Rule 4. Breakfast
Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. In the morning, the body starts its internal clock and sets biorhythms. The way we have breakfast will largely determine our well-being and energy during the day, hunger and satiety, as well as our mood and even sleep. For many people, morning is a time without appetite and joy, but this is not good. If you create a pleasant morning, you will wake up with a zest for life and a good appetite. This would mean you are on the right path to health! When my patients start the morning happily having satisfied their appetite, they recover faster.
A good breakfast helps to start the day well and keeps up the energy until evening! When you go for a trip and are low on petrol you immediately fill the tank full. So you are not afraid of running out of fuel. It is important at the start of the day to replenish your energy reserves so that your body works properly throughout.
How did the problem arise?
The faster pace of life and the lack of a daily regimen shift our schedule. Having a late supper and going to bed late results in waking up later, which leaves little or no time for making breakfast and having no appetite in the morning. All this forms a vicious circle that makes us shift the meals to a later time. Nowadays, about 30 percent of people do not have breakfast, many switches to brunch, and the number of calories consumed in the morning is rapidly decreasing.
How does it affect health?
Cardiovascular diseases. Scientific studies have confirmed that regular breakfast has a positive effect on the cardiovascular system and reduce the risk of many diseases. The absence of breakfast leads to the impaired lipid profile of the blood and an increase in atherosclerotic vascular lesions. Those who skip breakfast have one and a half times more atherosclerosis plaques. In addition, the risk of a heart attack and fatal ischemia increases.
Obesity and diabetes. Breakfast reduces the risk of metabolic syndrome, for instance, obesity, diabetes, and hypertension. Many obese people do not usually have breakfast or eat very little at breakfast time. Those who have breakfast regularly have a 30 percent less chance of obesity and a two-fold lower risk of diabetes.
Fertility. Breakfast affects the development of diseases that are difficult to associate with nutrition. For example, polycystic ovary genesis is associated with insulin resistance. Hearty breakfasts and low-calorie suppers increase insulin sensitivity and improve the hormonal profile increasing the chances of conception.
The hunger-satiety system. The absence of breakfast leads to impaired satiety and reduced hunger control throughout the day. Scientists have found that young people skipping breakfast eat 40 percent more sweets during the day.
Combine breakfast with bright sunlight, physical activity, and a pleasant awakening to guarantee a good start to the day.
Productivity, stress. A regular breakfast helps to improve concentration and stabilize blood sugar level. Children that have a regular breakfast have a higher IQ. Our stress resistance decreases if we don’t have breakfast. This is because we have the highest level of cortisol in the morning. This, combined with an absence of food, increases the risk of muscle destruction and the accumulation of fat.
Basic principles
A healthy breakfast consists of a regular, hearty, high-protein meal, eaten early with sufficient lighting. Such a breakfast promotes fat burning, while visceral fat, rather than subcutaneous fat, is more depleted, which results in a stronger decrease in waist circumference. Breakfast helps control ghrelin, so you are not hungry throughout the day. Breakfast stabilizes blood sugar fluctuations, and improves mood and productivity. Combine breakfast with bright sunlight, physical activity, and a pleasant awakening to guarantee a good start to the day. In fact, it is the morning that is essential for our health, as it allows us to restart, tune and synchronize the work of the circadian rhythm.
High-protein breakfast. High-protein food for breakfast is digested better and saturates more than during any other meal. A breakfast of two eggs is better than the same amount of calories from carbohydrates. Young people who had breakfast with a high amount of protein ate 200 kcal less for supper, and during the day did not feel like eating a snack. Breakfast must contain 50–80 grams of high-quality protein and a sufficient amount of fat. Carbohydrates for breakfast must constitute a smaller number of calories. Replace oatmeal with vegetables.
Breakfast diet. Breakfast must make up over 30 percent of the daily calorie intake. Eating a snack with a cup of coffee is not considered a real breakfast. Not only scientific research but also traditional wisdom mentions the importance of a hearty breakfast. For instance, enjoy breakfast all alone, share lunch with your best friend and give dinner to your enemy. Breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, dinner like a pauper, and so on.
