Turn on the TV and you will see loads of commercials for Cheerios, Chex, Special K, and multiple other breakfast cereals. If it wasn’t cereal then it was oatmeal, then it turned to Pop Tarts, Toaster Strudel and breakfast bars. What do all of these have in common? Carbohydrates. While carbs are an important part of your diet, the breakfast industry may be part of the reason America and America’s children are struggling to stay lean, lose weight, and keep weight off. Personally, I believe that carbs should be part of your breakfast. However, the amount of sugar and carbs in the average American breakfast could put you into a diabetic coma. Look at the average American Breakfast below, then analyse what’s wrong with it.
“A man takes in about 296 grams of carbohydrates a day and a woman gets about 224 grams. Although these intake amounts are within the Institute of Medicine’s recommendation that carbohydrates should constitute 45 to 65 percent of total caloric intake, Americans eat more sugar and less fiber than they should. The American Heart Association recommends that women and men take in no more than about 100 and 150 calories a day from added sugar, respectively, but the average American gets about 476 calories from sugar, with an intake of 119 grams of sugar daily. Additionally, an American takes in about 16 grams of fiber a day, which is far less than the 25 grams women should get each day and the 38 grams men need daily.(source)”
It wasn’t until recently that I noticed that the amount of carbs in my breakfast had a HUGE impact on how hungry I was at lunch time. If I had a high carb breakfast made of grains with a little bit of sugar, moderate protein, and a little fat, I ended up STARVING by lunch. I also hit this horrible low blood sugar thing at around 10 am (super annoying).
I began to tweak breakfast and found that the correct ratio of carbs and sugar was much lower then I thought. I also noticed that if I increased my fat intake and protein, I felt fuller longer. The NEW America, should be eating a breakfast high in protein, moderate fat, and moderate carbs. Forget the high carb pancakes, and sugary cereals. They will lead to a roller coaster of cravings, elevated carb consumption, moods swings (due to blood sugar drops) and belly fat.
Why the New Breakfast is Best – Living in the past
So bacon and eggs weren’t that bad after all? Turns out that a couple slices of bacon (not 12), an egg (or egg whites), and a cup of mixed fruit should actually be what we need for weight loss, belly fat loss, and better glucose levels.
Not a bacon lover? That’s ok, you can have turkey bacon or top your egg white omelette with a 1/4 of avocado. Here’s a good visual below.
STAY FULLER LONGER and WARD OFF BELLY FAT
Fitness Tips: Use the 50 / 50 trick to keep you full, fight belly fat, and stabilize blood sugar.
Half of the amount of carbs you eat should be balanced with protein
Example: If you eat 50 carbs, you would eat AT LEAST 25 grams of Protein then another 12.5 – 15 grams of fat grams of fat. 🙂 Shoot for these numbers, then write me later when you are a lean, mean machine!
A WORD OF CAUTION: If you decide to ignore the ratio and go overboard on your carbs, it will haunt you ALL DAY LONG. If you know you’re going to have a carb heavy breakfast, that’s ok but you must increase your protein and fat to keep it from nagging at you later in the day.
While this may seem like a small issue, changing this and the way your body responds to the food you eat could mean HUGE results for your waist line, your mood, your energy levels, and your body fat. Who knew that something as simple as switching how you eat your carbs in the morning could affect your overall health and your entire day! Do this routine for 2-3 months paying close attention to not only your hunger but also how you carry your weight. It’s also best to take before and after images and to measure yourself. Then report back to me and let me know how you are doing in the comments section below.
**** ALSO – make sure to log your food or keep a food journal so you can make sure that you are controlling your overall calorie intake. If you want to play along with the Fit Tip community, we use the “My Fitness Pal” App – add us as your “Friend.”
Living Lean,
Adria
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