Breakfast for the Athlete

What is the most important meal for an athlete? Breakfast, of course. Breakfast is the best meal for optimal leanness, energy, and sustained mental focus. Patients ranging from elite triathletes to corporate executives have found they derive increased mental acuity and focused energy from our

[LivFit] breakfast rotations.

Breakfast meals that pair meat and nuts provide the best blood-sugar stabilization for optimal energy production during exercise. Meat allows for a slow and steady rise in blood sugar. Nuts provide healthy fats that allows the blood sugar to remain stable for an extended period of time. Quick-absorbing protein shakes should be reserved for the post-workout meal, as they cannot provide blood-sugar stabilization for an extended period of time or during high caloric expenditure.

Again: breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Our [LivFit] participants are made well aware of this. It is a non-negotiable meal. Breakfast is necessary for anyone seeking optimal body-fat composition and/or an athlete working to increase performance. More than that, what you eat for breakfast sets up your entire neurotransmitter production for the day.

Multiple studies on employee productivity and children’s attention patterns have demonstrated that a high-protein breakfast does not only impact the energy and productivity levels of morning till noon, but extends its benefits into the late afternoon.

Here is a sample five-day rotation of the meat/nuts breakfast. It goes without saying that you DO NOT ADD ANYTHING TO IT in terms of food or beverage. Tea, coffee, and herbal infusions are permissible. Milk and juice or other liquids are not allowed.

Day 1
1-2 buffalo meat patties
1 handful of macadamia nuts

Day 2
1 large venison steak
1 handful of cashew nuts

Day 3
1-2 Lean turkey burgers
1 handful of almonds

Day 4
2 lean ground beef patties
1 handful of brazil nuts

Day 5
2 chicken breasts
1 handful of hazelnuts

One of the other advantages of this system is that is reduces the development of food sensitivities which are known to increase cortisol in people. Cortisol places body fat around your midsection and increases inflammation that leads to increased pain or cardiac damage. More often than not, we find that patients have sensitivities to the food they consumed for years on a daily basis. That is even true in athletes who consume large amounts of food per day. It is not uncommon to see them have allergies to beef, eggs, whey, casein, tuna, and oatmeal, the basic staples for an athlete. Many can also develop sensitivities to nuts with daily intake.

Stay tuned to our blog, because next week I’ll post some breakfast options for those with food sensitivities and allergies as well as a salmon breakfast recipe.

Click the image below to see a how-to video for a healthy, high-protein pancake recipe!

For more breakfast tips and other healthy ideas, check out these two upcoming classes at our Roanoke, Virginia chiropractic office:

Nutrition for the Athlete – September 11, 6:00pm
What to eat before, during, and after a workout to reduce muscle damage and cramping and to improve performance.

[LivFit] – October 23, 30, and November 6, 6:00pm
Our 3-week hallmark nutrition and exercise seminar teaches not just what to eat, but how to do it in a busy world. We focus on the techniques that have helped hundreds lose weight, drop blood pressure, increase muscle, and reduce fatigue.