Breakfast Time!

For those who know me personally, you know I am the antithesis of a morning person who just so happened to have the misfortune to grow up in a family of morning people. I remember being awakened by my aunt Virginia every morning, not clattering pots and pans in the kitchen, but BANGING them. With her radio blasting the local gospel station and her singing, I was eventually coerced out of bed whether I wanted to be or not. Her daughter carried on this tradition in our dorm room as she clomped around in our teeny room with heels (or something equally as loud!). As a supervisor for a unit for three years, my workers learned not to ask me anything important before 10:30am and we all got along better for it!

Despite my non-sunny dispostion, however, one of the habits I have tried diligently to maintain is that of eating breakfast every morning. My usual staple is oatmeal made with skim milk, blueberries, a squirt of honey and a generous dash of cinnamon. This is the kind of breakfast that sticks to my ribs! I have been known to throw a scrambled egg on top if I feel I need more protein. If I am running late, I usually grab half of a whole wheat bagel and glob some natural peanut butter on top. I chase this with a cup of skim milk with just a smidge of chocolate syrup (cause I have to have SOMETHING fun).

An informal poll among some of my friends revealed that breakfast is often given the short shrift, especially among busy parents. (They make sure the kids eat, but not themselves!) That's unfortunate because those busy parents need more energy than I do! Everyone hears all the time about how breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Unfortunately, many adults get their first calories from their morning cup of coffee or the sausage biscuit they picked up at the drive-through on the way in. Now, lest I sound preachy, I have certainly been known to a) skip breakfast and b) go through the drive-through myself. I always seem to regret this later, though not necessarily right away.

If you workout in the mornings, there are many differing opinions about whether you should eat before the workout or after. Though clearly, morning workouts will likely never be a part of my daily routine, my sense is that you should eat just a little bit (a banana) and drink a cup of coffee to get yourself going. (Hmmm.....I don't drink coffee. I wonder if that might be the connection between me and my aversion to sunrises...). After your workout, eating a more complete meal, particularly with protein and complex carbs should do the trick.

As I am primarily an evening workout junkie, something I realized was that if I did not eat breakfast in the morning, my workouts were horrible. I always seemed to feel less energetic and less "with it" than if I had eaten. Although conducted in a very unscientific way, it seems that eating a good solid meal about twelve hours before my evening workout seems to do more good for me than skipping breakfast, regardless of how well I eat the rest of the day. I still try to eat some type of protein and complex carb before the workout itself and I drink water all day long.

So, the bottom line is that breakfast should be the most important meal, but as it is so easy to prepare, it can also be the one meal that requires the least thought. Protein smoothies that you can drink on the way to work are a good idea. Greek yogurt with any type of dark berry is also easy. Although I love my oatmeal (for dozens of good ways to make oatmeal click here), my bagel or English muffin with peanut butter is a favorite and is totally easy.