Mom Was Right About Breakfast
We’ve all heard it before…breakfast is the most important meal of the day. It does make sense, folks. After starving the body for 8-12 hours on average, the body needs fuel for the day ahead. If the tank is empty, going to work, exercising and any other daily tasks become increasingly difficult. Therefore, I have to agree with the mothers of the world when it comes to breakfast, but what about the actual make-up of the meal?
Most people get carbohydrate crazy at breakfast, often eating very unbalanced meals with barely a hint of protein (or fat for that matter). This can leave you yearning for more food sooner rather than later, setting up a consistent feeding pattern that is hard to control. Luckily, this is NOT most of the MyFitTribe community, but this doesn’t mean I don’t see an equally disturbing problem. You guessed it…the exact opposite. Far too many members are limiting or eliminating carbohydrates, even at breakfast. Protein is plentiful, in the form of eggs, cottage cheese, breakfast meats or protein shakes, but the grains are hard to come by. Some folks do incorporate some oatmeal, but this is often the only carbohydrate I see, with the exception of some fruit introduced sporadically here or there. I can certainly understand the desire to minimize processed carbohydrates in the AM, but we need to remember the primary function of carbohydrates in the body…energy. And what fuel source do we use when we workout, especially when strength training? That’s right, carbohydrates. And what will our bodies do with excess protein in the absence of carbohydrate? You guessed it…the liver will convert it to sugar.
Balance at breakfast means having carbohydrates, proteins and some fats, in that order. There are lots of options available, so don’t limit yourself to two or three items. It sounds cliché, especially from a dietitian, but use balance, variety and moderation to guide your choices. There may be specific times of the day or periods during a training cycle when one macronutrient will be manipulated to a certain level, but for most exercisers (even hard-core exercisers), breakfast is simply not it. Use common sense and prepare yourself adequately for your daily activities.
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so true...
I was in a rush yesterday morning and passed on eating breakfast... I ran outta gas 2 hours later and couldn't concentrate. Thanks for the reminder!
Hey Brian...
Just to let you guys know, sometimes I eat a massive bowl of oats for breakfast & no eggs. But the oats I use are rolled oats & they are packed with 4 times more protein than some other brands out there. I say this because although my cals from proteins have dropped, my muscles are still full & strong. So it's not all about the protein. In simple terms, if i'm not mistaken it's the carbs that fuel your muscles. The proteins just help them grow & heal. Lack of carbs & your body feeds on itself. Am I right?
My Favorite Breakfast
So the instant I wake up, even before the shower and all... I have a protein shake (40g)... then about 2 hours later I have my big breakfast which consists of:
- 6 egg whites
- 1 piece of Genesis 1:29 Organic Sprouted 100% Whole Grain & Seed Bread (Naked...nothing on it> but toasted)
- 1 avocado
- 1 banana
- 6oz fat free yogurt with 1/4 cup whole grain granola
- 10oz H2O
I eat mostly fruit at
I eat mostly fruit at breakfast, which is an improvement from no fruit at all. from what im reading, your suggesting i add some protein?
Hey bro...
Every single meal should be just that. A meal. Just make sure that you get in more carbs - eg. 1.5 cups oats, 6 egg whites (including 2 whole according to Jamo), 1 banana. You get the gist... but good job with the fruits!
Good article
Very interesting, I always used to hate having breakfast when I was younger, would much have prefered the extra lie in before going to school, so I would usually have a cereal bar or something on the way!
What fruits would you reccomend to have if goal is to lose weight? I am having strawberries with almost every meal at the moment :)
Thanks.
amen!
Well I'm on a tight budget so I dont have all the food amenities at my disposal. But my breakfast looks like this:
1 cup oatmeal
multi-vitamin (high quality -> two-a-day timed release)
MRP powder (has an adequate amount of vitamins and minerals as well)
naturally more (peanut butter fortified with flaxseed, flaxseed oil, and honey: high in omega 3's, 6's)
fruit (sometimes)
Today it took me almost 40 minutes to eat the bowl of oatmeal LOL (i mix everything together, except the multi is a pill).
Macronutrients alone, I've got my proportions covered, but as far as getting vitamins and minerals from my foods, well i dont.. but i realize that and the next best thing would be a multi, right?
"Obsession is a term the lazy use to describe the dedicated" - Anon.
"Shoot for the stars, you might just reach the sky" - Unknown
its amazing and funny...
that you see the exact opposite here.
I find it true, often, and consistent in my experiences that those who dont eat right, dont train, dont exercise and dont care about their health eat high sugary foods at breakfast and most of them eat cereal with a lot of milk, and usually donuts, even more carbs..
and quite the opposite is in fact bad that those who CARE about their health, end up eating super healthy muscle foods at breakfast such as eggs with some egg whites, possibly as brian mentioned a piece of fruit, but sadly even rarely here, canadian bacon (because they realize this bacon is healthy) but other bacon is not, and of course a small small bowl of oatmeal, or even some high fiber toast with peanut butter. again. no carbs, barely! and lots of protein and fat. this makes me question our thinking a lot, especially as far as the fruit goes. why do you guys/gals get so AFRAID of fruit.
If you're healthy and exercise please dont eliminate fruits because you think carbs are bad. . Brian help me out here. It seems everyone is so afraid of fruit. If you put it in your body, natural foods, nature has its way of assembling its food. Its packaged perfectly for your body, despite pesticides and hormones :( but that's another story.
Fruits and veggies are necessary. Dont forget about the (micro)-nutrients! :) There is this big problem with those who think about "healthy" foods as having good ratios of FATS, CARBS and PROTEIN. This is absolutely wrong. dont forget about the ingredients, there are SO many chemicals and additives that aren't good for your body. Let's shift this the other way around to think about the healthy ingredients first, then the nutrient density, and THEN if it still passes the test, check out the carbs,fats and proteins to see WHEN it would be most optimal to put it into your diet.
Its even worse when you start to exercise, train hard and then stop eating carbs, than if you were sedentary and ate the same amount of low carbs.
I know Jamo agrees with me here. His only suggestion will be to limit the types of fruits you eat if you're really really serious about cutting body fat quickly and getting lean. But he himself promotes fruit consumption especially when trying to put on size and maintain.
I hope I helped a bit guys/gals!
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Priming your body before a workout [Warmup]: http://www.myfittribe.com/forums/best-ways-prevent-treat-post-work-out-s...
Absolutely!
As a matter of fact, as you talk about mothers being right, it was my Mom who put her foot down when I told her about my boring breakfast, telling me that it's not good enough. Although this was just a few weeks ago, i've made some changes & I still look & feel the same. So I 2nd this article from my own personal experience!
Thanks bro...
Great article
great article Brian.. thank you for posting this... SOME FATS, i'll add this to my breakfast starting tom..