High Protein Breakfasts

22 May 2009 | Bodybuilding Nutrition Tips

It doesn’t matter what your goals are, you should always look to have a high protein breakfast. Proteins are the essential building blocks of your body, if you don’t eat enough of them, your body will simply cannibalise the existing proteins that can be found in your muscles and various other parts of your body.

As well as the need to replace worn out tissue with a steady supply of proteins, if you are doing lots of exercise, specifically weight training, you will need more protein to repair the muscles that are damaged during your exertions. Clearly if you are aiming to eat three times a day, then by not having protein in your breakfast – as most people who eat cereal do – you are losing out on one of your three opportunities a day to ingest protein.

Another, not so well known reason to have a high protein breakfast is the effect that protein has on your brains hunger satiation – when you eat protein in sufficient quantity, your body tells your brain that you are full, and this feeling of fullness stays with you all the way to lunch. This can be quite useful for those looking to lose weight, by having lots of protein at breakfast, they will not feel hungry until lunch and thus be less tempted to snack mid morning.

Here are some ideas for high protein breakfasts:

  • Bacon & eggs – grill or fry the bacon, fry or scramble the eggs, delicious!
  • Protein shake & fruit – will still be low calorie and fruit is fairly slow release energy
  • Boiled eggs and wholemeal soldiers – wholemeal toast is slow releasing energy and 2 or 3 eggs will provide between 12 – 18 grams of protein, plus lots of other vitamins!
  • Scrambled egg and smoked salmon – lovely by itself, no toast, better if you make the scrambled egg with cream and chopped chives!
  • Kippers – a classic from the olden days, good source of protein, but watch the repeating!
  • Omelette with cheese – good way to eat eggs and add a bit of extra flavour with the cheese, you can even add in some ham and mushrooms for extra flavour and protein!

As you can see, there are lots of ways to get a good dose of protein in your breakfast, and you don’t always have to resort to a protein shake (as I do) to get in your quota of protein for breakfast.

If you are looking to lose weight and are worried about all the fat that eggs contain – don’t! The fat found in eggs is mostly healthy fats that provide a good low gi source of energy for you, even lower than scottish oats or muesli, I bet you didn’t know that!

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