Are you exhausted?
Is breakfast really the most important meal of the day?
The honest answer is that it depends on YOUR current metabolic health status.
Since I work with mostly exhausted women with adrenal and thyroid dysfunction, I can say: skipping breakfast as a daily habit is not a good idea.
If you want optimal health, you have to EAT! You have to fuel your body with nutrient rich foods to support your fertility, ovulation, thyroid, hormones, adrenals, metabolism, sex drive - ALL aspects of health rely on NUTRIENTS!
Speaking of adrenals, these glands are VERY important, especially for women, to understand how they impact their life. The adrenals run the show in making hormones after the ovaries check out during menopause.
While you may be many years away from menopause, it's important for you to understand that the health of your adrenals will impact how well you go through peri menopause and spend your menopausal years. The adrenals and thyroid are always talking to each other and picking up the slack when one is too taxed. Taxed adrenals are going to have a hard time supporting sex hormones, keeping your blood sugar in check, and making stress hormones.
When your body is in a state of adrenal and/or thyroid dysfunction, your energy reserves are not robust enough to allow you to thrive, rather they are in more of a survival mode. Maybe you have heard of being in a state of "fight or flight"? To help with energy, you'll need to rely on your FOOD as fuel so you have energy.
Low protein intake can slow down your metabolism. I have found the majority of women that I work with are dealing with some form of an imbalanced metabolism. Higher protein intake is critical to speeding up a sluggish metabolism!
Protein becomes the most important macronutrient as we age. That’s because, as we age, our bodies require more protein to preserve muscle mass, keep us healthy, reduce recovery time from illness, and improve overall quality of life.
A higher protein intake as you age is associated with improved glucose regulation and reduction in metabolic diseases, like diabetes. Protein keeps us satiated and helps stabilize our blood sugar.
Blood sugar balance is the NUMBER ONE thing we can do to balance our hormones. EAT BREAKFAST. Our bodies are completely depleted from fasting overnight. Our liver can only hold on to glucose for so long before it has to start making it’s own. Talk about stressful.
No appetite in the morning? That is a clear sign your body is conserving energy and suppressing your hunger, digestion, and reproduction because those processes require lots of energy.
If you are a breakfast skipper, start small. Maybe try a SMALLER portion for breakfast and see how it goes for you! Focus on fat and protein at breakfast, rather than carbs.
If coffee has been your breakfast, try making the coffee nutrient dense by adding a protein powder (chocolate or vanilla protein is great in coffee!) and a good fat, such as butter, ghee or coconut oil.
If you are struggling with fatigue or adrenal and thyroid dysfunction, here are my THREE TIPS:
1 - don’t drink coffee, or any caffeine, on an empty stomach
2 - ditch the fasted workouts
3 - EAT BREAKFAST and focus on protein
You also might be interested in my previous discussion on thyroid HERE.
Finally, there are a few sales going on with some of my favorite nutrients:
Prime Protein is the tool that I use to help me meet my daily protein goals (it's great to mix into coffee!). Prime Protein is 100% grass-fed and finished beef protein. It’s like eating 4 ounces of grass-fed beef, but less likely to cause digestive problems that can come with whey protein. Take advantage of their protein sale to build your own health stack!
WHEN: January 11th-13th. 3 days only!
WHAT: Spend $160 sitewide and get an immediate $35 off - (That's about 22% off!!)
*This sale will work with Subscribe & Save orders, BUT the $35 off will only apply to the first order.
Enter this code at checkout:
HEALTHWEALTHSTACK
$35 will immediately be taken off the total.
**Both new and repeat buyers can get this deal!
Order your protein at equipfoods.com.
Another one of my favorite hacks for adding nutrient dense foods to my meals is with Pluck. Pluck has 100% grass-fed organ-based seasonings. Organ meats are one of the most nutrient dense foods on the planet. Pluck includes five grass-fed, grass-finished organs – liver, kidney, heart, spleen and pancreas. It's such as easy way to add the benefit of organs to our diet without preparing organs! I love adding the seasonings to enhance the flavor of chili, soups, really just about any dish! Some recipe ideas for using Pluck are HERE. I started with their Flavor Bundle so I could try them all. Zesty Garlic is probably our favorite! They are 20% off through Jan. 31 with code HEALTHWEALTH HERE.
If you are looking for customized guidance to restore your body from adrenal and/or thyroid dysfunction, using YOUR unique biochemistry, let's chat! Click HERE to schedule a Discovery Call so we can discuss your specific health concerns and how nutritional therapy can help you.
It's amazing how good you can feel when you use functional testing to understand your unique biochemistry to make educated choices on how you support your body's daily energy requirements.
In Your Corner,
Karri
Other resources I commonly get asked for:
Here's what I follow as a source of news HERE.
Here's what I follow to learn more about issues affecting children's health HERE.
If you are curious about what functional nutritional therapy is, and how it can help you with your current health goals, check out this recent story by COMO Magazine.
If you need to order supplements, here's the link to my dispensary: FULLSCRIPT. While my dispensary catalog is open for you to search everything offered from Fullscript, if you go to Catalog, then Karri Ball's Dispensary Favorites, there are categories within Favorites. Favorites are my preferred brands - the brands that meet my quality standards.