5 Simple Breakfast Routine Shifts to Improve Your Health This Spring
As a functional medicine health coach, I spend my days guiding people along their unique path to health, and what I have learned is that the more benefits we can squeeze out of the things we are already doing each day, the easier that path becomes. There are oodles of opportunity at breakfast that pack a powerful punch on your health. Let’s talk about 5 of them right now!
Written by Guest Author, Jessica McManus
As a functional medicine health coach, I spend my days guiding people along their unique path to health, and what I have learned is that the more benefits we can squeeze out of the things we are already doing each day, the easier that path becomes.
There are oodles of opportunity at breakfast that pack a powerful punch on your health. Let’s talk about 5 of them right now!
#1: Eat a higher protein breakfast
For starters, a higher protein breakfast helps to minimize blood sugar spikes, and subsequent crashes mid-morning that may leave you starving for lunch, and/or craving junk. A high protein breakfast has also been shown to reduce cravings and snacking throughout the day. Protein is a building block for muscle, and increasing muscle mass also supports balanced blood sugar in the body. Aim for 30-35 g of protein at breakfast. One of my favorite ways to do this is 2 eggs (about 12g of protein), 3 oz of smoked salmon (about 20 g of protein), and a side of veggies, like mushrooms and sweet potato. I’ve also shared a smoothie recipe in the next section that can easily get you to 30g of protein.
#2: Eat your Veggies!
Adding a serving or 2 of veggies to breakfast can really help start your nutrition off on the right foot for the entire day! Sprouts and herbs are loaded with vitamins and minerals. I like to snip fresh herbs over my eggs, like parsley, cilantro and sage. I also love purchasing veggie sprouts from my local farmer or the grocery store to add as a side. Oftentimes, I just see what leftover veggies are in the fridge from dinner and reheat those as a side dish. The options are limitless here. Another great way to sneak veggies in is with a breakfast smoothie! Adding baby spinach to any fruit smoothie may change the color, but it still tastes delicious. I have shared a simple smoothie recipe below!
Strawberry Smoothie:
1-2 cups baby spinach
1 cup frozen berries
1 banana (Frozen or fresh)
1 cup almond milk
Pinch of sea salt
2 tbsp almond butter
Vanilla or unflavored collagen protein powder: 2 scoops
#3: Up your Eating Hygiene Game
First, it might be helpful to explain what eating hygiene actually is! This is the art of consuming your food in a way that allows you to properly digest, and fully absorb the nutrients from your food, in turn, fueling all the systems in your body to run properly. If you are eating a healthy meal, you definitely want to follow these tips to help your body soak up, and use all the nutrients that you consumed. The first step is slowing down for about 15–20 minutes. Focus on eating without the distractions of work, computers, phones, etc…, and be sure you are sitting down to eat. These choices help to signal your body to turn on the parasympathetic nervous system (or PNS, the “rest and restore mode”), and eating is 100% a PNS activity! In fact, eating on the go, or being distracted while eating, can signal our body to activate its fight or flight response (the sympathetic nervous system), and this can reduce digestive secretions by up to 95%! Next, chew each bite until your food is about the consistency of baby food. The number of bites varies depending on the type of food, but a good rule of thumb is about 25–35 chews before swallowing. I know it sounds like a lot, but the benefits are priceless. For those who would like to learn more about eating hygiene, I’ve included a helpful guide below.
#4: Grounding Outdoors
It’s springtime, and spending time in nature has been shown to have a positive effect on mental and physical wellbeing. Why not get that outdoor time, while you are eating your breakfast? Grounding, also known as Earthing, is the simple process of putting the human body (easiest being your bare feet), into direct contact with the earth’s surface. I bet you are wondering how this works, so let me explain… Earth’s negative electric potential can help create a stable internal bioelectric environment to normalize the function of all of our body’s systems. These negative electrons from antioxidant molecules in the earth neutralize free radicals involved in the body’s immune and inflammatory responses. The health benefits of earthing include decreased chronic stress, reduced inflammation, decreased pain, and improved sleep. If you’d like to learn more, here is a great article from the Journal of Environmental and Public Health in 2012.
#5: Let that sunshine In
While you are outside slowly enjoying your breakfast, consider leaving your sunglasses inside, and getting some sunlight in your eyes. Studies have shown that exposing your unshaded eyes to 15–20 minutes of sunlight, before noon (but ideally first thing in the morning), helps reset your circadian clock, laying the groundwork for more energy during the day, and a deeper, more restorative sleep that night!
How incredible that loving your body with these simple shifts, could reap so many health benefits? I hope this article has been helpful for you! If you’d like to learn tips, follow along with me on Instagram @fullcircleptandwellness. You can also learn more about my programs and book a free discovery call at https://fullcircleptandwellness.com/.
