The Most Important Meal For Your Hormones

Chatting all about the most important meal for your hormones, breakfast, today on the blog!

I’ve been having this conversation with so many of my clients and at workshops lately, the importance of eating a healthy breakfast which supports your hormones. I wanted to share the reasons behind why breakfast is really the most important meal of the day.

So many of us treat breakfast like dessert and start our day filling up on sugar and carbs. It’s no wonder we are exhausted even before we leave the house in the morning and jump on this rollercoaster of up and down energy throughout the day! This type of start leaves us needing more sugar and caffeine to just make it through.

I don’t know about you, but I ate pop tarts almost every morning for breakfast in high school, so it’s no wonder I was exhausted by third period and had to snack on Chex Mix to stay alert, only to crave pizza for lunch… not an ideal set up for my health or hormones. When I was in college and in New York City it was often cereal or bagels for breakfast.

Many of the breakfast bars, cereals and even “healthy store bought smoothies” can have anywhere from 20-40 grams of sugar in one serving, where our goal is only about 20-25 grams of added sugars a day.

It’s so easy to consume too much sugar and not enough fat and protein in the morning, especially when we are constantly on the go and most easy to go options are packed full of sugar, especially those energy bars you might be keeping in your purse. When we start with eating sugary foods first thing in the morning it sets us up for craving more of the same sugar and carbs throughout the day, usually around 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. It also creates a stress in our body, which in turn releases cortisol by the adrenal glands to help us balance our sugar levels. Over time, this leads to weight gain, moodiness and exhaustion.

So how are you starting the day?

Are you eating “healthy” energy bars, cereal, bagels, or doughnuts?

Are you skipping breakfast and heading straight to your first cup of coffee?

If you do all of the above it’s time to pause and rethink the way you are starting your day, because every day is a new opportunity to support your hormones and help you feel more energized, focused and calm in your body.

Why Breakfast?

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, especially for our hormones. It helps balance your insulin and cortisol levels right from the start. Breakfast literally means breaking the fast. I know that intermittent fasting is all the rage right now, but if you eat at least two hours before you go to sleep and get at least eight hours of sleep you are indeed fasting for at least ten hours and still getting all of the nutrients your body needs when you wake up in the morning.

Skipping breakfast or eating tons of sugar and carbs can disrupt your metabolism, interfere with weight loss efforts, we might think that skipping a meal can help with weight loss, but it actually does the opposite, and is one of the main reasons we experience PMS that time of the month.

If you feel hangry throughout the day, feel lightheaded, or start craving french fries or cupcakes this can all disappear by making breakfast a priority.

What To Eat For The Most Important Meal For Your Hormones

We want to focus on making sure three things are on our plate or in our smoothie for our most important meal of the day for our hormones – healthy fats, proteins and plenty of fiber.

This combination helps us keep our energy balanced all day, sustain our sugar levels in our body and keeps us satisfied and not looking for snacks!

Start with protein like eggs, chicken, turkey, beans, legumes. I actually love having a chili or a stew in the morning with avocado on top. It might sound weird, but it actually supports my body really well. It’s best to get at least 20-25 grams of protein in the morning. To give you can idea of what that looks like it’s 3-4 hardboiled eggs, 2 scoops of hemp protein powder, 16 cashews, and 3-4 tablespoons of almond butter.

Then it’s time to add some healthy fats like walnuts, avocados, coconut oil, coconut butter, salmon, olives, olive oil, ghee. I call fats, “happy mood foods” because they not only keep us satisfied longer, but really support our mood. We want a minimum of six tablespoons of fat a day, so about 2 tablespoons at least for breakfast. I notice that when I eat more fat in the morning I feel more focused and energized throughout the day so it’s usually more than just 2 tablespoons.

Now it’s time to add in the fiber. Add in any vegetable or fruit, about 35-45 grams. I personally love dark leafy greens, sweet potatoes and yams in the morning. I recently made a sweet potato, added some ghee, baked beans, avocado and turkey sausage, might seem like an odd choice but it really helped support me all day long.

Let me know how your energy levels, focus and overall mood improves after focusing in on the most important meal of the day for your hormones in the comments section below.

And if you are looking for some breakfast inspiration, join us for our smoothie challenge starting next week, April 16th! We will be focusing on healthy fats, proteins and plenty of fiber to help you and your hormones feel more supported and happy. Join us and get a recipe packet full of delicious and hormone supporting smoothies.