According to Dr. Eric Braverman, author of "The Edge Effect", the first thing you put in your mouth dictates your neurotransmitters all day. So basically, the first thing you eat sets the stage for the whole day.
Most people I talk to about nutrition, I either find out that they don't eat breakfast or they eat a horrible one.
Have you ever eaten anything first thing in the morning and within 15 to 20 minutes felt like you should go back to bed? That's a tell-tale sign that you shouldn't be eating that.
The two neurotransmitters we want to raise with a good breakfast are dopamine and acetyl-choline. Considered brain speed and brain power. If you eat foods that raise them, you'll feel awake for starters, and damn good I might add.
This is why when I consult someone on nutrition, for whatever their reason may be (lose fat, build muscle, cut weight for a tournament etc.), I deal with breakfast first.
Here's a food log I just got from one of my athletes, which is way better than most peoples I might add.
Breakfast: 11 am
Oats N Honey Granola Bar
32 oz of water
Lunch: 4:30 pm
Chipotle Burrito Bowl (steak, corn, black beans, rice)
48 oz of water
Snack: 7:30 pm
Hamburger Patty, Side Salad w/ Vinaigrette Dressing
48 oz of water
Dinner: 10:30 pm
9 oz Fillet Mignon, Side Salad (no dressing), Steamed Broccoli
80 oz of water
According to his food log, he also took 2 teaspoons of fish oil before bed.
Like I said, this isn't that bad compared to what I usually see. EXCEPT FOR BREAKFAST.
Breakfast should be the biggest meal of the day. This will quick start your metabolism since it hasn't been doing much from sleeping eight hours (read this post on the importance of sleep).
Granola sucks for you. It's not a health food like the cereal and grain industry want you to believe. It's nothing more than processed and refined grains and sugar.
If possible, I like to start my day with red meat (my favorites are grass fed beef, bison, or ostrich patty with eggs or a handful of nuts. The patty is about half a pound, 4 whole eggs if I'm having them (don't throw out the yolk, it's the healthiest part of the egg) or if it's nuts I any of the following:
- cashews (my personal favorite)
- macadamia nuts
- brazil nuts
- walnuts
- almonds
Of course, there's tons more. The one I'm not a fan of is peanuts. There's to much used in everyday cooking which causes a peanut allergen for a lot of people.
And the last thing I have is a paleo greens drink (I tried to post the picture right next to this paragraph but apparently you can't so it's at the top. This is a product that is phenomenal for you made by Designs For Health. I'm not a great cook, usually pressed for time, and honestly don't like vegetables that much (at least when I make them). So I choose to drink them instead. You end up getting like four servings of organic vegetables with just a tablespoon in 8 to 10 ounces of water. And it tastes good to boot.
That's it. Changing just breakfast alone will make a huge difference for anyone either missing it completely, or eating crap like the food log above.
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