Breakfast and exercise are two of your most important health strategies

Here is an article by Dr. Mercola explaining the benefits of exercise and breakfast.  He gives his recipe for a protein shake that I am going to try myself…raw eggs and all!  You can click on the link below to order his whey protein powder.  When I run out of mine, I will definitely give his a try.  I think he sells excellent products.

 Why Exercising in the Morning is Best

 It may surprise you to find out that exercising in the morning has special benefits.

A large number of studies have actually been done on this aspect of exercise, and it turns out that the best time, for most people to exercise, is during the morning hours.

What these studies found was that compliance, in other words, your ability to persistently maintain your exercise regimen, on a regular basis, increases when you exercise in the morning.

When you schedule your exercise later in the day, invariably you will have something competing for that time, and you’re likely to miss it..

In addition, exercising at night has another disadvantage.

Exercise tends to rev up your system at a time when you’re better off relaxing and preparing for bed. So, you really want to avoid exercising aggressively later in the evening.

I would strongly recommend you exercise in the morning if at all possible as it will radically increase your compliance to this crucial activity.  You probably already know this, but let me repeat it, you simply will never achieve optimal health if you aren’t exercising.

 Don’t You Want to Feel This Good?

I was reflecting on just how wonderful it is to be fit.  It makes all the difference in the world to be fit, strong, flexible, and pain free. To have ALL the energy you need to do anything you want to in life.

And it really isn’t that hard.  Once you feel as good as I do, you NEVER want to lose that feeling and it becomes very easy to maintain your exercise program and keep it going strong.  It is one of the BEST investments you could ever make in your life.

For a mere few hours a week of minor discomfort, you get over 25 times as much time feeling great.  Pretty good deal if you ask me.

I am also sure you realize that NO ONE can delegate this out.  You simply have to do it for yourself. You can hire a chef and house cleaner but ultimately you are the only one that can get yourself in shape.

Just remember you need a BALANCED exercise program. Just jumping on a treadmill at your gym will NOT produce this level of fitness.  You need to add good flexibility training like yoga, great core training like Pilates, strength training, and anaerobic speed work.  Once you combine ALL of these types of exercises, you will have the fitness that you truly deserve.

The comprehensive approach also radically reduces your risk of injury, which is common with many who only use one type of exercise to achieve fitness.

 What Do You Eat for Breakfast?

The idea that skipping breakfast can lead to weight gain is not new. Studies have shown that eating breakfast can have beneficial effects on:

• Appetite
• Insulin resistance
• Energy metabolism 

One study found that obesity and insulin resistance syndrome rates were 35 percent to 50 percent lower among people who ate breakfast every day, compared to those who frequently skipped it.

But there’s more to it than simply not skipping the meal. Many children and adults for that matter, eat sugary cereals and breads for breakfast, chased down with a can of soda or sugary fruit juice. These kinds of eating habits may cause even more harm than not eating breakfast at all.

Nearly all of us feel better when we start the day with a good meal. The challenge that most face is being pressed for time in the morning, and this is equally true for children and teens as their over-worked parents.

The simple solution for this is to go to sleep a bit earlier, and rise a bit earlier to give yourself enough time to eat without rushing.

 So, before you go to bed at night, it is always good to have a plan for what you’re going to eat the following day – for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

This way, you have the opportunity to get the wheels turning and get that food prepared and ready for when you wake up.

It reminds me of an important principle:

If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.

This principle works equally well with respect to your food choices.

 What Makes for a Healthy Breakfast?

Primarily because of the many intense exercises I do, including cardio, strength training, core training, active resistance, flexibility stretching, and anaerobic burst interval-type  exercises – so there’s intense pressure on my muscles. They need to recover, which means I need plenty of protein – anyone will need a lot of protein to recover, repair, and rebuild muscles.

So you’ll want to make sure you have high quality protein for breakfast after you’ve exercised.

One of the sources I’ve found to be the best is high quality whey protein. 

 My Healthy Breakfast Recipe

I put a giant scoop of the banana Miracle Whey in a one-quart glass mason jar, and then I add two to four eggs. These are typically eggs purchased from a local farmer, not from the grocery store, so they’re organic, free-range eggs.

Now, some people don’t like the texture of raw eggs. But that’s typically due to the stringy consistency of the egg whites. Fortunately, you won’t need to worry about that here, because when you mix it up as I recommend, it is all dissolved into the mix.

I challenge anyone to be able to differentiate between a shake that has the eggs in it, and one that doesn’t. You won’t be able to tell the difference at all.

So I think if you try it, you’ll be very pleasantly surprised.

After putting in the whey mix and the eggs, I add between one-fourth to one-third of coconut milk. Coconut is a great source of MCTs (medium chain triglycerides), which  are the best low glycemic fuel for your muscles after exercise. Thus, the coconut milk further enhances the fueling impact of protein powder.

If you like, you can beef up your morning meal even further.

You can increase the fiber content by adding something like organic psyllium. I use a teaspoon or two of that in the quart jar.

To top it all off, I add some seeds.

I alternate between seeds that contain omega-3 fats and omega-6 fats. All the seeds are organic. For omega-3 fats, I alternate between chia seeds and flax seeds. (I grind them freshly in a coffee grinder.)

For omega-6, I alternate between pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, and sunflower seeds, switching between them on a regular basis, depending on what I feel like having that day.

After grinding the seeds of choice in the coffee grinder and adding them to the mix, I then fill the rest of the jar with water.

 Bottom Line

Remember, most people are unconsciously exchanging “convenience” for their health.  You are too smart to make that mistake.

Convenience foods may seem quicker and easier, but believe me, they come at a significant cost to your health, and I’m sure you don’t want to pay that price down the road. Besides, whipping up this breakfast couldn’t be faster or easier, or more nutritious!

Applying these strategies – exercising in the morning, and then having a healthy, protein-rich breakfast shake – are two great, easy ways for you and your family to take control of your health.