Breakfast: it could make or break you
Should I skip breakfast?
Great question! The honest answer is that it depends on YOUR current metabolic health status. The trending 'one size fits all' diet culture will never know your unique biochemistry. Trends such as "fasting in the morning is so beneficial and working out fasted is even better”….yep, I hear it, I've tried it all.
Since I work with individuals, mostly women, with adrenal and thyroid dysfunction, (in most cases, both of these glands suffer together) I can say: skipping breakfast as a daily habit is not a good idea.
When your body is in a state of adrenal and/or thyroid dysfunction, your energy reserves are not robust enough to allow you to thrive, rather they are on the struggle bus leading to more of a survival mode. Maybe you have heard of being in a state of "fight or flight" mode? To help with energy, you'll need to rely on your FOOD as fuel so you have energy. Quicker burning fuel gets you quicker energy that you need to run all your processes. And, that includes carbs - not too much, not too little, just enough for YOUR body - it truly will vary from person to person. I know, diet culture says to go low carb...yep, I've tried that too.
Again, diet culture doesn't know if your body is in a sped up state of body chemistry or a slowed down state - each has unique nutritional needs to support the body's daily energy requirements. It's amazing how good you can feel when you understand your biochemistry and can make educated choices in how you fuel your body.
The number one thing you can do to balance your hormones is to eat breakfast. A nice balanced nutritious breakfast consisting of carbs, protein and fat within an hour of waking up. No, this does not include a 16 ounce coffee to hold you over until lunch!
I get it, you might feel good when you fast in the morning. Give it some time, you are running on stress hormones and eventually your body will crash.....been there too.
We have always heard that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, until recently when the fasting community decided we no longer needed to nourish ourselves after ALREADY fasting for 10-12 hours a night. Talk about adding fuel to the stress fire! As if our hormones are not already out of whack because of day to day life stressors, why not make our body feel even less safe and secure by STARVING it.
Blood sugar balance is the NUMBER ONE thing we can do to balance our hormones. EAT BREAKFAST. Our bodies are completely depleted from fasting overnight. Our liver can only hold on to glucose for so long before it has to start making it’s own. Talk about stressful. And if our liver is compromised at all from things like low carb diets and nutrient deficiencies, then it will run out of glucose even sooner. When we skip breakfast, the body will increase production of stress hormones to use for energy. It's a very stressful situation for the body and wreaks havoc on blood sugar balance the rest of the day. Eating breakfast when you wake up prevents your body from having to do this super stressful process and keeps your hormones in check.
No appetite in the morning? That is a clear sign your body is conserving energy and suppressing your hunger, digestion, and reproduction because those processes require energy.
If you are a breakfast skipper, start small. Maybe try a SMALLER portion for breakfast and see how it goes for you! If coffee has been your breakfast, drink it after you eat breakfast or at least make the coffee nutrient dense by adding some collagen powder for protein and a good fat, such as butter, ghee or coconut oil.
If you are struggling with fatigue or adrenal and thyroid dysfunction, here are my three tips: don’t drink coffee on an empty stomach, quit fasting for 12-16 hours a day, and ditch the fasted workouts. You also might be interested in my previous blog on thyroid HERE.
If you are looking for guidance to restore your body from adrenal and/or thyroid dysfunction, details on how we can work together using YOUR unique biochemistry are HERE.