Over the winter I made some changes to my diet and for a time gave up wheat and gluten. In that I decided to give up eating my former daily choice of an oat bran and egg white mixture as my first meal. Many times I would eat it and then get to the gym or on with my day and feel lethargic. Since I eat a pretty low-sugar diet, I have an insulin sensitivity and could feel when too many carbs had gone in my system at one time. I had to come up with a Plan B for breakfast ans this is what I chose: meats and nuts!
It sounds crazy and goes against a typical American high-carb breakfast (bagels, donuts, muffins, pancakes, waffles, cereal, oatmeal), but it’s my new rhythm and I love it! I learned the strategy when I was searching “gluten-free bodybuilder” online and came across this awesome educator, Ben Pakulski.
In his article, “I don’t think I will ever eat carbs for breakfast….“, he goes into great detail on the why on the concept. Another well-known leader in the wellness industry, Charles Polequin, also promotes a meat and nut breakfast to start the day. So once I discovered these ideas, I had to try it, and my body has been smiling BIG!
So what is the rationale behind this concept? The science is that what you start your day doing sets your body up for the remainder of the day. By introducing a higher fat and protein content into your system first, you teach your body how to fuel off fats and proteins. Otherwise your body will be looking to fuel off of carbs and sugars for the day, setting you up for cravings.
Why is the meat helpful? “The secret is that meat, due to its high protein content, creates a gradual blood sugar increase throughout the day. Sugar and other simple carbs may give you a quick boost, but their lack of protein means that good feeling won’t last. Several studies have also focused on employee productivity and the attention patterns of children in relation to their morning eating habits. They’ve concluded that the energy and mental focus benefits of a high-protein breakfast aren’t only felt in the morning, but extend through the afternoon as well.” (Source: Bodybuilding.com)
Why are the nuts beneficial? “Nuts are wonderful sources of healthy fats that help your body maintain the blood sugar level stable for long periods. They support not only heart health, but balance blood sugar. In real life terms, stable blood sugar translates to consistent energy and alertness, rather than staggering around in a hypoglycemic glaze looking for an easy carb fix.” (Source: Bodybuilding.com)
Here is what Ben has to say about his results on the plan:
“I just truthfully feel that I have much more consistent energy throughout the entire day, not just in the morning. I crave much less, especially while dieting. My MOOD is more consistent. I capitalize this for all the grumpy dieters out there, give it a try. My workouts are more consistent, whether I train after meal 1 or meal 5, what I eat for breakfast makes a difference.
The biggest of all, is that my body fat drops much faster than when I eat carbs at meal one. Ive been dieting for contests twice a year every year since 2005, and since I stopped consuming carbs at meal one (and no carbs pre workout as well-for full disclosure), I have never done so little cardio in my life, and my body fat drops faster than ever.”
I italicized the last line because I, too, am in contest prep right now (a caloric deficit for my upcoming bodybuilding shows), and my body fat has dropped down to 10-12% doing the SAME workouts I was in my building season, only adding one additional 15-minute cardio session (two in total for the week), and slowly pulling calories out of my diet from April-August. I didn’t have to go to crazy cardio and super low-calorie measures to get a positive response from my system. My food choices, timing, and consistent monitoring of the diet does if for me!
So what food choices work for me to start my day?
I like to rotate between almonds and walnuts as my nuts of choices. My meats vary between lean beef such as flank steak or organic, grass-fed ground beef, 93% or 99% turkey, or sometimes a salmon or tuna (but those are rare). I do not eat chicken because for me I have an inflammatory response and hold a lot of water weight. I discovered that in 2013 and quit eating it since then. Most recently I also gave up eggs and even more recently egg whites because again, my body pitches inflammation to them (they are one of the top inflammatory foods), but I do put them in from time to time now.
I also like to add a scoop of pico de gallo to my mixtures and some butter or coconut oil in my coffee. Then I’ll enter in carbs postworkout if I train early in the day OR closer to lunch time and then all the way through dinner. I feel SO good on this pattern and if you’re interested in seeing if it works for you, give it a go for 2-6 weeks and see how your body responds. Keep me posted. I’d love to know!