1 Simple Step to Curb Cravings and Fuel Your Body

1 thing you can do to improve appetite control and curb unhealthy snacking and overeating…eat a lot of protein in the morning!

I’m big on protein for breakfast as well as balancing macronutrient ratios. (Macronutrients = Carbohydrates, Fats & Protein, the three things we eat!). We eat a lota carbs for breakfast in this country, no doubt. And it’s usually carbs in the form of sugar, not carbs in the form of vegetables. ;). If you’re going to have oatmeal for breakfast, great, have oatmeal! But, balance it with good fats and a good amount of protein. Doing this will leave you satiated and full longer and provide you and your kiddos with the proper fuel to get you through work and school in the morning. Sugar overload does not = a great start to the day. Who knew? I stress eating protein in the morning both for my family and my clients.

Why Protein?

Protein fuels the body, builds muscles and keeps you full. Protein is crucial for healthy skin, nails, hair, tissue and muscles. Its main job is to repair, grow and maintain healthy cells. If our cells our sick, we get sick. So, we need protein! Proteins are essentially long chains of amino acids. We have 22 kinds of amino acids: 14 non-essential, 8 essential. They’re called non-essential because our body makes these on their own and the eight essential amino acids that are leftover we have to get from our food. We need all 22 to properly function. Complete proteins come from animal sources and fish and incomplete proteins, meaning they lack one or more essential amino acids, come from veggies, grains and nuts. Combining certain incomplete proteins can make them complete. This is why rice and beans are considered a ‘complete protein.’ It is important for our bodies to be consuming complete proteins at all times.

Protein is required by the body for the growth, maintenance and repair of all cells. Protein is a major component of all muscles, tissues and organs and is vital for practically every process that occurs within the body such as metabolism, digestion and the transportation of nutrients and oxygen in the blood. It is also necessary for the production of antibodies, which fight against infection and illness, and is the main nutrient that keeps our hair shiny and healthy, our nails strong, our skin fresh and glowing and our bones strong and healthy. – Nutrition Information Protein Guide

 

Protein, Especially in the Morning

Protein-Rich Breakfasts Prevent Unhealthy Snacking in the Evening, Study Finds

60% of American young folk skip breakfast. Say wha?! Not cool. I know a lot of older folks who skip breakfast as well. But what if we all ate a high protein breakfast instead? Read on…

Heather Leidy, an assistant professor in the Department of Nutrition and Exercise Physiology is the first to examine the impact of breakfast consumption on daily appetite and evening snacking in young people who habitually skip breakfast. In her study, 20 overweight or obese adolescent females ages 18-20 either skipped breakfast, consumed a high-protein breakfast consisting of eggs and lean beef, or ate a normal-protein breakfast of ready-to-eat cereal. Every breakfast consisted of 350 calories and was matched for dietary fat, fiber, sugar and energy density. The high-protein breakfast contained 35 grams of protein.

The consumption of the high-protein breakfast led to increased fullness or “satiety” along with reductions in brain activity that is responsible for controlling food cravings. The high-protein breakfast also reduced evening snacking on high-fat and high-sugar foods compared to when breakfast was skipped or when a normal protein, ready-to-eat cereal breakfast was consumed, Leidy said. – Science Daily

 

protein2

4 Tips for Curbing Cravings and Fueling Your Body

Yes, we have times of fasting or sickness or Sunday brunches where we just want to overload on pancakes, waffles and pastries, but as a general rule these tips will fuel your body first thing in the morning and curb unhealthy cravings that occur later in the day:

1. Don’t skip breakfast, eat it!

2. Eat a complete protein for breakfast (animal sources: eggs, meat, raw or grass-fed dairy, fish or a combo of two incomplete proteins like rice and beans, nut butter on toast, etc.)

3. Eat a high protein breakfast (35 grams) 

4. Balance your carbs with healthy fats (avocado, olive oil, coconut oil, grass-fed butter, nuts, etc.) and quality protein (grass-fed, pastured, wild and organic meats, eggs and fish from the most local source you can find/afford).

I will create the next post with actual breakfast options that fuel, but the following examples give you an idea of how to balance carb heavy breakfasts. It’s all about balance, right? Balance your carbs, protein and fats with an extra emphasis on protein in the morning and you’ll be good to go!

E.g. Steel cut oats with nut butter/nuts, almond milk or grass-fed milk, fruit, chia seeds and a raw honey/real maple syrup with a hard-boiled egg on the side.

Pancakes made with nut butter, eggs or protein powder and topped with nuts and/or chia seeds/ground flax or even a side of eggs or meat of choice + raw, green juice.

Green smoothie (a lot of green smoothies tend to be mostly carbs: fruit, veg and liquid,) paired with eggs, fish, meat or even oatmeal with nuts or nut butter.

You get the idea! What’s your favorite breakfast that fuels you?

Replace your protein with this whole food! It’s like bone broth in a can. Highly absorbable, full of amino acids, collage for hair, skin, nails and joint health. Fantastic supplement to add to your diet and can dissolve easily in any liquid, including breast milk and formula for babies, and it is flavorless!

 

Gelatin

Be a part of the Freshly Grown community. Like FG here on Facebook.

——-

Source

ScienceDaily. Retrieved September 18, 2013, from http://www.sciencedaily.com­/releases/2013/03/130326151127.htm



2 Comments

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.