Breaking the fast
Breakfast, to coin the phrase, is the most important meal of the day. Just not in the way Mr Kellog would have you believe. But go back to the original meaning of ‘breaking the fast’, and it really is the meal that sets the day up for success or failure. Both in terms of what you eat and when you eat it.
My breaking the fast generally happens around 1pm. Dinner was 8pm the previous evening, so fifteen hours without eating. For the last three or four hours, I have been in ketosis. In a state of ‘autophagy’ for a couple of hours before that. By 1pm I would have done 60 to 90 minutes in the gym of weight-bearing exercise.
So am I famished, weak at the knees, and salivating in anticipation of the first meal of the day? Not really. If something happened, I could reasonably comfortably get through to 3or 4pm. By that point, my body would be telling me I need to eat.
I am conscious of having spent a lot of effort in exercising the muscles and don’t want to undo it by leaving the body to scavenge muscle in the absence of other protein sources.
My breaking the fast? I go for maximum protein, which keeps the feeling of fullness longer. A little carb (50g) keeps the feeling of deprivation at bay. Negligible fat, based on the fact that it is not available as a nutrition source until it has been absorbed into the fat cells and then released during ketosis and what I am looking for, with a lot of the day still ahead, is a consistent, available energy source. And last, but not least, I try to keep the calories down to a reasonable level, but enough to get me through to the next meal which is 8pm. And so the cycle goes on.
What is my breakfast? It has changed and evolved and come through many iterations. It has three components that I judge as keeping me engaged and satisfied. The actual macro calorie breakdown. The culinary embellishments. The ability, or otherwise to shovel it down and be staring at an empty plate while still feeling hungry.
And it is? Two whole eggs (XX calories). Ten egg whites (xx calories), and one lump of Chinese Angels Hair noodles (the carbs, xx calories). The total calorific value of 361 calories. 59 grams of protein. The garnish changes by the day and is the key to making what would otherwise be a reasonably unpalatable meal a gourmet treat. Today’s garnish was Dark Soy, Sesame Oil, Semi-dried Tomato & Chilli, Salt and Pepper.
How did I arrive at this combination? Trial and error. Trying other ingredients and other combinations of food and feeling hungry again by 5pm.
I started with Vogel bread toasted. But I added too much butter and ate it too quickly. And it was too much carb and too many calories, I went to Vogel's very thin sliced bread, it’s still too many carbs and ate it even quicker. I then struck on the idea of the Chinese Angel’s Hair noodles. From the Chinese Supermarket. They are ridiculously cheap. Giant packets of about 30 of them for $7. They are cheaply made so they don’t unravel easily like the noodles in a pack of 2-minute noodles, which means you have to fight to separate them, which slows the whole eating process down. My Achilles heel in eating; speed, solved.
The next part of the equation was quantities, with the obvious variable being the eggs. I started with two whole eggs, (the whole eggs are for flavour and for warding off the feeling of deprivation) and four egg whites. I stalled at eight egg whites for a while then crept up to ten. Which is perfect. I get through the whole rest of my day without snacking or even being tempted to snack. Have ample energy.
The total preparation time is 15 minutes and the total cost is $6
Most importantly. I’m not hungry. I don’t feel deprived. I’m not continually trying to divert myself from the feeling of wanting to snack. Don’t have energy peaks and troughs. Concentration levels are good. Don’t need a coffee to perk me up. And the icing the cake (snacking parlance), I sit down to a beautiful dinner and beer with a clear conscience. I have done the hard work, which wasn’t hard, and I can now enjoy a treat.
What I do may not work for you, but there is something that will. It sometimes takes a bit of experimentation to find it.
I can tell you one thing though. If you wake up ravenous and are breakfasting on jam and (white bread) toast at 8am you are in for a long day.
