3 tips to help start the morning off right + a fantastic giveaway {#mymorningprotein #ic #ad}

“This post was sponsored by Milk Life on behalf of Influence Central.”

I don’t know about you, but I think nutrition really sucks. Ha! There, I said it! There is so much to learn, so much to know, so much to keep tabs on. So many new fads, and on and on. Due to this fact, I have tried my best to do my research and keep things simple. I HAVE to do simple! My life is too nuts to complicate. Plus, I have four little ladies in my life that need to eat as well and have a good, well rounded nutrition schedule. What I’ve learned, I have worked in to our lives…both mine as well as my children’s. I wanted to share a few tips with you today in hopes to simplify some nutrition thought process areas for you! These few tips can help you organize your morning routine, that’s what I will focus on today!

1. For starters, plan, plan, plan. If you don’t have a good plan in place or haven’t set time aside to know what you are going to be eating, you will eat junk. I know first hand! When I don’t plan I grab whatever I see…or I just plain don’t eat at all. I think that’s worse than eating junk! Because then you totally rebound because you are famished. I get #hangry for sure. Ha!
2. Talking about simple and planning, on thing that I’m sure to do each day is to get 25-30 grams of protein, including at least an 8-ounce glass of milk, before noon. Milk, YES milk! Milk is a good source of protein. Plus, it’s a simple addition to any meal to add the protein. Be sure to stop by the Milk Life website for additional recipes, tips and more.
3. Plan the night before. Go to bed knowing what you have to do the next day. Prepare as much as you can the night before so you aren’t a frazzled mess in the morning.

Back to the food a hot second.

My go-to lately has been an easy one. 3-4 items is all it takes…

• granola
• yogurt
• fruit of your choosing
• milk

This particular breakfast pairing has a whopping 20+ grams of protein. I have this before heading out for the day, be it to the gym or a day of errands!

Have you ever noticed the correlation to feeling crappy in the late afternoon with not eating good before noon? I can every single time. When I don’t take the time to eat in the morning, and eat correctly, I feel like a bump on the log in the afternoon. I KNOW I am not alone! I’ve heard that on average, Americans are getting only 13 grams of protein at breakfast! [1] What I have found by adding the protein to my morning routine, I feel human later in the day. I’m starting off right, and that is huge! There are SO many things, easy things, that you can add to your breakfast that will fix this. A few that I think are easy, and that I love to eat are:

• hard boiled eggs
• adding an 8-ounce glass of milk
• a simple protein bar
• yogurt with granola
• check out fruits – so much goodness there to add!
• adding milk to oatmeal instead of water – or having a great, nutritious cereal with some yummy milk
• make up some yummy smoothies too

All right, talk to me now! I need more tips – and I bet you have some! What do you do in the morning to help get a good start to the day? What foods are you sure to eat? What schedule do you start? Are you an early riser or a list minute rusher?

[1] What We Eat in America, NHANES 2009-2010. 2 Layman D. Dietary guidelines should reflect new understandings about adult protein needs. Nutr Metab. 2009; 6: 12.

A SIMPLE GIVEAWAY!!
TWO (2) readers will win one (1) Fitbit Flex, retail value of $99.99! What a great way to start the new year and what a GREAT prize to help yourself get ahead. Contest entrants are only eligible to win once per sweepstake, per household as a part of a campaign sponsored by Influence Central and must reside in the United States. I repeat, the winner MUST BE A U.S Resident. Here is how to enter:

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