For more than two decades, Jess McManus has used her passion for healing and physical therapy to help people resolve serious pain and injury issues. Jess launched Full Circle Wellness to provide clients with uninterrupted one-on-one attention, and really explore the root of their challenges more efficiently and holistically. She uses both physical therapy and health coaching to help clients through educating and empowering them to take back control of their health and well-being, and ultimately stay well (And drink more water, of course).
How to Walk: Engage Your Toes
Look, we’ve been walking most of our lives without thinking about it. Yet, as a Physical Therapist specializing in hip and knee pain, I became aware that the root cause of our pain is biomechanical — how we move and how we walk. (Side note: Joint replacements of the hip and knee are projected to increase about 35% per year over the next 10 years). So, are we walking wrong? And if so, why?
Written by Guest Author, Rich Waldron
How to walk! Wait, what? I’ve been walking since I was a year old… Did I forget how to walk?
Look, we’ve been walking most of our lives without thinking about it. Yet, as a Physical Therapist specializing in hip and knee pain, I became aware that the root cause of our pain is biomechanical — how we move and how we walk. (Side note: Joint replacements of the hip and knee are projected to increase about 35% per year over the next 10 years!).
So, are we walking wrong? And if so, why?
Start with the book Born to Run. It’s a funny story about Caballo Blanco; but to me, it’s a science book — a biomechanical walker’s user manual. For some unspecified reason, with the running boom of the 1970s, running (and walking) shoe design created a cushy heel tapering down to a flat toe (like a high-heeled running or walking shoe). This encouraged and emphasized a heel strike as the main component of the walking or running stride, i.e. what my lead or front leg is doing.
What was de-emphasized was the rest of the stride — and to me the more important part, i.e. what’s happening on the back end or what my trail leg is doing. I always imagined instructions sounded like, “Heel strike left, heel strike right, heel left, heel right.” This method of walking or running sends a massive force (7-9x body weight) driving up into the knee and hip joints — the cartilage. Every time you strike with your heel, it’s like hitting your hip and knee with a sledgehammer!
So, what’s a better thought or instruction? Think, “Big toe push right, big toe push left, big toe right, big toe left.” Now, what’s happening? By emphasizing the big toe push off, walkers and runners tend to lean forward more (nose over toes). Rather than a force driving into the hip and knee joints, the big glute muscles (our main engine for walking and running), and partly the thigh muscles (quads and hammies) and calf muscles, absorb the work… that’s what they are there for!
Next time you’re walking, repeat this mantra: “Push off with the right big toe… Now, the left… Now, the right!” Be ready, your muscles will be sore — but that’s what they’re there for.
Rich Waldron, PT is, amongst many things, a private practice Physical Therapist living in Northern California, who specialized in biomechanical knee and hip problems.
Just Breathe
Breathing is one of the most powerful tools we have for hosting mindfulness and well-being. When we focus on our breath as we walk, it can help us to bring our attention to the present moment and to release any tension or stress that we may be holding in our bodies. I love that. Simple. Breathe.
Focusing on the breath as you walk
Breathing is one of the most powerful tools we have for hosting mindfulness and well-being. When we focus on our breath as we walk, it can help us to bring our attention to the present moment and to release any tension or stress that we may be holding in our bodies. I love that. Simple. Breathe.
One way to use breath as a mindfulness tool when walking is to focus on the sensation of the air moving in and out of your nostrils or your chest. This can help to anchor your attention in the present moment and release any thoughts that may be distracting you from your walk.
Another way to use breath while walking is to release tension or stress in the body. For example, you can take a deep breath in and then exhale slowly, imagining that you are releasing any tension or stress that you may be holding in your shoulders or jaw. This can be a very effective way to promote a sense of calm and relaxation. I have just started to do this at the start of every walk, so that I begin in a place of peace. In all honesty, it doesn’t always work — but I find it is always worth a try!
You can also use different types of breath to promote different states of mind and body. For example, alternate nostril breathing is a yoga breath technique which can balance the left and right sides of the brain, and can bring clarity, reduce stress and anxiety, and promote a sense of inner balance. Box breathing is a technique that is said to help reduce anxiety and promote a sense of calm and focus. I love box breathing. I use it all the time, and not just on my walks. The other day, I was in a traffic jam and could feel a sense of frustration bubbling up. Bingo, box breathing. Frustration diluted.
Walking with the power of breath can be a great tool for promoting mindfulness, well-being, and relaxation. The absolutely wonderful thing about various breathing tools is that they are available to us all the time, everywhere.
