It’s true what they say – “Breakfast is the most important meal of the day”. It helps to keep you fueled for the journey ahead and break your fast from your sleep. Many people skip breakfast, I used to as well before I started to lift weights. For me, I look forward to my morning breakfast! I make sure to never miss now and every day I usually eat the same thing now. This breakfast is a mix of protein, good carbs and healthy fats. It keeps me full until lunch time and I never feel overly full or bloated with this meal.
- 1 bottle of water
- 1 cup of black coffee with 1 natural sweetener packet
- 3 egg whites scrambled with some pepper
- 1/2 cup of organic oatmeal with 1 tbsp of natural peanut butter and cinnamon powder
Why I love oatmeal and really encourage you to add it as a staple in your breakfast routine:
Oatmeal is full of soluble fiber. It absorbs a large amount of water and slows down your digestion process so it makes you feel full for a lot longer than regular carbs. This helps you to snack less and not reach for other foods during your morning. It is also so easy and quick to make. I usually but the organic whole grain rolled oats from Shop Rite and they come in individual packets so it keeps my portion size correct. Each packet has 110 calories and is about 1/2 cup of oats. I add the packet of oats in the bowl, add 1 tbsp of natural peanut butter (for a good fat!), dash some cinnamon, add water then pop in the microwave for 1 minute. Oatmeal is also a good carb to eat when you are lifting and weight training as it gives me lots of energy for those heavy lifting days. Carbs are NOT the enemy and should be added to your diet when you need energy to fuel your workouts. So many people discount carbs and try to cut them out and then wonder why they are so tired during training. You wouldn’t drive your car on an empty tank would you?!
Below is the nutritional information for the Shop Rite oats that I eat every morning:
Start your day with some good lean protein:
Egg whites are a great way to get in protein without fat and carbs (which you are getting from your peanut butter and oatmeal). I usually make 3-4 egg whites as a scramble and add some black pepper to it. For under 75 calories I get about 15-18 grams of protein and virtually no fat or carbs. When weight training having a lot of protein is important for your muscles and I like to make sure to start the day with eggs to keep that momentum going. If you use ketchup for your eggs – stop. Most ketchup is loaded with sugar. If you need some flavor for your eggs try some salsa instead. I use a mild organic one when I need a bit of flavor and it has almost no calories or added sugars.
Nutritional information for egg whites is below:
1 tbsp of peanut butter does a body good!
I also make sure to get some good fats in for breakfast by adding 1 tbsp of peanut butter to my oatmeal. I add it before I heat it in the microwave so that it melts into the oats and makes for an absolutely delicious treat. I look forward to this everyday! Make sure to buy really natural peanut butter – look at the labels. It really should only contain 2-3 ingredients (salt, peanuts) that’s about it. If you buy a Jiffy or Skippy they have lots of additional ingredients. I like basic stuff, simple so I opt for the natural peanut butters always.
Peanut butter is a great source of potassium, protein, good fats and fiber. It is also delicious and a great treat to an otherwise bland breakfast!
Keep it simple, avoid the junk
When it comes to coffee I have to admit I always like it with skim or almond milk. Recently though I cut out adding milk at all to my coffee and just stick to one packet of Stevia or Truvia and don’t mind it at all. Or I will get a french vanilla coffee black from Dunkin Donuts. It is a nice bit of caffeine without the extra fat and hormones found in most milks. I also love coffee to help boost your metabolism and it always looks good in a fancy glass like the one below that I have at my office.
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