http://kimandbradysmostlypaleokitchen.com It is truly amazing what we can learn from our kids when we listen to them. Recently my 12-year-old daughter was asking why I do not eat breakfast. “but Dad, isn’t breakfast the most important meal of the day?”
My knee-jerk reaction was this: “No honey. That’s a lie that has been promoted by the big companies that want you to buy their addictive processed foods.”
A little harsh, right?
This is where the learning moment for me began. My 18-year-old step-daughter chimes in and says, “Actually breakfast just means you break your fast. It doesn’t mean it has to be in the morning. It can be anytime.”
And she was absolutely right! It is the most important meal of the day. It is vitally important what you actually eat for breakfast and when you eat it! The Standard American Diet (SAD) breakfast of refined carbs and sugar has to go. It is not serving you at all. Breakfast should be focused on fats and proteins and should be at a time that works for you.
Here is what I have learned that works for me. My alarm goes off at 5:45 and we immediately (sometimes groggily) hit the home gym (we work out in our garage). After the workout, I take my supplement regiment with a glass of hydrogen water and start my day. I will start to feel hungry around 10:30 and snack on a few nuts or a grass-fed beef stick. That will hold me off until lunch, which like you, is around noon. My next meal would be around 6-6:30 depending on work schedules for my wife and me. (You can actually get our weekly meal plan for free at kimandbradysmostlypaleokitchen.com. We email them out every Tuesday)
Some people might call going from say 7 PM to noon the next day “intermittent fasting.” I just call it life. Aside from massive convenience benefits (I actually love not eating first thing in the morning) and cost saving benefits, it turns out that skipping breakfast has massive health benefits.
Here are 5 things that skipping breakfast (aka intermittent fasting) can do for you:
- Intermittent fasting can help you lose weight. This makes sense right? You are over all eating less food (and spending less money)! But there is also hormones at play. Intermittent fasting lowers your insulin levels and increases growth hormone, thus increasing your metabolism. And I haven’t even mentioned that it helps you body burn fat as fuel (aka ketosis)
- Reduction of Oxidative Stress. Intermittent fasting has been shown to reduce your oxidative stress levels and your overall inflammation levels (which can also lead to #1 above)
- Reduction of Type 2 Diabetes risk. Intermittent fasting has been shown to reduce blood sugar levels and insulin levels, thus protecting the body from Type 2 diabetes.
- Improved heart health. Intermittent fasting has also been shown to reduce blood sugar, balance cholesterol, reduce triglycerides, reduce blood sugar, and reduce oxidative stress. Couple this with the loss of belly fat from fasting, and it is a total win win for your heart (despite what the Honey Nut Cheerios box says.)
- Anti-Aging. Not only will the reduction of oxidative stress and inflammation help you age slower, but intermittent fasting has also been shown to help your body produce more stem cells! This can help with the overall aging process and joint preservation!
Still hungry? That’s ok. We have gotten way to comfortable with food and way too entitled. Your brain is addicted to the stuff you normally eat first thing in the morning. I challenge you to take heed to what I am saying and start having breakfast later in the day!
Until next time,
Dr. W
