Breakfast ratios.... page

[kikibaba]

Was wondering if anyone knew how to start the day in order to achieve balanced blood sugar levels through till the afternoon(aka no cravings,clear sailing)....Would a meal higher in fat or protein achieve this?? I am assuming sweet potatoes would initially provide energy because of their higher glycemic load but you'd crash inevitably.. Maybe the carbier aspects of the diet apply later in the day.

[Phil-SC]

What I have found that works for me is a large piece of sausage and a small chuck of hard, high fat cheese for breakfast.

My blood sugar levels do pretty well with this, and I can sometime get to lunch without eating a snack. If I do eat a snack, it's usually a piece of fruit and/or nuts.

[Shrinking_Violet]

What "carbier aspects"...? Not sure I follow. I'm practically zero carb (or I was until Dad decided to grow the best-tasting plums known to humankind, damn him!)

You don't need to eat carbs deliberately (apart from the plums, the only carbs I eat are a little (goat) dairy and lots and lots of veggies - I'd say that, even with the plums (which are about 150g a day sans stones (around 13.5g carbs) I'd struggle to eat 75g.) I'm not following this to lose weight, though, because I don't really need to (though another few lb would be nice, I'm no longer stressing about it...).

Some people are losing better eating between 50 and 100g, some with a little more - or less - than that, but it's all purely subjective.

One tip I'd give you is to STOP thinking of this as a 'diet' (unless you mean 'food habitually consumed' which I presume you don't) it's not really a helpful mindset to have, because the word 'diet' in the first context has the meaning of 'I'll follow this for a couple of months, or however long, and then go back to eating what - and how - I was before'. This is a whole new way of eating (WoE) or, as I prefer to think of it way of life (WoL). I know I can safely speak for everyone else here when I say that we're committed to NEVER eating grains, legumes, or other CW nasties, ever again - this is our 'diet' (first meaning) forever.

Thinking of this as a 'diet' (2nd meaning) means you will crave carbs more and more, because in your mind, they're now taboo - thing is, we all fall off the horse occasionally (Mark calls this our 20%). I'll give you an example - the other day, I noticed Dad had bought what were my favourite cookies before going Primal (double dark choc & raspberry) so I had one. Now before I'd have had to scoff the other 8, but I know I can resist that now.

It's all about balance; NO ONE is going to be 100% Primal, 100% of the time; this isn't 2 million BCE, it's the 21st century; we're coming up to the holidays, Thanksgiving and Christmas (at least we Brits only get tempted by 'grainy' things once a year - how do you Yanks cope...?) and I know I won't be Primal at Xmas (I can't; my dad's SIL's dad makes the world's finest Xmas pud; no idea how he does it, because it's not in the least bit stodgy - and I usually end up having 2 helpings! Even Dad does - and he HATES xmas pud usually!) Breakfast we always have pork pie (my dad's granddad was from Melton Mowbray y'see - it's family tradition) and Mum will make her cake, and mince pies and, well, you get the idea. THAT"S what I call a 'proper 20%'.

Unless you're a very heavy trainer, I'd recommend steering clear of things like sweet spuds/root veggies if you're wanting to lose weight as they're extremely carby (100g sweet potato's about 20% carbs) they're excellent before an intense training sesh, though, but I'd not eat them on a regular basis (but that's just me, YMMV).

I have the same thing for brekkie (when I feel like brekkie, that is, I often don't) meat, veggies and an egg. My morning 'treat' is a mug of FairTrade Tanzanian dark roast with a dollop (about 15g) thick heavy cream, a little cacao powder, cinnamon and flavoured with orange and vanilla liquid stevias. The rest of the day I take my coffee black.

It's only really carbs which cause insulin to be released (and starchy carbs at that). You eat what you want for brekkie - bacon & eggs, meat & eggs, fish, remains of last night's tea, it's entirely up to you.

There are 2 rules when it comes to Primalism: -

1) There are no rules,
2) If in doubt, refer to Rule 1

This isn't a diet, it's a way of life. I've been Primal since the end of August - and I'm lovin' it. Yes, I have 20% days, but I make sure they're 'premium' (e.g. going to my friend's ice-cream, coffee and choccie shop for the best chocolate on the planet - and a proper mocha with a slice of her homemade cake, is what I'd call a 'legit' 20%; scoffing a Marathon* bar isn't, so I don't.)

