What is a Breakfast Best Friendly to Intermittent Fasting Like?

We’re usually asked by intermittent fasting beginners “Should I skip my breakfast during intermittent fasting?” or “Does breakfast break my fast?”. It’s understandable they ask such questions based on breakfast. After all, breakfast goes a long way in people’s life.

Breakfast, or Break Fast?

Do you find the trick of the word “breakfast”? Yes, the word “breakfast” consists of “break” and “fast” since the original meaning as the term was created indicates “to break the fasting period of the prior night”.

Then, does breakfast really break your fast?

It depends on the phase your breakfast stays.

If your breakfast time is within the fasting window, then, it’ll break your fast if you have a breakfast, even a light one. If your breakfast time is within or at the top of your eating window, then, it won’t break your fast as long as the foods are consumed friendly to intermittent fasting. When it comes to what type of food should be eaten for your breakfast, it’ll be discussed below.

Therefore, if your breakfast just stays at your fasting window, you can call the article an end since you don’t need to read on. If your breakfast stays at your eating window, however, the following content can never be missed out.

Which window should I arrange my breakfast, then?

Different people may have different ideas about breakfast. Some people don’t have an appetite as they get up in the morning and black coffee is just fit. Some people, however, can’t resist a morning without anything to eat. That reminds me of Isabella Garcia who has lost 10 kilograms with intermittent fasting and has conformed to a 16:8 diet plan covering breakfast and lunch with dinner avoided.

Must-Follow Principles for a Breakfast

To prepare a breakfast that is top-friendly with intermittent fasting, some principles should be followed, which can be simply remembered as “3 highs and 2 lows”.

3 Highs

High Fiber

Foods that are high in fiber should be selected for breakfast because they are complex carbohydrates like whole-grain bread or cereals, fresh fruits, and vegetables, etc. High-fiber food slows down the absorption in your gut, steadies your blood sugar level, and keeps you full for a longer time than only white grains.

soluble fiber
High Proteins

Foods with high lean proteins should be selected for breakfast since they help you maintain your blood glucose levels and keep you full for a longer time. The foods containing high proteins include poultry, fish, eggs, seafood, milk, seeds and nuts, beans and legumes, soy, whole grains, etc.

According to the research by Carl H. Johnson, the results suggest that eating a larger, protein-filled breakfast is one of the best ways to maintain a healthy weight. Therefore, a good breakfast not only provides necessary nutrients to humans but is beneficial for weight management.

high protein food
High Nutrients

High-nutrient foods, also called nutrient-dense foods, are what you eat every day that are less processed in whole food form. For example, choose whole fruits instead of fruit juice and choose freshly cheese to replace cheese sauce.

swap fruit juice for fresh fruits

2 Lows

Low Sugar

No matter what meal, breakfast, or dinner, a golden principle should be followed to keep a balance between nutrients and weight, which is low sugar should be consumed. High sugar get you gain weight, increases the risk of heart diseases, Type 2 diabetes or cancer, accelerates the skin aging process, etc.

Low Carb

Carbohydrates are not totally bad for your health but a high intake of them is surely bad for your health because it may arouse weight gain, elevated blood sugar, or sugar addiction.

Your Basic Breakfast Formula

Choose a good lean protein

Low fat / fat-free dairy like milk, sugar-free yogurt or fresh cheese, eggs, lean meat like smoked salmon, chicken, sliced beef, ham, etc.

Choose a high fiber carbohydrate

Oats, multigrain bread, seeded sourdough, starchy vegetables, legumes, and fresh fruits.

Choose a healthy fat

Nut butter, avocado, whole nuts, and seeds like unsalted nuts, flax seeds, chia seeds, pumpkin seeds, etc.

Choose a healthy drink

Water, plain tea, black coffee, lemon water, etc.

How Many Calories Should a Breakfast Contain to Start My Eating Window (Breaking My Fast)?

Before digging into the specific calorie number, a gold tip should be kept in mind, it is what you eat that really matters, not only how many calories you’ve eaten.

A typical breakfast is around 300 to 400kcal which is able to support your feeling to be full for 3 to 4 hours before your next meal. If you’re having morning tea or snack before lunch, you may aim for slightly lower calories, that is, around 200 to 300kcal.

Therefore, there’s no professional limit to the calorie of breakfast but you should limit yourself to healthy foods and drinks.

Sample Fasting Friendly Breakfast Recipes

Here are some ideas about a healthy breakfast.

Recipe#1

Oat/muesli porridge or overnight oats

  • Add some nuts and seeds and fresh fruits
  • Add flavors like vanilla extract, ground cinnamon, ground nutmeg, ground cardamom, cacao or cocoa powder, maca powder, protein powder, cacao nibs, etc.

Recipe#2

Pancakes

  • Add oats in batter
  • Add banana
  • Serve with fruits and yoghurt

Recipe#3

Poached/scrabbled egg on toast/sourdough

  • Add avocado

Recipe#4

Omelets

  • Choose vegetables you prefer
  • Serve with toast or baked beans

Recipe#5

Simple sandwich/wrap

  • Use multigrain bread/wraps
  • Choose a lean protein (tuna, egg, ham, low fat cheese)
  • Add some vegetables (lettuce, tomato, bean sprouts, spinach, beetroot)

Recipe#6

Healthy protein smoothies

  • Choose a piece of fruit
  • Choose a serve whey protein power (20 to 25g)
  • Choose a dairy or plant-based milk (unsweetened)
  • Optional to add oat or seeds or nuts
  • To enhance flavor, you can add vanilla extracts, cacao powder, nut butter, ground cinnamon, nutmeg, etc.

Bottom Line

  • Whether you can have a breakfast during intermittent fasting or not depends on the window your breakfast stays.
  • If your breakfast stays at your fasting window, you should not have it while you can have it if your breakfast stays at your eating window.
  • A healthy breakfast should be high in fiber, proteins and nutrients and low in sugar and carbs.
  • A typical breakfast should have 300 to 400kcal and it should be lower if snacks will be consumed between breakfast and your next meal.
  • A golden diet tip to keep in mind: it is what you eat that really matters, not only how many calories you’ve eaten.

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