Why I Ate Veggies For Breakfast Every Day For 1 Month
I follow a well-known whole-food, plant-based YouTuber and author named Chef AJ, and have learned so much about the most-filling nutrient-dense foods, healthy recipes, and how to meal prep. On many of her shows, and in her book, The Secrets to Ultimate Guide to Weight Loss, she mentions one of her tips, which is to eat a big bowl of non-starchy veggies for breakfast.
This is also something Dr. John McDougall encourages in his book The Starch Solution. He refers to it as the 50/50 plate, where you eat half your plate non-starchy veggies and half your plate starch like rice, beans, or potatoes — yes, even at breakfast time!
Chef AJ has a background on food addiction — specifically to refined, processed foods made with sugar and white flour — and suggests that, in her personal experience, starting your day with typical breakfast options that are sweet (like cereal, pancakes, muffins, and even fruit-filled porridge) can trigger a person to crave sugar for the rest of the day.
I related to this so much! I thought I was doing a good thing by eating a couple of bananas with peanut butter, overnight oats with berries, or a big fruity green smoothie for my first meal of the day. But within an hour or two, I started wanting something else sweet.
I'd eat some fresh fruit, but it never really satisfied that sweet craving and I couldn't understand why — I just wanted to keep eating. It made me feel a little out of control because deep down I really didn't want something super sweet since too much sugar (even fruit!) upsets my stomach, but still, I couldn't stop thinking about it. So I figured I'd give this a try for a week. As a plant-based eater, I do love my veggies, and was shocked that I actually kept going for an entire month.