Gordie Adam shares his expert advice on how to shake up your breakfast to prevent snacking throughout the day.
The two main nutrition goals I give to all of my clients no matter their goal is a calorie goal and a protein goal. Protein, as many of you will know is important for muscle growth and repair but it also plays an important role in appetite control.
There are various studies showing the benefits of a high protein diet but one I found particularly interesting was from the University of Missouri, who found that eating a high protein breakfast could lead to a reduction in appetite and better food choices later in the day.
The study was aimed at discovering how food interacted with the body’s metabolic and hormonal control of appetitie. They focused on 20 overweight teenage girls who routinely skipped breakfast. Each girl completed 3 different six-day trials eating either a low-proetien cereal breakfast (350 cals, 13g protein), a high protein egg and beef breakfast (350cals, 35g protein) or continuing to skip breakfast.
After 7 days, they completed appetite and satiety questionnaires, provided blood samples to measure appetite hormones and had MRI scans to compare brain activity in response to different foods.
What they found was eating breakfast reduced daily hunger, compared to skipping breakfast entriely however, the high protein breakfast increased feelings of fullness and reduced evening snacking compared to the lor protein breakfast.
This was because the high protein breakfast reduced the release of appetite, boosting hormones (ghrelin and peptide YY) and suppressed areas of the brain that increase food motivation and reward.
IN CONCLUSION
If snacking later in the day is someting that you struggle with, eating a high protein breakfast may be the way to go.
I know for many people, getting a decent amount of protein into your breakfast can be a struggle, so a few suggestions of meals that will leave you feeling fuller later in the day are:
- 2 large boiled eggs
- 4 egg white omlette
- Lean meats – chicken, beef, fish ( this would be mostly for the hardcore bodybuilders)
- Greek yogurt
- Cottage cheese
- Whey protein shake
Personally, I dont like eggs, so for my breakfast every day I have 200g of oats with 2 scoops of Whey protein powder, giving me a whopping 72g of protein to start the day.
Thanks for reading and never be shy to reach out to me on Facebook or my Instagram account.
Gordie Adam
WNBF Pro Bodybuilder
INBF Heavyweight World Champion
Powerhouse Fitness Ambassador
You can check out more expert advice from Gordie with his home workouts, nutrition advice and how to gain muscle naturally.
