WHY EAT BREAKFAST

Boiled Egg with Asparagus wrapped in Parma Ham

I often get asked about breakfast and whether people should be eating it or not.

And I always reply the same way.

Yes.

But, it's not just as simple as that.

What you should be eating at breakfast time depends on whether you've been training that morning or whether you're on a rest day.

There are ways you can make your body work for you just by simply being a bit more aware of what types of food you're eating on what days.

REST DAYS

Let's say you get up and you're not planning on training that day, or you're training later.

Throughout the night your body has been in fat-burning-mode after it had used all the available stores of sugar from the liver and muscles.

So, on your rest days, the idea is to keep that fat-burning process going when you wake. But, if you eat a breakfast full of carbohydrates, your body will release insulin and stop that all important fat-burning.

The way to prolong it is to instead eat a breakfast rich in protein with good fats, which will also keep you feeling fuller for longer and avoid that dreaded mid-morning slump when we reach for the biscuits (we've all been there).

TRAINING DAYS

But, what if its a training day and you've just worked your ass off and are now famished?

Well, during that morning training session your body has just released a boat-load of insulin and your cells are now ready to suck-up a mountain of nutrients.

So, on these days, the idea is you give your body loads of protein and carbs to give it what it needs.

But make sure, if you've got carbs on your plate you reduce the amount of fat to keep everything balanced.

When measuring your portion sizes try using your hand as a portion indicator. So you want 1-2 palms of protein, 1-2 thumbs of fat and if you're adding carbs in the form of veg you want those low GI ones - things like green veg that grows above the ground and tomatoes in a fist size portion.