Clearly, if my first energy in the morning is simply nothing or coffee, cigarettes, or some processed, sweet drinks, this will not provide me with the right substance for the entire day.
The question is: What would you like to achieve with this? Many of us skip the breakfast as they believe they can reduce or maintain their weight with this method. Generally, there is nothing to say against an 8hrs diet, i.e. to limit food intake to 8 hours per day and keep a 16-hour long break afterwards. In my opinion, however, this is not the healthiest method, even if it may seemingly lead to the desired weight goal. Or you can reschedule it accordingly, which I will now explain to you in detail.
I was brought up with my Grandma’s saying:
Breakfast was always very important at my house, in order to pack enough concentration for school, start the day smoothly and collectedly, and kick it off with energy.
Well, what would be some arguments against this? Does starving in the morning actually lead to your desired weight or is it simply a new trend?
Coffee subtitute – how about Matcha?
Generally, food intake produces energy in the body as the entire digestive tract will be set in motion beginning in the morning which also starts thermogenesis.
So if we enjoy breakfast in the morning, we will activate the process of thermogenesis in our body, and thus stimulate our metabolism. Studies have proven that the metabolism may be increased if you ingest more food in the morning than in the evening. It is enough to shift even 15% of your daily food intake to the morning. It is really better if you skip or reduce dinner instead. So you can kill two birds with one stone as there are no arguments against the 8-hour day if you eat your evening meal earlier or skip it once in a while. Thus, you will have your 16-hour long break until breakfast.
Another argument for eating something in the morning, is that you won’t experience the strong cravings and feeling of hunger and can enjoy lunch more consciously. When you are really starved, your brain will switch to emergency mode and expedited food intake. Consequently, you will only eat something that you can have quickly; a fast sandwich or a prepackaged meal with low energy and high sugar and fat content, as the insulin wants to be raised.
Also, your lunch portions will clearly be larger and your stomach will expand. In an empty state our stomach has a volume of 50ml but with good training it can expand to up to 2l. The more we eat over-sized portions, the less quickly we feel satiated, and are now locked in a rat race leading to weight gain.
All arguments point towards including a good breakfast, even if it may be small, in your daily routine.
Green smoothie with avocado, kiwi, lime, apple and banana
A Bircher muesli without oats but instead with chia seeds, peeled hemp seeds, flax seeds, sunflower and pumpkin seeds, as well as nuts in nut milk or yogurt soaked overnight.
A Quinoa muesli tastes great as well. You can cook it or let it sprout for 1.5 days until the first sprouts appear and then use as Bircher muesli. You will ingest additional energy through these living foods.
I also love my green smoothies and matcha tea in the morning. If I already had my first training in the morning, I really enjoy my protein power smoothie adding my granola on top or scrambled eggs with spinach (vegan or real).
Of course, breakfast does not equal breakfast as you can tell. I would recommend to avoid sugar loaded or highly fatty foods and dishes and try some of my tips instead.
Ingredients
Preparation
First cook quinoa gently at low heat for approx. 15 minutes with water and nut milk. Add sweeteners, lemon juice, walnuts, ginger, salt, cinnamon, and cardamom. Shut off heat and let soak for 10 more minutes. Add more water if needed. Add blackberries before serving and stir gently.
Blueberry Banana Smoothie
Ingredients
Preparation
Mix all ingredients in your Wellville Natureblend (or similar high performance blender) until smooth.
