Welcome to Day 1 of the 5 Day Carb Challenge

Hey there!  Welcome to Day one of the 5 Day Challenge to End Carb Cravings! I'm so excited that you decided to sign up for this because it's such a game-changing challenge. You know... when I talk with people, one of the biggest issues they have -- and one of the biggest roadblocks -- is those intense cravings that make them want to go for the chips, or the chocolate, or the cookies or whatever -- especially at night.
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So I decided to put together this challenge to help you realize that these carb cravings you're experiencing, they're NOT be fought with willpower. It's not necessary to use willpower every night or every afternoon to get rid of these cravings. In fact willpower will never win, because it's up against hormones and it's up against blood sugar. And so this challenge is really designed to show you that the foods you eat and the daily habits that you have actually have a huge impact on your carb cravings. 

By the end of these five days, you're going to have a huge understanding of what causes the cravings themselves and how to feel better. So that's super exciting!

Breakfast Sets the Tone for the Whole Day

Now we are on day one, and day one, as you know from your manual, is all about breakfast because breakfast is one of the most important meals of the day.  It either sets you up to have steady, stable blood sugar later on OR  it sets you up to be part of what I call the blood sugar rollercoaster.  So your challenge today was to pick one of the breakfasts options that I provided to you in the manual, and there are a few  different options so that even if you have sensitivities or dislikes you should be able to pick one. 

As options, for example, you have a smoothie, you have a chia pudding, and you have an eggs and avocado breakfast.  The common thing with all of those breakfasts is that they are fat and protein based and have very little carbohydrate content. 

So I don't want to get too sciencey or too macronutrient based in these lessons because that's not what this is about; this is a challenge to end carb cravings, but I do want to give you a little bit of background, so you understand what's happening. 

A Bit About Fat, Protein & Carbs

All food is made up of three macronutrients: fat, protein or carbohydrates and foods are either one of these or a combination of these.  These macros are used for different things in our bodies as well. It's really important that we understand exactly what they're used for to be able to pick the right foods to balance our blood sugar and get rid of those cravings.  Fat is used for hormones, your brain and it's used to make sure food is satisfying and keep you feeling fuller longer.  

Protein is structural and builds your skin, your hair, your nails, your immune system, your gut lining, etc. It's also really important for metabolism. 

Carbohydrates break down into quick energy. So they basically digest down into sugar, which is the easiest thing your body can use for energy. 

So if you keep those three things in mind that will help you when you're looking at macros going forward. Now there's a lot more to it than that, but as I mentioned earlier, I'm not going to go into all that right now. 

Why You Want to Focus On Fat & Protein For Breakfast -- And Ease Up on the Carbs (especially processed carbs)

So let's talk about how important it is now to choose your fat and your protein at breakfast because what happens is fat, protein and carbohydrates digest differently and this affects energy, blood sugar, and fat storage.  Carbohydrates digest very very quickly. They basically give quick energy within 30 to 45 minutes.  Protein takes a little longer, say two to three hours, and fat takes the longest to digest at say three to four hours. OK. So I'm going to run through a little scenario for you so that you get the idea. 

Let's say you have a carbohydrate-based breakfast like a piece of toast with jam or a bowl of oatmeal or a bowl of cereal with milk.  Those are some pretty classic breakfasts, right?  Or even a fruit smoothie with yogurt and juice. Pretty classic run of the mill breakfast options. 

What happens is that your body digests that whole breakfast really quickly and pretty much all at once meaning all of the sugar that those carbohydrates break down into hit your bloodstream all at once.  So when the carbohydrates hit your bloodstream, your body sends insulin and insulin goes and picks up those sugars, and its' job is to deliver them to the working muscles so they can be used for energy. The problem is that it's a LOT of energy being delivered all at once.

When all that energy is attempting delivery, the muscles are going, 'Well, we don't really need all that energy because I'm just sitting in the car on the way to work or I'm at my desk or reading the paper .' So insulin does what insulin does best, and it stores that energy as fat for you to use later.  Not only have we stored that breakfast as fat, which is really annoying, but also because all of that energy (sugar) was sent to the blood at once, and insulin swooped in and took it all to the working muscles and then stored it as fat, your blood sugar is now too low.  Since your body is very smart and very adaptive, your body causes you to crave the thing that's going to build your blood sugar up as quickly as possible, which is, you guessed it, carbohydrates. 

And so then the whole process starts over again, and that's what I call the blood sugar rollercoaster. And so if you start your day with that roller coaster, you are setting yourself up for constant crashes and carb cravings throughout the day, and it really shows itself up around that 2 o'clock mark where you tend to get exhausted. You want to crawl under your desk and have a nap. You're craving chocolate.  You need a coffee. All of those things. So instead, what we're going to do is we're going to leave the carbs out at breakfast time.

How To Get Off the Blood Sugar Rollercoaster

We're going to stick to fat and protein because then we have slower digesting foods that release little bits of energy with little bits of insulin coming in and taking little bits of energy to the muscles. And then the muscles are able to use that energy because it's a manageable amount, and you never have that blood sugar dip and subsequent carb craving.  So getting a handle on your breakfast to me, is arguably the most important part of handling carb cravings -- and getting off that blood sugar rollercoaster.

So I really want you to commit to doing this Day One challenge now, from today through the rest of the five days. You'll pick one of the breakfasts that look good, make some substitutions if you need to because it doesn't have to be exact. The point is, you want to focus on good fat and you want to focus on the protein, and you want to recognize the difference in how you feel in the afternoon. You want to stop reaching for those processed carbs, like bread, bagels, cereal and foods like that.

So that's it for today. Have that kick ass breakfast. I want to hear all about it in the Facebook group. I want you to post pictures. I want you to show me what you're making because the more engaged you are, the more you're going to get out of this, which is so, so, so important. So that's it for today. I can't wait to hear from you!

~Coach Suzanne