DINNER FOR BREAKFAST???

(Why you should start your day with protein!)

We have all heard it many times – “Breakfast is the most important meal of the day.” However, what we are not told is that what you eat for breakfast is equally, if not more, important.  When it comes to body composition and overall general health, foods we commonly associate as “breakfast foods” are actually detrimental to your health and are keeping you from having the lean body you really desire.

From a very young age, we are taught what constitute “breakfast foods”.  Unfortunately, these iconic breakfast foods are actually holding you back from the body you want and may be harming your overall general health. What we choose to eat for breakfast has an effect on our hormones and neurotransmitters for the rest of the day. Starting the morning off with traditional breakfast foods such as bagels, cereal and whole grains has a negative effect on our insulin levels. Insulin, the fat storage hormone, is most sensitive in the morning and eating grains and sugar first thing in the morning causes a spike in insulin levels and blood sugar, setting you up for a hard crash a couple of hours later. This not only tells your body to burn less fat, but it causes you to keep craving carbohydrates and sugar the rest of the day in an effort for your body to maintain a stable blood sugar.  This can cause you to overeat and tells your body to store more fat.

You know that feeling at 2 o’clock in the afternoon when you’re craving coffee and a chocolate bar? Yep, that’s more likely to happen when you’ve started your day on the “sugar rollercoaster”.  So what should you be having for breakfast?  Protein!  But more specifically, protein from either grass fed/pastured or organically raised animals. Think “dinner for breakfast.” Eating animal protein in the morning doesn’t cause a spike in insulin and doesn’t send your blood sugar sky high only to crash a few hours later. In fact, studies show that starting your day off with protein from an animal source actually PREVENTS you from overeating and helps you to make better food choices the rest of the day. Eating animal protein in the morning sets our neurotransmitters, the chemical messengers in the brain, up to favor more dopamine and serotonin, the motivation and “feel good” hormones of the brain. So, yes, eating protein in the morning can actually put you in a better mood and make you more productive.

We teach that what you put in your mouth in the morning affects not only how you feel, but what you decide to put in your mouth throughout the day.  So don’t be afraid to grab a piece of chicken, some eggs, nitrate/nitrite free organic chicken sausage, or even (my personal favorite) a grass-fed steak in the morning, and adopt the “dinner for breakfast” mentality. You will positively affect your hormones and will begin to notice changes in your body composition, energy levels and mood!

Justin Farrar

For more information on upgrading your nutrition, contact Justin Farrar at [email protected]