The three techniques I have been using most recently are box breathing, deep sigh breathing, and bubble breathing. Click on our how-to’s below, then go for a walk and try them out. Notice how you feel before and after. Send us a note at @thismorningwalk HERE in the comments. We would love to hear from you.
Libby DeLana is an award-winning executive creative director, designer/art director by trade, who has spent her career in the ad world. Click here to get your copy of Libby’s first published book, Do Walk. You can connect with Libby on Instagram @thismorningwalk and @parkhere.
CONSERVATION
Every day, I walk. Every day, I am in an ecosystem. Each walk, I am healed/nourished/inspired by that place. Lately, I have been feeling a need to do the same for that place. To be more curious about it, heal it, nourish it, care for it. We are in a profound relationship.
Good Morning, WalkStars.
I’ve been thinking a lot about how our #ThisMorningWalk practice could be a tool for conservation after reading Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer. This book has had a very profound impact on my life and my MorningWalk practice.
Every day, I walk. Every day, I am in an ecosystem. Each walk, I am healed/nourished/inspired by that place. Lately, I have been feeling a need to do the same for that place. To be more curious about it, heal it, nourish it, care for it. We are in a profound relationship.
“Because the relationship between self and the world is reciprocal, it is not a question of first getting enlightened or saved and then acting. As we work to heal the earth, the earth heals us.”
— Robin Wall Kimmerer, Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants
By continuing to learn about my surroundings, I am developing a more compassionate holistic understanding of where I walk: an environment that deserves my respect, understanding, and love. As I walk, I am paying more attention to all the trees, all the birds, all the insects, the entirety of the ecosystem.
“The trees act not as individuals, but somehow as a collective. Exactly how they do this, we don’t yet know. But what we see is the power of unity. What happens to one happens to us all. We can starve together or feast together.”
— Robin Wall Kimmerer, Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants
Rather than using only science writings to learn about trees (and other living beings), I/we need to remember the fact that there is so much we can learn FROM trees themselves. I need to listen to them, stand still, and pay attention to the lessons. I think I often simply walk through their house and don’t stop to say hello or stop and listen. Now don’t get me wrong, I may not literally be stopping at each grove or redwood cathedral, but I will pay more attention.
Lesson One: find a way to work together. If trees can find ways to work collectively without moving or talking, us humans have no excuse.
The course of actions needed to heal the Earth and combat climate change will not happen on behalf of individuals; it requires the work of strong communities moving towards a shared goal. Kimmerer says it is our collective responsibility, and I agree. The Earth has given so much. It’s our turn to give back.
“To love a place is not enough. We must find ways to heal it.”
— Robin Wall Kimmerer, Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants
“Knowing that you love the earth changes you, activates you to defend and protect and celebrate. But when you feel that the earth loves you in return, that feeling transforms the relationship from a one-way street into a sacred bond.”
— Robin Wall Kimmerer, Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants
Libby DeLana is an award-winning executive creative director, designer/art director by trade, who has spent her career in the ad world. Click here to get your copy of Libby’s first published book, Do Walk. You can connect with Libby on Instagram @thismorningwalk and @parkhere.
HARMONY / BALANCE
I hear a lot of discussion about the quest for balance. I don’t think there is a place called balance. Life is in constant flux, so balance can only be temporary; therefore, seeking it as a desired end state is impossible. I think what I seek is not balance, but harmony.
Today’s ThisMorningWalk inquiry: the difference between harmony and balance. I know, I know it’s a bit esoteric. Why not simply think about toast with jam or butter? Butter, btw.
I hear a lot of discussion about the quest for balance. I don’t think there is a place called balance. Life is in constant flux, so balance can only be temporary; therefore, seeking it as a desired end state is impossible.
I always look to the natural world for clues; tides come in and go out, seasons are constantly shifting, creatures are on the move, life and death rolls in and out, storms come and go. I think what I seek is not balance, but harmony.
In fact, when I was in pursuit of balance, I think I created more frustration and disappointment for myself. So, I am shifting my language to be seeking harmony in my life, not balance. Harmony instead feels softer, generous, inclusive, and beautiful. Think how beautiful the sound of harmony in music is.
So as we approach the end of the year, I am walking into harmony, with harmony, seeking harmony.
har·mo·ny
/ˈhärmənē/
a consistent, orderly, or pleasing arrangement of parts; congruity.
bal·ance
/ˈbaləns/
Verb
keep or put (something) in a steady position so that it does not fall
Noun
a condition in which different elements are equal
Harmony is beautiful.
Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony.
— Mahatma Gandhi
Libby DeLana is an award-winning executive creative director, designer/art director by trade, who has spent her career in the ad world. Click here to get your copy of Libby’s first published book, Do Walk. You can connect with Libby on Instagram @thismorningwalk and @parkhere.