheat and bran, made by post – it gives you wick gas, but tastes nice and is really good for you), fruit (including raisins). Coffee. Lots of it, but black. And last but not least the protein shake. Interesting, or perhaps really it is not that interesting at all, i tend to end my day with a snack not all that difference from what I start it with. Every night before bed I make myself a low sugar high fiber protein smoothie. I think going to bed without meal is ridiculously obtuse, especially if you are trying to take your training to the next level. Sleep, while being generally good (sorry if you have kids) is also a great time to rebuild muscle damage, etc – eating low sugar, high fiber and protein before bed = good.
cool post.
thanks.
Lethological and Grounded Fitness – Hey, I’m all about finding what works for YOU! All the studies in the world aren’t worth anything if they don’t help enrich your life. Glad you ladies found what works!
Sagan – mmmm….apple challenge. You’re on!
Determinedtobefit – I really like the idea of multiple mini meals. Given my morning schedule it’s generlaly not practical but I do think it is a really good idea!
wyndymoon – interesting observation about breakfast foods!
JavaChick – I’m glad you found what works best for your morning! LOVE honeycrisps…
Best Soy Latte – Aw, you just made my whole day!! Glad you found what breakfast works for your mornings!
SeaBreeze – I love the idea of the mini meals. I do eat that way in the afternoon (oh, wait, that’s more like constant grazing… hmmm)
RooBabs – Great point about the high-vol, low-cal foods! I think you are right on.
ChileRocks – I know, all the comments kinda surprised me. But hey, you’re right, breakfast is universal! As for your Q’s: Breakfast on the road – my fave is 2 eggs microwaved (only takes 1 min) wrapped in a warm whole-wheat tortilla with fresh spinach leaves and a sprinkle of cheese. Whole thing only takes like 3 minutes to throw together. Add a piece of fruit and it’ll keep you full for hours! 2 – I buy my steelcut oats at Rainbow in the bulk section. They are organic and only cost 86 cents a pound – cheaper even than the Quaker stuff! And there is lots of healthy stuff you can buy at your regular grocery store. My rule of thumb is the less processed, the better. Dry beans, fresh produce, nuts, greek yogurt, etc.
Darcy – AMEN to eating breakfast alone!! And that Kashi Autumn cereal is one of my absolute faves. Although honestly I like all of their cereals…mmmm
Adria – Dude, did you see what I eat for breakfast? And I’m not even an athlete! I’m so not judging you – you rock!
honeycrisps are my second favorite apple right behind pink ladies.
breakfast for me today was BAD. had to wake up at 4:15 to catch a 6:30 flight back home (boy and i went to minny for a wedding) so we split the last leftover slice of bacon quiche. oops.
when i got picked up from the airport, i made my dad stop and get me a bagel with cream cheese and a glass of juice from einstein’s on the way home.
i’m also so a breakfast person. it is my favorite meal of the day!
Carbs? I thought carbs were evil!
And Honeycrisps are yummers.
Great Post! I don’t think it can be stressed enough just how beneficial eating breakfast really is. I’m especially a big believer in adding more fiber into every meal because it does really make you feel full longer.