Try Not To Laugh At Me…

Last week, I was teaching a weight loss class and we were talking about properly fueling pre and post workout. Many participants were sharing how they don’t know what to eat before or after exercise and one woman asked me to share my morning.  I told her I had some plain yogurt and a banana before my morning run and then when I got home, I had two eggs over lentils and butternut squash with some tahini sauce for breakfast.  Two folks started to laugh right in my face, most of the room looked at me like I was insane and the other said, “Well that is totally unappealing!” – I had to laugh too.

They were laughing at me for having dinner for breakfast.  I was laughing at how my nutrition has changed so much over the years that dinner for breakfast is now something I crave and seems totally normal.  Now don’t get me wrong, I LOVE breakfast…and often have breakfast for dinner, but that is a whole other story.

The point is, I eat food that fuels me, is good for me, satiates me and tastes delicious.  While I love breakfast foods, I am often not full afterwards.  It doesn’t always do the job and lately eating something warm and filling in the morning after a good hard workout has been the perfect trick to set me up for a successful day.

I encourage you to think outside the box!  Change things up a bit, throw everything up in the air and see where it falls.

Maybe you have dinner for breakfast, lunch at 11 am instead of 2 pm, a snack at 3 pm and breakfast for dinner at 7 pm.  What would happen?

Maybe you try soup as a snack paired with some protein and see how it makes you feel.  What if you had chicken soup for breakfast???

Consider bringing leftovers from dinner and eat mid afternoon – does that make your afternoon more productive and you eat less at dinner?

The point is that food is fuel!  We all have different needs, cravings, schedules, goals and routines.  If you keep following a routine that doesn’t work, how are you ever going to get what you want???

Change it up…make it happen…have fun…and don’t laugh when you see me eating steak and potatoes in the morning.
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Jae Berman, MS, RD, CSSD, serves as the Regional Registered Dietitian of The San Francisco Bay Club. As the nutrition expert and dietician for Western Athletic  Clubs, she thrives on helping people live healthier, stronger, more confident lives. With an extensive education in nutrition, Jae has been featured as an expert in Shape Magazine, Better Homes & Garden and more. Her background is in sports nutrition, weight loss counseling and disease management. She is also a personal trainer and yoga and Pilates instructor. Jae earned a master’s degree in Applied Physiology and Nutrition from Columbia University and completed her dietetic internship at UCSF Medical Center.