Women's hormones, gut + metabolism

But First, Breakfast

Alright all you matcha drinking, coffee demonizing influencers. I am sure at one point you have been told that coffee is bad for you.

And at another point were told to drink your coffee with some nutrient-void nut juice or black on an empty stomach to boost metabolism.

The controversy about coffee is wild and one of the most frequently asked questions I get.

“Can I drink coffee? Is it good for me?”

I don’t know. Can you?

Well I am happy to report, coffee is good for you. If done right.

Where can coffee drinking go wrong tho?

Coffee is only supportive AFTER a meal. On an empty stomach it will elicit a harmful stress response that then cause a blood sugar shit show and impacts your adrenals, hormones, metabolism and digestion.

Let’s take a look at how this plays out.

You have naturally fasted all night for 10-12 hours.

At this point your body needs fuel. I hear all you fasters. Yes, it does. You are not better than anyone for being able to skip breakfast. Give it some time girlfriend 😉

Fasting in and of itself is stressful and causes your adrenals to pump out stress hormones and cortisol. Your body thinks it’s in a famine, it is scrambling for resources to keep you alive the longer you wait to eat. A drop in blood sugar is the absolute biggest stressor on the body hands down.

Let’s add more fuel to the fire eh?

You now have that morning coffee on an empty stomach. Caffeine also causes cortisol to rise. You are now in a chronic stressed out cortisol risen state, depleting your body of minerals contributing to further stress on your system.

This is when the cascade of effects begin, your blood sugar is impacted, your adrenals are working over-time, your body can’t make hormones and your digestion can’t function because they are not priorities when trying to survive, and your metabolism is wrecked.

You have now set yourself up to be riding the blood sugar rollercoaster all day.

Eating a balanced meal prior to coffee will put out the stressful blood sugar fire and allow your body to view coffee as helpful rather than harmful.

Next time someone hands you a coffee first thing you know better and can now confidently say, “But first, breakfast.”

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Your Breakfast Will Make or Break You

I know. “BUT I heard fasting in the morning is SOOO BENEFICIAL and working out fasted is even better”… 🙄

The number one thing you can do to balance your hormones is to eat breakfast. SAY IT LOUDER FOR THE PEOPLE IN THE BACK! Yes, I am talking a nice balanced nutritious breakfast consisting of carb and protein within an hour of waking up. No this does not include some bullshit coffee with a fat bomb in it to hold you over until lunch.

“But why Laura? I feel so good when I fast in the morning.” 🙄

Give it some time Girlfriend- you are running on stress hormones and eventually your body will crash.

We have always heard that breakfast is the most important meal of the day until recently when the fasting community decided we no longer needed to nourish ourselves after ALREADY fasting for 10 hours a night. Excuse me? Talk about adding fuel to the stress fire. As if our hormones are not already out of wack because of day to day life stressors why not make our body feel even less safe and secure by STARVING it.

Blood sugar balance is the NUMBER ONE thing we can do to balance our hormones and eating breakfast. Reason being is our bodies are completely depleted from fasting overnight. Our liver can only hold on to glucose for 8-10 hours until it has to start making it’s own.Talk about stressful. And if our liver is compromised at all from things like low carb diets and nutrient deficiencies then it will run out of glucose even sooner. When your body has to make its own glucose that’s when the stress hormones kick in – cortisol and adrenaline. What do these guys do? The lower progesterone and increase estrogen causing a hormonal shit storm- moodiness, PMS, PCOS, headaches, HA, acne, and poor thyroid function.

Eating breakfast when you wake up prevents your body from having to do this super stressful process and keeps your hormones in check.

No appetite in the morning? That is a clear sign your body is conserving energy and suppressing your hunger, digestion, and reproduction.

Don’t drink coffee on an empty stomach, quit fasting for 12-16 hours a day, and ditch the fasted workouts. And remember you are not more worthy because you don’t eat breakfast.