Forget all about GI/GL, it's irrelevant. Forget about brekkie too, if you're not hungry. Sounds to me that you're still thinking in a very CW way (i.e. I MUST eat breakfast/eat at regular intervals, or my metabolism will slow down and I'll get fatter. It's not going to happen. Grok didn't eat every 4 hours (sometimes he was lucky to eat every 4 DAYS) and if it'd killed him well, we'd not be here, would we...?

Some of us (myself included) engage in a practice known as 'intermittent fasting' (though I prefer to think of it as 'intermittent feeding') where we deliberately abstain from all forms of nourishment for a set period (12, 16, 18 hours or even longer) as it aids in fat loss (providing our diet's spot-on).

HOWEVER I DO NOT RECOMMEND THAT A NEWBIE SHOULD EVER DO SUCH A THING!! Get your diet right first (that's diet as in WoE, NOT as in the other meaning, the one we don't use anymore) followed by your PBF (have you downloaded the Fitness eBook yet? You really should. Have you bought the PB book, too, for that matter?)

1. Diet
2. Supplementation (please make an 'appointment' with our resident supplementation expert, CillaKat, if you need help and advice with this)
3. Fitness
4. Everything else (after you've nailed the first 3).

I also recommend you read the Newbies sticky (which contains an excellent intro to Primalism, written by NaiadKnight - who REALLY knows what she's on about).

*This is what we called 'Snickers bars' over here before we had to go American. I still do, because I always thought it was a FAR better name!

But most of all, Welcome to the new you (as it says on my old LighterLife binder). You'll probably find that many health issues you've been suffering from clear up considerably when you fully switch (e.g. I used to suffer with chronic IBS (CW advice I needed to eat more grains. PB advice - grains are the CAUSE of IBS, NOT the cure. Sure enough, I'm now almost 'cured' of the syndrome, simply because I flipped CW the finger and did the exact opposite of the advice my nutritionist gave me - needless to say, I don't see her anymore...)

Easy way to go Primal? Read CW advice and then do the precise opposite - you won't go far wrong!

Right, that's enough verbal crap from me - I'll let someone who knows what they're on about pick up the baton. I'm going out for a little RT today; just seen a top I've fallen in love with - and I'm going to hunt it down!

Good Luck! This is the BEST thing you've ever done in your life.

One last thing. This forum is unlike any other to which I've posted. I've made friends here - and been given the chance to make it to nearly 1,000 posts (usually I get banned from a forum before I make it to 100!). There are 3 or 4 people (not saying who they are, but they know who they are) who I know I'll hopefully remain good friends with forever (unless I piss them off too much - Aspies are good at that kinda thing!) and it's because I chose to read myself the Diet Act and join here.

This truly is a wonderful place - know that you're amongst friends here.

Sarah

[batty]

definitely meat and fat. one of my staple breakfasts is a spinach omelette with steak, tuna, or chicken.

[emmie]

I'm a big breakfast eater (often my largest meal of the day) and it's typically tuna, sardine, or salmon 'salad' (mashed with chopped celery and mayo), along with my coffee. I definitely advise a breakfast of protein/fat with the emphasis on protein). On the weekends, I'll have eggs, but usually with a bison patty or similar meat as a side.

By the way, if you're concerned about maintaining even levels of blood sugar, the key is to have no more than 10-12g of carbs at any meal. That will lessen the insulin response.

[kennelmom]

I don't typically eat breakfast, but if I do, it's meat and fat: bacon and eggs and cream in my coffee. Sometimes a few veggies an omelet if I have them laying around needing to be used up.

[racingsnake]

Meat and fat, and the longer you're Primal, the better your metabolism should get at delivering you steady energy no matter when you last ate.

[BarbeyGirl]

I go for a high-nutrient, high-fat, and high-protein meal: A BAS with tons of non-starchy veggies, wild caught fish, and fatty dressing (made with fish oil and olive oil). This keeps me going until 3pm, easy.

[Katie82]

I always go for protein and fat in the morning and save starchy vegetables or fruits for later in the day. One of my favorite breakfasts is a small piece of salmon pan fried in butter (undercooked in the middle) with some Kalmata olives on the side. So yummy. Or lox, capers, tomato slices and red onions over a little lettuce.

[Bushrat]

I am going more and more towards only having two meals. The trick is to have a big breakfast, high in fat and protein. I've found that not eating enough, period, is what causes sugar cravings because I become hungry. However, when I eat a massive breakfast I can go all day on it. I tend to wait a an hour (or a few) until after I get up to start eating. So my breakfast is more like morning tea. I am still not a morning person (though getting there).