Why You Should Be Eating More Protein at Breakfast & How to Do It

Unless you have time to go all out in the mornings, most breakfasts are simple, quick and easy to prepare and eat, oftentimes on the run. Things like cereal, granola bars, toast, fruit, etc. While I would rather see someone eat at least SOMETHING, these things lack protein, which leaves you starving and raiding the office candy jar before 10am. I can’t tell you how many clients come to me complaining that they can never get full and the culprit usually starts with a sparse, carbohydrate-based morning meal.

Here are the reasons why I recommend beefing up (haha) your morning meal:

• Consuming a higher protein diet has been show to reduce overall calorie consumption throughout the day.
• Protein is digested more slowly than carbohydrates, keeping you fuller longer.
• It reduces the hunger hormone ghrelin and increases the satiety hormone peptide YY.
• Protein helps speed up your metabolism because it takes more energy for your body to digest. This is called the thermic effect of food.

And here are some tips on how to do it if you eat:

• Oatmeal or Cereal
  • Cook it in milk instead of water (oats) or drink all the milk (cereal) (+8g PRO)
  • Add 1 Tbs. nut butter or 2 Tbs. whole nuts (+4g PRO)
  • Stir in an egg white (oats) (+3g PRO)

• Toast, bagel, English muffin
  • Choose the whole grain variety (+2-4g PRO)
  • Swap butter for nut butter (+4g PRO)
  • Swap cream cheese for vanilla Greek yogurt (+6g PRO)
• Eggs
  • Use the WHOLE egg, not just the white (+3g PRO)
  • Add a slice of cheese (+5g PRO)
• Granola bar
  • Crumble on top of a container of Greek yogurt (+12g PRO)
  • Choose a high-protein brand (Kashi GoLean, Luna bars, RX bars are some of my favorites)
  • Add a hardboiled egg or a handful of nuts (+4-6g PRO)

Now, is it breakfast yet?!?