We are in week two of the #800gChallenge! Have you realized how important breakfast is to achieving that 800 gram (g) total? Read on for some tips to set your day up for an #800g success.
Bank on Breakfast
Hitting the 800g daily total often hinges on how you start your day. While you can indeed get 800g down in just two meals(!), it is better to set yourself up for some success (and flexibility) later in the day versus trying to play catch up at dinner.
It is likely a safe assumption that people eat approximately four times a day (including snacks), so that each time one eats it should incorporate ~200g to easily reach the #800g total. By incorporating breakfasts that have at a minimum of 200g of fruits and/or vegetables, you will find the 800g total is less of an insurmountable goal. And when breakfasts are closer to 300g, reaching a daily total of 800g is pretty easy. Conversely, if your breakfast does not have any fruits or vegetables (such as oatmeal and protein powder), one will often fall short of the #800g target. So how can you get 200g+ breakfasts?
Easy! They don’t need to be time-consuming or follow some intricate recipe. Here are a few OptimizeMe favorites that are 200-300g+:
- Collagen protein powder in coffee (2 scoops; one in each cup), a banana and a mug of mixed berries.
- Protein shake and a grapefruit (eaten like an orange for all the grams!).
- Egg-staple: scrambled eggs, sweet potato wedges, kiwi and avocado.
- A smoothie with greens, frozen mango, lime and protein powder.
Focus on making breakfast a success and see how easy the rest of the day is.
But, What if I Didn’t Bank on Breakfast?
Getting in grams early in the day does make the rest of the day more flexible, but suppose breakfast isn’t your jam? Maybe you like to do some intermittent fasting or just prefer fewer, but larger, meals per day. Can you still make the #800gChallenge™? It definitely requires more effort, but here’s the #800gChallenge™ in two meals:
- Meal 1 (408g): Ham “sandwich” of lettuce (69g) and tomatoes (55g) with a to-go pint of fruit (284g)
- Meal 2 (400g): Chicken “bowl” with white potatoes (210g), black beans (91g), and avocado (99g).
And, of course, there is always the >500g Chipotle bowl haul with beans, fajita veggies, tomato salsa, corn salsa, guacamole and lettuce.
Keep up the strong work! Hopefully, you are finding that hitting that #800g requires consistently making better choices… without the obsession.