What firefighters should eat for breakfast

What you eat for breakfast is really important because it can set you up for success or failure for the rest of the day. I’ve shared in the past that a good weight loss strategy is to try and eat more of your calories in the beginning of the day and taper down throughout the rest of the day.

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There are two benefits to this strategy.

First, it gives you more waking hours to burn off those calories, and more importantly, it keeps your hunger in check. If you do not eat filling foods in the morning, you’ll end up eating more throughout the day because you’re more hungry.

The perfect breakfast for firefighters

Firefighters especially need a breakfast that’s filling since you may not be able to eat lunch until 5pm. The most filling nutrients are fiber, fat and protein so it must include those (good fats of course). Fiber and healthy fats also ward off heart disease by lowering your cholesterol and reducing inflammation in your body.

A breakfast that meets all of these needs, and is super quick and easy to prepare, is oatmeal with fruit/berries, chopped nuts, milk (or a milk alternative), and some cinnamon. Here’s more:

It can be any kind of oatmeal – instant has just as much fiber as traditional oats. Steel cut oats have more fiber but take a long time to cook. The best kind of nut to add are chopped walnuts because they are the only kind that actually have omega-3 fats, the most heart healthy fat we can eat. Both the nuts and the milk add protein that makes it more filling. If you choose a milk alternative, know that those usually have less protein.

If you need to add some sugar or honey, I say go for it. You can choose a fruit or berry that’s sweet so you don’t have to add much. Berries like blueberries, blackberries and raspberries have the most fiber per volume, they also have a ton of antioxidants which fight off cancer.

Now for the secret ingredient: a spoonful of cinnamon. Research shows that cinnamon helps control your blood sugar, helping you avoid type II diabetes and making this breakfast even better at dominating your hunger and your eating habits for the rest of the day!

Try this out and get back to me. Also, let us know if you have any special things you like to add to your oatmeal.

 

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By | 2018-05-17T20:35:52+00:00 April 1st, 2015|Uncategorized|5 Comments

About the Author:

Dr. Karlie Moore has a PhD in Exercise Science and Nutrition and specializes in firefighter health. She has conducted fitness testing on hundreds of firefighters and has created the most comprehensive online wellness program for fire departments called the FitCulture program. Dr. Moore is also married to a firefighter and so understands their lifestyle and the health challenges associated with it.

5 Comments

  1. Douglas April 1, 2015 at 2:55 pm

    Try any of the oatmeals listed with non-fat plain yourgurt or greek yogurt in lieu of milk. 1 TBS of PB with fresh fruit is also good.

  2. Richard April 1, 2015 at 9:34 pm

    I found the a hand full of raisins, banana or (my fav.) about two/three diced dates -Medjool are the best, work great as a sweetener. the dates are a bit of a pain to dice…but worth it!

    Richard

  3. Shelby Turner, Jr. April 2, 2015 at 8:59 pm

    A breakfast I like is a mixture of chia seeds, hemp seeds, ground flax seed, blueberries, strawberries, and Goodbelly (juice with pro-biotics). I use a small reusable bowl of about a cup. Put the berries in the bottom, then the chia seeds, the hemp seeds, and then the ground flax on top. I pour the Goodbelly in to just below the top of the mixture. I refrigerate over night. In the morning it is like a cool cobbler.

    I do eat oatmeal with fruit (usually berries) for breakfast some mornings but breakfast every day and sometimes twice. 😉 Cinnamon is a common addition as well. Here in Texas we are pecan eaters.

    Thanks for your blog and for sharing your knowledge.

    • Karlie July 14, 2015 at 5:29 pm

      you’re welcome Shelby!

  4. Anthony Stowers June 4, 2015 at 11:13 am

    I make steel cut oatmeal the night before in a slow cooker. 8.5 cups of water, 2 cups steel cut oats, 1/2 cup almond milk. Chop up carrots as fine as you can, add cinnamon and nutmeg, keep on low or keep warm for 8 hours and you have carrot cake oatmeal (my daughter showed me this). Add fresh strawberries and chopped walnuts or granola. I use almond mil instead of regular milk. This can make enough for a few meals as you can refrigerate and heat in the morning!

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