What's for Breakfast? Protein First!

Recipe: Spring Eggs

We know the first rule of weight loss surgery is to eat protein first. That means we must eat protein at every meal. The high protein or protein first diet is prescribed for all bariatric procedures and is the dietary guideline patients are instructed to follow for life. The bulk of our calories at any meal should come from animal, dairy, or vegetable protein. This includes breakfast. By eating protein first thing in the morning we instantly raise our metabolism, we promote feelings of satiation and reduce cravings for snacks or simple carbohydrates.

Eating a high protein breakfast effectively staves hunger cravings and snacking binges later in the day because it reduces the circulating levels of the hormone ghrelin, which stimulates hunger. So not only are we raising our metabolism with high protein nutrition, we are managing the brain chemistry that often gets the blame for head hunger and snacking binges. The earlier in the day we eat protein the more likely we are to stick with our high protein diet plan without annoying cravings or sluggishness.



Dietary Protein: Quick List and Recipe Links

Try starting your day with 35 grams of high quality protein including eggs, meat, poultry, shellfish or fish, Greek yogurt, milk, cottage cheese, vegetarian protein, or protein supplementation such as protein shakes or protein bars. I keep hard-cooked eggs on hand for a quick-grab breakfast and more often than not mix my ready-to-drink protein shake with hot coffee (use it like coffee creamer) for a steady supply of morning protein.

For more protein breakfast ideas check out Protein First: Living the First Rule of WLS