Breakfast & weight loss/gain? And Buffalo Chicken Casserole (or appetizer for Super Bowl)

To sum it up, based on trials on overweight and average individuals, “those who ate breakfast experienced no weight loss and people who skipped their morning meal also saw no weight gain”. So they are basically telling us to skip breakfast if we want to lose weight or rather not gain. What that really means, is, I hope you have good willpower tonight and likely every night after, because at some point, your body is going to want the calories (energy) it needs and deserves.

Also according to the story, “the latest findings should be interpreted with caution because some of the 13 trials used in their study didn’t last long”….because they were hungry!

If they ate breakfast, “they ate more calories in their day” and hence no weight loss. Ok if we left it at that, then we might say, “hmm, must work, so no more breakfast for me.” And then your daily meal plan might looks something like this, which I hear a lot from clients.

Sample meal plan:

• Breakfast: Nothing or just coffee
• Lunch: Salad grilled meat
• Dinner: Grilled fish and veggies
• After dinner: Ice cream
• After after dinner: Large Pizza

What is SUPER frustrating for me is that the article doesn’t go into detail on what study subjects ate for breakfast when they “ate more calories.” If someone is hungry after breakfast, which again, I hear often with clients, then what are they eating? And typically, it’s almost 100 percent certainty it was something that raises (refined carbohydrates) their insulin/blood sugar and then they had a drop in blood sugar, so here come the cravings, intense hunger, etc.

What raises insulin levels? Well, the standard American diet, which includes lots of refined carbohydrates, does exactly that. What if the study included what the people ate and different people ate different things in the study. Let me pick out what they get to eat and I can almost guarantee that their appetites would not increase. And not only that, they would be fueling their brains, body and GREATLY reduce the risk of that late afternoon early evening binge that is certain to come when we are tired, hungry and will power has left for the day.

Refined carbohydrates = Insulin spike, then drop = cravings, increased appetite, drop in energy/focus and our body then stores fat.

Now if you’re Intermittent Fasting or IFing (which doesn’t mean restricting calories but it’s just fasting for 12-16 hours) and you don’t have low blood sugar or adrenal/cortisol issues, then that is totally fine, and seems to work well, mainly for men (of course! :)), and that is a whole different story. But for those of us that don’t IF, what if we had a breakfast, I mean a big breakfast, that allowed our insulin/blood sugar levels to stay stable for longer and never spike. I bet our energy would be more stable, our cravings would diminish and our appetite would be regulated. And, we wouldn’t be hungry after dinner! Yes, Landria, sounds great. So how do we do that? Well I’ll tell you. The three things that keeps our blood sugar and insulin stable include FAT (healthy), FIBER and PROTEIN. Don’t be afraid to fill up on these things. Try it one morning but instead of an egg and toast, have 3 eggs cooked in butter or ghee or coconut oil, with a side of sauteed shredded brussel sprouts cooked in butter (cooked the night or Sunday before of course, no time for cooking in the more except for eggs, right??) or half an avocado and bacon. I can almost guarantee you’d feel great. And, you’re not telling your body to hang on to fat with a big ole insulin spike. If I’m wrong, and you don’t feel great, tell me and I will personally write you a check for $500. Ok, I am totally lying. I am not going to do that, but I am just that sure that you will feel great (baring no personal physical issues with digesting fats or proteins)!

What do you have to lose? Okay, besides possibly some weight, and gaining more energy.

Speaking of things that will keep insulins stable and blood sugar levels stable….

As you may have noticed by now, I love casseroles. Being the carb addict that I once was, I love all foods that feel hearty. There is just a comfort level that I enjoy, but also it’s satisfying. I love salads too, like in the summer, once in awhile. I’m kidding. Kinda.

Ok I do like salads but I’ll take a casserole most any other time. Some of my favorite “casserole” type dishes that I love and cook (not just in the winter) include Spaghetti Squash Lasagna, Pizza Casserole, Chicken Pesto Pasta, Paleo Bolognese just to name a few. And you know what is great about all of these meals, they will keep insulin steady and blood sugar levels stable.