1.Dairy products besides butter
That’s right! Forget about a cup of milk for breakfast, a bowl of yogurt or a piece of toast with cheese.
The topic about dairy products, is a reason to write a whole book, but I will explain you some of the reasons to avoid dairy products and why you should exclude them from your breakfast, if you want to feel good.
There are a lot of arguments if eating dairy is healthy or not. I wrote on the topic HERE.
Remember that dairy products are as good as the source they come from – i.e. this automatically turns dairy products, bought from the supermarket into something you wouldn’t like to eat.
Second, the main problem with dairy products is pasteurization. Although, pasteurization decreases the risk of contamination in milk, it also kills the beneficial probiotics in milk, changes the characteristics of proteins and transforms milk from a source of nutrients, into a source of health problems. Do you know that in order for the process of pasteurization to be considered successful, one condition should be met – all living organisms should be killed. What does that tell you?
Besides that, pasteurization turns lactose ( the milk sugar) in beta lactose sugars, which the body absorbs faster and which lead to a sudden peak in our blood sugar levels.
Do you know that it is exactly these peaks of blood sugar levels and the sudden drops that follow them, that cause hunger soon after we have eaten and cause the feeling of sluggishness and lack of energy?
How often do you happen to eat in the morning and two hours after that, you are hungry, even though the good quantity of food you ate? The reason is in these high and low cycles of blood sugar levels.
Besides that, on this stage of evolution, few people, digest lactose when we get older. After the age of 4-5, we lose the enzyme, that digests lactose. Then, by eating dairy products, we cannot digest them, and foods, that we cannot digest, lead to inflammation in the body, which in turn provoke other diseases like allergies, autoimmune diseases, mood swings, food intolerances ( HERE you can read more about the Bible of food intolerances. I recommend you this post.)
If you’ve been reading my blog, you are probably aware that in the foundation of my convictions is the fact that excess fat is a result of the improper functioning of the body and an indication that there is some kind of a problem in the body. Inflammation and food intolerances, are one of the main reasons for feeling bloated, sluggish, having mood swings and having a hard time to lose weight.
That’s why you better avoid dairy products in your breakfast.
Still, you can use butter. Even though it is a dairy product, butter is a lot healthier, because milk proteins ( those that harm us), are not present in butter. The small amount of milk proteins that are left in milk, are being enzymatically modified, during the fermentation process of butter. That’s why most people don’t have problems eating butter. You can try clarified butter(GHEE).
If you want to completely exclude dairy products, I recommend you coconut butter, which is a great source of fats in your healthy nutrition.
2.Sugar, including FRUITS
I know that you feel perplexed. You’ve been thought that it is great to start your day with fruits and I am telling you the opposite. I have a post about women and fruit diets ( read it HERE).
You know that I have tried all types of diets and I have experimented with myself – A LOT. There were moments, when my breakfast included fruits. I didn’t eat a huge quantity – just a piece of fruit added to my usual breakfast.
I used to have breakfast and an hour later I was already starving ( but the feeling of hunger was a little bit different than the one when you haven’t eaten for a long period of time). This hunger, was accompanied by a lack of energy and a sudden change in my mood.
I read a lot and I realized that the problem was with the source of carbs in my breakfast ( check out why you better skip the carbs in your breakfast). I tried to remove fruits from my breakfast and on the first day, I already felt great. I ate eggs, avocado and veggies. I didn’t feel hungry till lunch and I had energy. Since then, I don’t eat that much fruit and when I do, it is during the second half of the day.
Besides that, in the morning, the body needs more sodium than potassium, so the blood pressure could go up. Eating fruits, in the morning ( which contain more potassium), leads to a decrease in the blood pressure. Low blood pressure, in the morning, steals our energy. As I mentioned earlier, when we eat sugar ( no matter the form of sugar), blood sugar goes up and then curtly falls down. As it goes down, our blood pressure decreases as well. These drops of blood sugar levels, cause the feeling of sluggishness, inability to focus and food cravings.
Removing sugar and excluding fruits from your breakfast, could be one of the best decisions you’ve made.
And do not forget that fruit smoothies count as well.
3.Grains
Our favorite grains. How could you start your day healthy, if you do not start it with oats or a toast! Sure, this is just a joke! Our notions about healthy breakfast, led us to the lack of health.
Here, I want explain in details about the harm of grains. You can read more about it in these posts:
The Truth About Grains: Why They Make You Sick?
Part 1: Why Grains Are NOT Healthy?
Part 2: Why Grains Are NOT Healthy?
Foods that contain gluten are addictive. They break down in the gut into opiates, which binds with the same receptors in the brain, as other opiates like heroin. If we eat grains, on a daily basis, our brain gets addicted as it would do with drugs. We start wanting more and more. We need a bigger quantity, just so we can satisfy our receptors. That’s why we feel the urge to eat, that’s why we experience mood swings and body discomfort.
Starting the day with grains is one of the biggest mistakes we could make.
4.Skipping breakfast
A lot of people, especially women, in their desire to lose weight, do their best to avoid eating some calories. We decide that t is better to skip breakfast and eat for lunch. Before you rush telling me, that I am wrong because fasting works, I will tell you that I completely agree. I am a fan of fasting, as well, but in order for it to work, we should follow the protocol.
What most people do, is skip breakfast, then they try to decrease the amount of calories on all other meals. This doesn’t give the body what it needs and makes it starve. We feel a lack of energy and we are constantly thinking about food. Thus, we do not have energy and our life is obeyed to the thoughts of food. There comes a moment, when we can’t go on like this and when we do not follow the fasting protocol, properly, and we starve, our body takes a toll on us, and there comes a time when we feast on every food.
If you can’t follow the IF properly, you better stay away from skipping breakfast.
We all know what we shouldn’t do, but what could we do in order to feel better?
I will share with you my morning ritual:
Every morning I get up at 5:30a.m.
I take 10-15 times for my foam roller and tennis ball; I do mobility drills and I practice my handstand. In these 10-15 minutes, I include 15-20 squats and 15-20 push-ups. It doesn’t take a lot of time and it is a great start of the day. You do not train, but you move and you feel energized.
While I am doing the exercises, I listen to an interesting podcast. I don’t always do it, because I love silence. Depending on my mood, I either move in silence or while listening to something motivating and enriching.
Then I prepare a tea, which I drink, while I write my morning post.
If I have trained the day before, I always take a cold shower.
Do I eat? It depends on my schedule. If I have more workouts with my clients ( because my workday starts at 6:45 a.m.), I have a breakfast of eggs, avocado, olives and veggies.
If I have less workouts, I prepare natural cocoa with coconut butter ( I don’t drink coffee anymore). If I don’t make cocoa, I take a bottle with homemade bone stock. Thus, I have energy for the next 2-3 hours. After the workouts, I have breakfast which is always different, but I eat eggs/ meat/ fish+ avocado and olives+ veggies ( sometimes it is a salad, sometimes stewed veggies).
If you drink coffee, instead of cocoa with coconut butter, try Bulletproof Coffee.
How could you start the day so you could be in great shape?
Wake up early. Do some exercises. Don’t train, just move.
If you are hungry, prepare a breakfast of eggs, avocado, olives and a variety of veggies. If you are not hungry, prepare your food for later on or start your day with Bulletproof coffee.
The morning determines the way our day goes. That’s why you shouldn’t neglect your morning ritual and the way you fuel your body!