Early breakfast. Have breakfast during the first hour after waking up. To be on time, get prepared for the evening. Once you get up, switch on the cooker and get to your morning routine.
Half an hour of morning sunlight is a scientifically proven and effective procedure for the healthy functioning of the circadian rhythm. In winter, you can have breakfast with the bright phototherapy lamps on.
Bright breakfast. Switch a bright light on when you wake up. Light will decrease the levels of melatonin and cortisol. The morning light improves insulin sensitivity which contributes to weight loss. Sunlight will improve your mood and increase dopamine production, as the retina has dopamine neurons in the form of a special retinal dopaminergic system. Half an hour of morning sunlight is a scientifically proven and effective procedure for the healthy functioning of the circadian rhythm. In winter, you can have breakfast with the bright phototherapy lamps on.
How to follow the rule? Ideas and tips.
Quick breakfast. The best breakfast is the one that you can cook in 10–15 minutes. The complicated dishes and food products with a long cooking time will not suit you. Use spices and herbs to give more bright taste to pep up your food.
Wake up calmly. An easy and pleasant morning awakening is an important sign of good health. Set your alarm with a pleasant melody with a gradual increase in volume. In the evening, visualize the time of waking up, and let the numbers stay in your memory. Play the process of waking up several times in your head, imagine how you wake up easily five minutes before the alarm and feel great. Focus on the anticipation of pleasantly waking up.
No appetite. If you have no appetite in the morning, make a light supper or skip it altogether. The impaired work of the hunger-satiety system sometimes leaves you without appetite in the morning, but as soon as your condition normalizes, your appetite will return.
Always wake up at the same time. Wake up at the same time, no matter what day of the week it is. Your body will get used to waking up in the right phase of sleep and you will get up easier. You can experiment by shifting the waking up time by 10–20 minutes earlier or later. But what do you need to do to sleep well? It’s simple, go to bed earlier the next day. This is a simple rule: wake up at the same time, and go to sleep when you get sleepy.
Use a lighting alarm. The lighting alarm gradually increases the brightness of the light and makes you wake up easily and quickly. This is a good and useful way and not as traumatic as a loud alarm sound.
Go out in the sun. A short walk or a jog outside in sunlight will fine-tune you and restore your appetite. Great, if you have a dog! Remember that sunlight is an amazing source of health and longevity; use every opportunity to see it, especially in the morning!
The lighting alarm gradually increases the brightness of the light and makes you wake up easily and quickly. This is a good and useful way and not as traumatic as a loud alarm sound.
Use a temperature alarm. Temperature is also a signal for our internal clock. At the end of the night, the temperature drops, and the blood vessels constrict, more blood enters the brain, and we wake up more easily. Cut the heating at night and you will wake up in a pleasant and cheerful coolness in the morning. The morning exercise and a shower will make you feel warmer, help get rid of sleepiness, and boost your energy. Open the windows wide, go to the balcony, and have a shower or bath.
Work up your appetite. Do the intense morning exercise, but no longer than 20 minutes. Playing sports outside followed by a cold shower, with a thorough rubbing of the body, is sure to increase your appetite.
A glass of water. Drink a glass of water after waking up. During the night you lose a little fluid, morning is the time to restore the water balance.
Avoid concentrated carbohydrates. You can eat low-carb vegetables and greens like cabbage, celery, spinach, and onions. The medium-starchy vegetables can also be considered. Don’t make your breakfast consisting only of cereal, even though it’s useful, or pasta.
Keep satiety until dinner. Use fats to prolong satiety. Ideally, your breakfast should stop you from thinking about food till dinner. To prolong satiety, add fats like butter, coconut oil, olive oil, and beef tallow.
A dessert for breakfast. For dessert, consider avocados, nuts, coconut, berries, and fruits. Nuts perfectly saturate and are good with tea or coffee.
Your oatmeal, sir. Contrary to myth, an English breakfast is not oatmeal, but eggs, bacon, and beans, i.e. high-protein foods. Many producers of cereals are actively promoting their products, but cereals for breakfast are not the best solution, as they are not enough to control appetite and energy until dinner.
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