A New Way to Look at Breakfast

I have ran into a number of people recently that have either asked me what I eat for breakfast or explained to me what a healthy breakfast is to them. These pictures are the visible image results from searching for "healthy breakfast" on Google. At a distance these images have a lot of fruit, oatmeal, toast, orange juice, and an occasional egg. Clearly the web is more in agreement with the people I have run into than what I believe is a a healthy breakfast.

Here is a decent example of one of these healthy breakfasts; two pieces of whole wheat toast, a cup of berries, glass of orange juice (16oz), and a small bowl (1 cup) of oatmeal. If you are Paleo and especially if you have played with intermittent fasting then this breakfast probably scares the hell out of you. If you are new to Paleo or are stumbling upon this blog randomly then you would probably agree this is pretty healthy.  There are a whole host of reasons why a standard American healthy breakfast, like this one, is not as good as it seems but for this post I want to focus in on one of those variables and that is carbohydrate.

Let's break down the macro nutrients for this average standard American healthy breakfast:

• 750 Cal
• 145g Carb
• 5.5g Fat
• 18g Pro

Carbs are essentially sugar, all carbs become blood glucose within a short period of time, so this healthy breakfast basically included 145 grams of sugar AKA ~2/3 a cup of sugar.  That is a ton of sugar! It also includes very little protein or fat which to some may also seem a benefit.

At first I decided the only way to write the rest of this post was with a lot of scientific detail.  Later I decided to focus on the big picture and if you are intrigued and want to learn more I would point you to the big guns who have already broken down the science behind all this. 

So why is all this sugar bad?  There was a time not too long ago when I also thought this was a healthy breakfast.  I would think to myself, "These foods are going to give me energy and get my day going right.".  RIGHT??  WRONG!

We have several metabolic methods of producing energy, including methods that utilize fat and glucose. While you are sleeping your body enters a fasted state.  When you wake up your body is in a prime condition to begin utilizing  glycogen and fat that has been stored for energy.  In addition a series of hormones including growth hormone and epinephrine are active and can increase metabolism. As soon as this breakfast enters your body digestion occurs and sugar enters your blood stream.  The sugar quickly raises your blood glucose levels, the more complex carbs are broken down a bit slower resulting in elevated blood glucose for an hour or more.  Your body reacts to this with the hormone insulin.  Insulin removes the sugar from the blood by pushing it into your cells during this process fatty acids in your blood are also stored.  Essentially eating this sugar has turned off your body's natural fat burning capabilities for the preference of storing this currently abundant fuel resource for later use.  Between two and three hours later something interesting happens, the insulin completes its job and maybe goes a little too far resulting in a sugar crash.  Now mid-morning you find yourself a bit groggy and what better than to head for a snack to pep you up.  This is just supposed to be a look at breakfast but it is easy to see how three meals a day and a couple high carb snacks can easily result in high insulin levels throughout the day.  This means you are in fat and glucose storage mode most of the day.

When is it possible for our body to burn fat when our hormones are constantly telling our body to store fat? The answer is, there really isn't any time.  While you are sleeping your body will enter the a fat and glucose burning state but the energy required is significantly less than during the day.  You can exercise but if you have ever calculated the amount of work required to burn off a certain number of calories this can be an insurmountable task.  To burn off that breakfast I would have to run close to 6 miles.  Don't get me wrong exercise is an important component of health but not the most efficient way to lose fat.
 

Instead of turning off the body's natural glucose and fat burning capabilities we should strategically embrace them.  Fat that is consumed does not cause an insulin release like carbs and sugar do but can be used for energy.  Protein can cause an insulin release but mainly in larger doses.  So a perfect breakfast is a relatively small amount of food that is primarily if not completely comprised of healthy fats.  The fats you consume give your body a fresh supply of energy to kick start your day without the mid-morning crash while enabling your body to stay in a fat and sugar burning mode. The idea is not to starve yourself but completely avoid carbs and keep your fat to protein ratio high.

So what does my breakfast look like?  I generally have a Phatty Coffee or maybe two (~175-350 calories). This gives me a good dose of fat from coconut oil, grass-fed butter, and grass-fed cream. Some days that is all I do until lunch.  Other days, especially days following a hard workout, I have one or two eggs, maybe some almond butter on top (especially delicious with over easy eggs), and on even fewer occasions I have some meat as well. Beyond my Phatty Coffee, I find that the less I eat the more energetic I am.

So there is one unanswered question, "If not at breakfast, when do I eat my carbs?".  The answer is, the later the better and preferably post-workout.  After a workout your body needs to replenish the energy (glycogen stored in the muscles) that was burned and can also use some protein to support the recovery process. During this period of time insulin is a good thing to help an efficient recovery. Later in the day the body is also more resistant to glucose and fat storage

Resources to find out more about how all this stuff works:

1. Check out John Kiefer.  He has written a couple books on how best to incorporate carbs into your diet. 
2. Check out HowStuffWorks description of the fat storage and burning process.  It is a nice description although the last section "Losing Weight and Losing Fat" does not make much sense if you think about what the whole article is laying out.
3. Check out the FatBurrningMan he has plenty on these topics including intermittent fasting, fatty coffee, and his podcast is excellent.

In the meantime try rethinking breakfast, drop the carbs and sugar for a few weeks, and see if you don't look and feel better.  Of course if you have any health conditions talk this stuff over with your doc first!

Thanks for stopping by!

Chuck