Replace the cereal with a knife and fork…change your breakfast, change your mindset, change your world!
“Breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, dinner like a pauper…” goes the old infamous saying, is there any truth in it and why is it so abnormal in our western society to eat this way?
We are programmed from birth to do many things, brush our hair, go to school, work Monday to Friday, have weekends for play and eat cereal for breakfast.
Where did these habits come from and why? I’m one for experimenting, for pushing the boundaries and changing what you think as ‘normal’, normal has lead to more than 20,000 children in Northern Ireland being obese between the ages of 2 and 10 years old, who is to blame?
The children? Surely not. Parents? Perhaps. The Government? Marketing companies? Advertisers? Something needs to change in our habits; without change we stay the same and things, health, weight problems, get worse.
This week I would like you to try and flip your usual habits around, be bold and daring, eat dinner for breakfast, eat a substantial balanced lunch and a lighter evening meal, not for calorie counting or weight loss, for health, but for:
- Increased energy, why give your body fuel when it wants to rest at night when it needs fuel to power you through your day?
- Banish those “I’m not hungry in the morning” feelings, if you eat less at night, guess what? You will certainly wake up hungry and ready for a feast fit for a king!
- Wind, bloating and stomach pains first thing do not make for a pleasant rising, allow your body to relax and wind down at night as you prepare for bed, making sleep a priority, not food, come the twilight hours. This will lead to a calm digestive system, working for you instead of against you.
- Sound, unbroken, restorative sleep – digestion can take 4 hours to complete, if you eat cheese on toast at 11pm, guess who will wake at 3am? If you eat chocolate or biscuits before bed, your blood sugars will dip mid way through the night, guess who will wake thirsty or hungry at 3am?
- Less evening snacking – many of us choose to skip breakfast, deciding instead that by ‘saving’ these calories up we are doing our bodies a favour. I dare you to keep a food diary and record how often you pick in the evenings, on the hour, every hour, as you crave nutrients and energy. Now keep that food diary and notice the difference when you eat a powerful filling breakfast, amazing right?
Try sardines on toast with grilled mushroom, tomato and sautéed spinach for breakfast, a large chicken salad for lunch with roast butternut squash and a smaller bowl of soup with legumes and seeds for lunch.
With a bowl of some cereals containing as much as, if not more, sugar than 3 chocolate chip cookies, we need to wake up and eat protein, complex carbs and more vegetables.
Our modern mindsets have lead us to this lifestyle, dare to be different, dare to work with your body instead of against it. Think belly full after breakfast, belly two thirds full after lunch and belly one third full after dinner.
After dinner you should have enough food and fuel from the day to not feel hungry, and not feel uncomfortably bloated either. It’s these small changes that make the biggest differences and the biggest impact on your lifestyle.
LISA’S TIP: Try not to eat after 8pm for a few days to see the difference, for health reasons and not calorie counting, this means eating more food, earlier in the day. (I know for some night shift workers this may not be possible).
Lisa is a Nutritionist at The Wellness Coach, find her on Facebook at The Wellness Coach or click HERE. Visit her website here: www.thewellnesscoach.ie
Contact Lisa today for more information or a tailored nutrition plan. T: 07730577822/E: lisa@thewellnesscoach.ie
Short URL: https://newrytimes.com/?p=40548
Posted by Newry Times News
on Mar 25 2014. Filed under Community, Features, Lifestyle.
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