We have all heard it before…”Breakfast is the most important meal of the day.”
Well if breakfast is so important, then why do most breakfast tables look more like a dessert buffet line?
Sugary cereals, danishes and pastries, jellies and jams, pancakes and waffles swimming in syrup, sweet fruit juices, etc.
It’s true, breakfast is a very important meal; we just aren’t treating it that way.
If you’re getting adequate sleep, then come morning you have just awakened from what was essentially an 8 hour fast, and your body is starving for nutrients. What you choose to fuel it with has a huge impact on how you are able handle the day ahead.
Sugary breakfasts quickly lead to burnout, fatigue, mental fogginess, moodiness, etc. Not to mention the long-term ramifications of obesity, diabetes, heart disease, cancer, and all those other chronic diseases that we Americans affectionately nurture.
Is it any wonder that we get the least bang for our healthcare buck of any modernized country in the world? Heck, if you fed your dog this stuff every morning how long do you think he would last?
Instead of the standard American sugarfest, think of breakfast just as you would any other meal. Include a good source of lean protein such as eggs or egg whites, lean cuts of turkey or chicken, even fish if you can stomach it first thing in the morning. Once you break the sugar craving you’ll be able to eat pretty much anything for breakfast that you would at any other meal.
Add in a heavy dose of steamed veggies, or sautee them into an omelet.
Some fresh fruit and healthy fat like nuts, seeds, or almond butter round out the meal and can help to curb the sweet component that you might be craving.
Even if your breakfast isn’t tipping the sugar scales it is most likely still centered around grains and dairy, both of which wreak inflammatory havoc on the body. For a very informative, entertaining, and easy-to-understand look into how this inflammatory mechanism works, I recommend Rob Wolf’s book The Paleo Solution.
If you are not ready or willing to jump into the deep end of the pool right off the bat, start implementing small changes that will begin to tip the scales (literally) in your favor. Kick one donut to the curb and add an apple instead. Lose the cereal and fill that bowl with veggie scrambled eggs topped with fresh salsa.
Just start somewhere, whether it is substituting one component of a meal or eating a strict breakfast twice a week. As you continue to progress and you start seeing and feeling a difference in your body and your health, you’ll find that you don’t miss the sugar like you thought you would.
Your state of health is in direct proportion to the decisions you make and the habits you engage in on a daily basis. When you start each day with a good, nutritionally sound breakfast, you are not only making for a great day, but a great life!
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