Breakfast: The First Commandment

The first principle of the gospel of weight loss is "Eat Breakfast."  Since I'm cribbing religious language anyway, I would go so far as to call it The First Commandment.  It was also one of the first hurdles I had to overcome.

I am not now, nor have I ever been, a morning person.  My morning routine since I left home at 18 was get up, get ready, and get out the door in under 30 minutes, all while mostly still half asleep.  My problem was never doughnuts or fast food, it was the fact that my body found the very idea of digesting anything other than coffee (with cream and sugar of course) before 11:00 a.m. kind of revolting. 

I talk a lot about how I had to trick myself into losing weight, and this probably applies to breakfast more than anything.  I figured it out after some trial and error, and now I can't imagine not waking up hungry and ready for breakfast, or what I would do without the energy it gives me.  So, how did I trick myself into being a breakfast person?

Well, I violated a different rule: "Don't drink your calories."  I knew my stomach could handle liquid in the morning, so I started making smoothies.  The usual recipe was to throw a cup of almond milk, half a frozen acai berry smoothie pack, and a handful of blueberries and strawberries into the blender.  Quick and delicious.  And I loved the energy I suddenly had in the morning.  After a couple months, I graduated to Greek yogurt with fresh fruit, also quick and delicious.  The big breakthrough came when i transitioned to either oatmeal with some berries and a scoop of whey protein powder or a 2 egg-white/1 whole egg scramble with a couple of slices of turkey bacon. Not as quick, but certainly delicious.  As for the oatmeal, you can make it in a larger batch and just pop some in the microwave in the morning...voila.  (Although I didn't say it explicitly quick/instant oatmeal is gross, and not nearly as good for you as "real" oatmeal).  Just make sure not to load your oatmeal up with milk and sugar.  I put in the protein powder, fresh berries, and sometimes, if it's a little thick, I add some almond milk.

I have also gotten quite handy at separating egg whites and egg yolks.  I am not a master omelette flipper, so I tend to go for a simple scramble, sometimes maybe with a little parmesan and some spinach, and maybe mushrooms if I'm feeling ambitious, dressed with a generous dose of Tapatio or Sriracha.  Served with a side of turkey bacon, it's my favorite breakfast at home.

My favorite dine-out breakfast is an egg-white Protein Scramble from Rachel's Kitchen, hold the potatoes, with gluten-free toast, and lots of Tapatio.  You can substitute fruit for the potatoes, but it's mostly melon, which doesn't really have much redeeming value, so I never eat it anyway.

Traveling always wreaks havoc on breakfast, and every other meal, so I'm really interested in what people eat on the road.  One time I was all set to grab a Yogurt Parfait at an airport Starbuck's.  Until I read the nutrition label and the calorie count.  It may sound ridiculous, but the best quick, portable breakfast I have found is an Egg McMuffin from Mickey D's, with the top part of the English Muffin removed.  Lots of protein and automatic portion control, but you do  have to mind your sodium and cholesterol for the rest of the day.