Weight Loss

Dawn Beats Dusk: Trade your late night snack for a hearty breakfast

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dawnbeatsdusk Hey guys!  I hope you are enjoying your weekend and looking forward to a wonderful week ahead.  As you plan for your weekly grind, I just wanted to share a little nutritional nugget of wisdom.  Now, you guys know that I firmly believe getting an early start to the day.  That’s right, 5:30 am wake up call!  There are numerous wellness benefits of being an “early bird” – get up and get that worm!  Not only does waking up early help your productivity, but doing so also entices you to eat breakfast which gets your metabolism going.

When it comes to weight-management, studies show, it’s not just HOW MUCH you eat but WHEN you eat that affects your weight.  Long story short, here’s why you should eat your BIG meals EARLY in the day and skip late night snacking…

  • People who eat after 8pm have higher Body Mass Indexes (BMI) than those who don’t
  • Calories consumed at night are not processed as efficiently as those during the day
  • Sleep disruption is likely if your stomach is working hard to process food
  • You are likely to eat larger portions later in the day than earlier (Weil Cornell Medical Research)
  • At night, you are most likely eating out of boredom, NOT because you are genuinely hungry

That said, you’re probably now asking, “How can I consume calories earlier in the day instead of later?”  Well, search no further.  I put together this list of 5 Tips to Eat Breakfast Like a King and Dinner Like a Beggar.  Check it out 🙂

  1. Consume at least 400 calories for breakfast

  2. Eat protein at breakfast and lunch

  3. Have a hi-fiber snack before and after lunch

  4. Don’t eat after 8:00 pm

  5. Go to bed early!

Show me your GRIT! xoxo, Brit

show me your GRIT

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Just for Fun

5-minute Healthy Breakfast Ideas

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The week before last I worked from home – yay!  On Thursday morning, I made and ate breakfast immediately after I woke up.  I was so proud, I took a pic of my breakfast and posted it on Twitter 🙂  This got me thinking, “I’m going to commit to eating breakfast within 30 minutes of waking up for the next 5 days.  Not only that, I’m going to take a picture of my meal and post it on Twitter for accountability.”  Well, turns out that what our parents say is TRUE, breakfast IS the most important meal of the day.  Studies show making breakfast a daily habit can help you lose weight – and keep it off.  Personally, I felt the following changes/benefits that week:

  • I wasn’t starving at lunch which helped me make better food choices
  • My digestion was more “regular” 😉
  • My energy level was higher during the day, especial during my workouts
  • I felt lighter and leaner

Based on my fitness experience and nutrition knowledge, I have created a formula for what I consider to be a complete “GRITTY” breakfast:

GRITTY Breakfast = complex carb (whole grains and/or fruit) + protein + KICK  

FYI – a “KICK” is little bit of caffeine to get my body going full speed. Remember all the benefits of Coffee that we learned about earlier?

Below, are pics of all of  my breakfast meals that week.  All were prepared in less than 5 minutes, making them excellent options for those of you rushing to work in the morning.  Try out the breakfast challenge for yourself.  You may just take on a new healthy habit!

Thursday

Greek yogurt + mixed berries + 1 crumbled crunchy granola bar + hot green tea

Friday

Quaker instant oatmeal + 1 large orange + black coffee

Saturday

1 Van’s whole wheat waffle (comes frozen, just put in toaster) + peanut butter + strawberries + hot green tea

Sunday

2 crunchy granola bars topped w/peanut butter + 1 apple + hot green tea

Monday (up in the air, breakfast at the airport before a 6am flight…the life of a consultant)

2 small apples + 1 small bag of almonds (not pictured) + black coffee

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Inspiration & Motivation

Fit chics eat breakfast…and make more money

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Reese Witherspoon getting her early morning jog in

Happy “hump” day – I hope your week is going well!   I had a 5am conference call today which I was NOT thrilled about.  Oddly enough, I don’t feel that bad.  This got me thinking, “What would my life be like if I started EVERY day at 5am?”  I’ve heard it time and time again, “The early bird catches the worm.”  Well,  turns out it’s true!  Establishing the habit of waking up early not only helps us manage our weight it also makes us more effective people.  Here are 5 key reasons I think we should all get some GRIT and try to become EARLY RISERS:

  1. More likely to eat breakfast – I can’t say this enough, “Eating a hearty, protein-rich breakfast is CRITICAL for weight management.”  Most of us who continuously struggle with our weight usually don’t eat until 2-3 hours AFTER we wake up…real talk.
  2. Less late night snacking – Most binge eating happens late at night.  Instead of late night snacking, just go to bed so you can be refreshed for your early morning start!  You’re an early bird now 🙂
  3. Get more sleep – Sleep deprivation is linked to weight gain!  By waking up early, hopefully you are more likely to go to bed early as well.  An early rise means a longer day, so you should be more tired in the evening and ready to pass out!
  4. Morning workouts – Morning workouts are more effective for weight loss because you aren’t burning the food that you have consumed during the day.  Instead, you are burning the carbs and fat that your body has stored over night.
  5. Overall more effective person – “Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise” – Ben Franklin, famously
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