Pre-Surf Breakfast – Not Cereal!
GIVE YOUR BODY SOME BREAKFAST IT CAN USE
That was my breakfast this morning: eggs, paleo pancakes with molasses and almond butter, and a RAW milk papaya/blueberry shake.
What’s your pre-surf breakfast?
Is it actually some nutritious food, or are you putting something into your body that is robbing it of energy, creating inflammation, and screwing up your digestive system, which equates to lackluster performance in the water and life.
If you’re looking to improve your overall abilities, both in the surf, and in life, then come to the realization that the food you put into your body provides you with the energy to do what you love, and provides the essential components to repair your body so you can keep doing what you love.
So eat some damn good food, and especially some damn good breakfast.
Breakfast Cereals are straight up SHIT. That’s pretty much bottom line, cereals are garbage, and are not helping you with your overall wellbeing, which is definitely not helping you with your energy levels in the surf.
So why not cereal? A seriously loaded question, but I’ll break it down for you rather quickly.
1. Grains
It’s all made of grains, and probably genetically modified grains. Why are grains bad you might ask, well a few quick answers for you. Many folks are gluten intolerant, so grains are out of the question.
Secondly, grains are really hard on the digestive system due to some inherent chemicals within grains. When your digestive system gets beat up, it can no longer pull energy and nutrients out of food, so your body suffers.
Grains have become the bulk of the western diet, and it is unfortunately detrimental to your overall health. This is HUGE topic, which others have written post a link to their writings. about extensively, so I’ll Bottom line, grains are really tough for you to digest, and optimal digestion is a key to health.
2. Grains will cause a huge spike in your blood sugar.
Breakfast cereals are often just grains covered in sugar, which equates to an even bigger sugar spike. So why is that detrimental to your surfing? You’ve got to come down from that sugar spike at some point, and it’s very likely going to be in the middle of your surf.
Coming down from a blood sugar spike makes you feel like crap, with a complete lack of energy, so bye bye paddling and endurance. Your body recovers from a blood sugar crash by producing a surge of cortisol and adrenal hormones to make up for lack of energy/blood sugar.
This can become a cyclical process, which can damage everything from you immune system to muscle tissue. Either way, it can lead to less time in the surf.
3. Commercial Milk
You’re probably putting commercially farmed milk on top of that bowl of sugar and grains, and that milk is some serious garbage. Commercially farmed milk in my opinion, is along with grains, one of the primary detrimental foods.
Yeah, there’s that whole “does a body good” slogan, but in my mind, anything that has to have countless celebrity endorsements, and millions of dollars in advertising, is probably not that great for you….. why else do they have to try so hard to sell it to you!!! So why is commercial milk so bad for you??
Hormones and antibiotics, not to mention the quality of life of commercial dairy cows. You are essentially drinking whatever “medicines” are given to that cow… do you really want to be drinking bovine growth hormones? I sure as hell don’t.
Just like I’ve written about eggs, sick unhealthy animals don’t make high quality healthy food (milk/eggs). Then there is the aspect of homogenization, which basically kills any live cultures and enzymes within the milk, so it basically becomes a dead food…… that’s why it can sit on a shelf for so long!
Interesting that so many lactose intolerant people can drink RAW milk, as it actually contains enzymes that haven’t been killed through homogenization.
Many people have issues with lactose intolerance too, so drinking/eating a food that your body reacts badly too, is not providing you with energy.
SO WHAT TO EAT
Just like I’ve said before, REAL FOOD! Proteins, fats, and some good carbs (starches/fruits). Look at my breakfast at the top of the page, a solid meal, grain free, and a meal that would keep me full and energized for hours.
If you want to go for some milk, I urge you to find a supplier of RAW milk, from preferably grass-fed cows. If you can’t than at least opt for organic whole milk, and don’t worry about the dreaded fat content.
Just like in past posts… you NEED quality fat, and if you still think otherwise, you’ve got some learning to do about nutrition. If you want to still eat some oatmeal here and there, go for it… I still do, but I go for gluten free varieties.
If you’ve got some digestive issues going on, then you’ll want to look into various way of proper grain preparation, like soaking them prior to cooking… which breaks down some of the anti-nutrients within the grain.
Ditch the cereals, and get with a more paleo-style of eating. Meats, fats, fruits, and veggies!
Here’s a few sites that have plenty of healthy food options:
Everyday Paleo
Food Renegade
Civilized Caveman Cooking
Marks Daily Apple
I’m definitely not an advocate of hardcore low-carb paleo eating, which some of these sites push… but what these sites do offer is grain-free recipes, and some hellishly delicious breakfast options.
So eat some breakfast that can help you surf, and help you live a longer healthier life.
great post as always! Most mornings I boil some water and add it to some good quality whole oat
meal and raisins in a pan, bring briefly back to boil and let cool. Then I add a squirt of flax seed oil and some organic Kefir (like yoghurt) I then put various berries on it and maybe some banana. I’ve found you can operate for hours on this food foundation, slow burn fuel. Pre marathon, pre surf…works for me…
Sounds like a solid breakfast. I just don’t get how some people would rather eat some garbage than spend a few extra minutes preparing something thats relatively easy to make, and completely delicious… and healthy. I’m having something similar right now as I type this. I go with buckwheat (I eat gluten free 98% of the time), with coconut milk, banana, custard apple (fruit here in austalia that I think is soooooo good), and some cashew butter. That’ll last me a few hours easy!
I can’t surf right after a heavy meal because the board puts pressure on my stomach and squeezes my meal right back up(eww!), so I stick to lighter meals like smoothies (w nonfat greek yogurt–im on a tight budget and i dont think i can afford organic diary) or cooked oatmeal. cereal simply is too light and practically vaporizes in my stomach instantly, whether i’m being active or not, with my high metabolism.
I totally agree with you about being too full for a surf. Generally, if I’m doing an early pre-work surf, I’ll just have a glass of broth with some coconut oil, and some fresh squeezed OJ… then hammer a breakfast later. Being really full in the water and having to exert all that energy doesn’t feel too great. Also, depending on where you shop, you can find organic dairy that is just about the same price as regular, especially if you buy the larger portions (as it’s more cost-effective). Give it a look!