Meat & Nut Breakfast... it's gross but it works!

As most of my regulars know, for the past month I've been training with one of the top strength/conditioning and weight loss coaches in the country. The training itself has proved incredibly challenging but perhaps the most interesting part of the journey has been turning my diet completely on its head!I've come pretty close to being a vegetarian for most of my adult life (I have always eaten fish but pretty much anything else with a heartbeat has been off-limits) but when my new coach (who has trained with the best-of-the-best in the US and is a dietitian too) heard about my drooping energy levels, poor sleeping patterns and creeping anxiety, he immediately ordered me to trial eating a serve of meat (ideally red, lean and organic) and a handful of nuts for breakfast (I know, I know... stay with me for a second!).The theory behind this was that in doing so, I'd be taking in the full range of amino acids and nutrients my body needed to effectively set itself up for the day and get my energy bell-curve back on track. A meat and nut breakfast will have relatively high amounts of Tyrosine and Phenylalanine, which are the amino acids primarily responsible for the production of dopamine, the neurotransmitter that controls brain voltage and generates your energy and drive throughout the day. This kind of brekky will also provide an incredibly slow and stable energy release, helping me to feel calmer and more in control throughout the day and by the time evening approaches, my body would be ready for sleep when I am!All of that sounded fab but I was incredibly hesitant, for the obvious reason that there is no way a slab of steak or a plate of roast beef slices are appealing at breakfast time, particularly as I eat at 4.30am! Determined to give it a go but feeling very doubtful about what it would achieve (and whether I could stomack it!), I promised to stick to the meat & nut brekky for at least two weeks and see what happened during that time.Well, it's now been 3 weeks and I had to blog about this because the changes have been INCREDIBLE for me and also for my husband, who trialed it alongside me. Not only have our energy levels been sky-high throughout the morning (in fact all day long), we're sleeping a lot better, feeling calmer, have more motivation for training and work and are feeling incredibly happy 24/7. The hubby has even given up coffee, a lifetime love for him, because he doesn't feel he needs it anymore.The other weird thing that's happened over the past 3 weeks is that my body fat percentage, which is usually a very stable 18.5-19% all year round, has dropped to 17% in this short time period!Anyway, just a thought for your Thursday - check out this link for more info, or type 'meat and nut breakfast' into Google to find out a bit more about this for yourself. It's an out of the (cereal) box idea for most of us but I'm officially hooked!If you can't stomach red meat first thing, try salmon, turkey, chicken, or eggs with your nuts instead.Have a great weekend everyone - I'm off to Byron Bay for the week so you'll hear from me again in a week's time!