5 Things To Do To Start Being a Breakfast Person
Are you a sweet breakfast person, a savory breakfast person, or a no breakfast person?This was a question I asked a group of girls at a local intuitive eating group I hosted with my church a little less than a year ago. And I was shocked when I found out how many people skipped breakfast! I just can't relate because I've always been a breakfast person. I absolutely can NOT function without eating something before I head out the door!
But I know that's not everyone. I get that. But I do want to share with you a couple of reasons why you should consider being a breakfast person and what to do to get started on owning that habit as your own.Join team breakfast with me, won't you!?
WHY YOU SHOULD BE A BREAKFAST PERSON IF YOU'RE NOT ALREADY
I'm sure you've read around the internet and in magazines things here and there that say "yes, be a breakfast person" or "no, you should skip breakfast". But all in all, it boils down to what does your body have to say about the topic.The reality is, after sleeping 7, 8, 9 hours or however much you sleep at night, your body is going to need some nourishment. That's a fact. And in order to wake up, get to work, be productive, and be who you are meant to be you need some calories, girl!I always recommend to women I work with to try and at least eat SOMETHING within 1 hour of waking. It doesn't have to be much, though eating a large breakfast that satisfies you can be so beneficial if you're a busy person with not a lot of time during the day to snack. By eating something, you're telling your body, "hey, I'm not starving and I can relax around food when I finally do get to eat!"
The alternative oftentimes is this: skip breakfast (or not eating enough at breakfast), down coffee to try and get by, hunger is suppressed for a little while, but then all of a sudden it's noon and you are RAVENOUS! You eat everything in sight, feel out of control, and probably end up eating past fullness. You probably didn't taste anything you ate either!So, eating breakfast can be the remedy you've been looking for if you've found yourself getting to lunch or even dinner and feeling out of control. Our body's response to not eating at regular times is to binge (a natural way your body protecting you because not eating makes it feel unsafe). So, I do want to help you out if you're like..."Victoria, I just can't eat breakfast. I'm not hungry and food makes me feel nauseous that early!"I realize not everyone wakes up with a large appetite in the morning. But I am convinced that with a couple tweaks in your routine you, too, will look forward to breakfast!
START YOUR MORNING WITH QUIET.
This took me FOREVER to finally implement in my own morning routine. But for about the last year I've been diligent about waking up early and immediately spending time in prayer and reading my bible. Whatever your beliefs are, having a quiet and set time each morning to be with yourself and/or God is so crucial to setting your mindset up for a joy-filled day!And, with regards to breakfast, this quiet time spent in the morning can help you wake up more and be more inclined to hunger. Rarely do I wake up and immediately feel hungry...and I'm a pretty big eater in the morning! But when I first start my morning with about 10-15 minutes of quiet time, by the time I'm through I'm starting to feel the hunger.
LEAVE COFFEE FOR AFTER YOU EAT.
Coffee naturally suppresses appetite. So by grabbing that cup of coffee immediately when you wake up before you eat anything, you may not notice your body's natural hunger cues. Hold off on coffee until you're either eating OR you've eaten something already.I had one client make this small change and see some amazing results! She started noticing her appetite actually was there when she woke up, she had just been masking it by drinking coffee first thing in the morning! Once she started to eat breakfast FIRST, and then enjoy coffee, she felt more controlled around food and less crazy by noon...BECAUSE she listened to her body and ate a solid breakfast she was actually hungry for.
MAKE TIME TO "COOK" BREAKFAST.
I've talked about the importance of connecting with food through cooking before, but the same thing applies to eating breakfast. By actually spending time to cook food, whether that involves pulling out the frying pan or simply throwing some toast in the toaster, you elicit all sorts of sensations that help your body prepare to eat!
Try this next time you wake up...Maybe you start your morning with some quiet time or morning yoga or something, then you head to the kitchen and start cooking something. Oatmeal in a pot, toast in a toaster, fry up some eggs and bacon...whatever you're feeling that day. Notice your body's response. You probably start to salivate a little. Your mind starts to think about how the food will taste. You anticipate that food in your mouth.All of these sensations happening in your body are getting you ready to eat. Cooking is so good for us in this way! It helps our bodies prepare to eat and digest.Try this little trick tomorrow when you wake up. Maybe you have to wake up 30 minutes earlier. But I guarantee your body will thank you! Let me know if you noticed any difference!
EAT DINNER EARLIER.
If you're eating a big dinner at 8 or 9 o'clock, chances are you may not be super hungry when you wake up. Try as best as you can to eat earlier at, say, 6 or 7. This isn't always possible, but eating earlier will help get you ready to wind down earlier and go to bed earlier so that you're well rested and ready to power through the day. It will also help you to be hungry instead of groggy when you wake up.
Planning is key when it comes to having dinner ready earlier on a regular basis. One thing I've found that really helps is preparing a list of meals I want to cook during the week, getting the appropriate groceries over the weekend, and then already choosing the specific meal I want to cook before I get home from work. If I wait until I get home, chances are I'll waste time trying to figure out what I want to make. And if I haven't even thought of meals to prepare, I'll spend way too much time scrounging through the kitchen trying to piece- meal dinner together.
HAVE A SET COUPLE BREAKFASTS YOU ENJOY EATING!
Whether you're a savory or sweet breakfast person, have a handful of "typical" breakfasts you enjoy that you keep items for in your fridge and pantry each week.Here's a couple of my personal favorites:
toast with peanut butter + jam or banana
oatmeal with peanut butter, nuts, fruit, etc
eggs with sausage, sweet potato, stir fried kale
egg and veggie scramble + side of apple and peanut/almond butter
full fat organic yogurt with granola or a handful of nuts and seeds + fruit and honey
So, think about your handful of breakfasts you enjoy. Go explore Pinterest (or check out my own for some inspiration :) ) and start a breakfast board! Write them down somewhere visible and you won't even have to think twice about what to eat in the morning! The hard work will already be done! I hope you enjoyed this post! And I hope you'll consider joining the #breakfastclub over here at Victoria Yates Nutrition! Let me see your breakfast creations by tagging @victoriayates.nutrition over on Instagram!