All right—you have made it to the end of the Protein chapter! We’ve gone deep with how to optimize omega-3 intake in a way that works for YOU & how you want to do the Omega-6 LIMBO when it comes to planning your weekly protein choices…

How to rock it with getting IN your daily body-usable Vitamin A...

All there is to love with pasture-raised egg yolks on the daily for CHOLINE (your fat-burning, methylation & brain health friend) and Arachidonic Acid…

Plus why you want to get as many Micronutrients from your Protein choices as you can…and some tips to do just that with:

Planning your Protein on a Weekly Basis.

There's a summary worksheet/guide here on this page to help you get started Planning your Protein…go ahead & take action with it & it summarizes most of the tips presented here, too!

And now—so let’s wrap up the Protein chapter with another important goal:

Cycling PROTEIN on a Daily Basis…to support daily cortisol rhythms....and how it's really important to get started with Breakfast.

What are daily cortisol rhythms…and why is it so important to support them?

In the past, when I heard the word “cortisol,” I instantly thought of it’s sister word “stress.” When you get stressed out...that causes cortisol to flow in your body and makes you feel like poo.

Recently I’ve been experimenting with supporting a good, healthy daily cortisol rhythm to lose extra body fat “more effortlessly”…and experimenting more with techniques to reduce stress and feel more positive and resilient.

Do I have your curiosity piqued?

Ok—so here’s a bit more about what Cortisol does in our bodies (besides flooding us when we get stressed or anxious)…and how supporting a daily RYTHYM of it is so, so powerful for feeling good & being able to build muscle and burn fat.

Daily Cortisol FLOW:

Cortisol researcher & author Dr. Alan Christianson breaks it down & shares that we want our daily production of cortisol to be like having our own internal morning pot of coffee:

We want to cortisol to be high in the morning, to help us wake up and feel energized as we go. Then we want cortisol to slowly decline through the afternoon, and reach it’s lowest point in the evening so that we can sleep well.

I absolutely love the book The Adrenal Reset Diet by Dr. Alan Christianson, which is fabulously subtitled: “Strategically cycle carbs and proteins to lose weight, balance hormones, and move from stressed to thriving.”

I don’t agree with one of his main food restrictions, which I'll detail in the next Protein MICROS module—but other than that detail…this book is a fabulous resource and recommended reading for sure.

Ok, and back to the topic at hand—when we’re talking about supporting a good daily cortisol flow—so that you have good hormone health too—we have to look at a triangular, small, often forgotten organ in our bodies:

Our Adrenals.

Why our the Adrenals so important?

For a brief summary of the important body tasks that the Adrenals are in charge of, Dr. Christainson writes:

“The adrenal glands have three layers nestled inside each other, like the layers of an onion. Each layer’s job is unique, so researchers believe it may be more accurate to think of each of them as three glands rather than one.

The outer layer’s main job is the regulation of salts (electrolytes) in the blood, the blood pressure, and the body’s acid levels. The middle layer primarily controls blood sugar, but it is also in charge of the stress response (inflammation) and controls how cells use the hormones from the other glands. The inner layer, working in conjunction with the ovaries and testicles, makes the sex hormones used in reproduction, such as estrogen or testosterone. The inner layer also helps with tissue repair and immune function."

woah!

"Your adrenal glands control a staggering list of vital functions in your body. The biggest ones are:

So many important things are controlled by your Adrenals…AND:

Dr. Christianson writes that adrenal hormones are directly tied to obesity as they:

“control a switch that sends calories to your belly fat or to your muscles.”

And when people have high amounts of cortisol flowing through their body from adrenal challenges/cortisol rhythm problems or from medications like prednisone...

“[they] gain lots of belly fat regardless of their diet or activity.”

Why Cortisol Rhythms make you FAT (or help you burn fat)

And when you have really high cortisol that won’t shut off, or high cortisol when you need to go to sleep, or low cortisol when you need to wake up…this flawed daily cortisol rhythm can significantly disrupt your body’s ability to burn fat….because instead, these hormones actually direct your body to make more fat.

And I’m excited how you can use protein, safe carbs & good fats in each meal—as a daily “cycle” (plus getting good sleep & timing your exercise well)—to optimize your cortisol rhythms and address one of the bigger roadblocks to burning fat in this fast-paced world.

Get that "Morning Internal Coffee Pot" perking up

You can indeed use food & good sleep/waking practices to get your internal coffee pot of cortisol to wake you up at a good time and gradually decline over the course of the day, so that you can turn this built-in fat-creation switch to OFF.

Plus, having a good daily cortisol rhythm really does help you feel more cheerful, energized and resilient, too.

Personally, I have been loving these experiments, myself!! 🙂 More about my own & others' excellent RESULTS, too below...

We can support our Adrenal Health and help our body burn fat instead of store it—by taking action to Optimize our Daily Cortisol Rhythms! 

We can optimize our Daily Cortisol Rhythms with:

Ok—so before we dive into how to optimize your Daily Cortisol Rhythms with PROTEIN…let me just share that I've personally found this to be extremely effective!

Doing this recommended daily protein & carb cycling (plus working to make sure I’m getting all of the micronutrients I need too)…has really helped me lose the last amount of stubborn belly fat, after a year of some health challenges and digestive distress. I am loving waking up with a flat belly in the morning, my clothes fitting more loosely…and having really good energy throughout the day.

And, Dr. Christianson first tested these ideas of optimizing sleep & *cycling Protein & Safe Carbs* on a few loyal patients first…and then he conducted a formal study with 58 participants, mostly women with the average age of 44.

After a one month period, the average amount of weight lost was just over 9 pounds. :0 All without changing sleep patterns or taking any additional supplements. Werd.

And “the average participant saw a correction of his or her whole day’s cortisol metabolism by over 50 percent” and a similar study was able to replicate his findings as well.

Dr. Christianson writes:

“What does better cortisol metabolism mean? It means less belly fat, better energy, less anxiety, better depth of sleep, a healthier immune system, and a longer life.”

Let’s get into a rhythm…

Let's look at how to do that with Protein first…and how a High Protein Breakfast (and lunch) helps your body be able to burn fat & reset your Daily Cortisol Rhythm.

Here’s how I recommend planning your Protein over the course of a day:

Why a High Protein Breakfast helps your Adrenal Health 

Dr. Alan Chriastianson, author of The Adrenal Reset Diet writes:

“If you want to be energetic and mentally sharp during the day, a high protein breakfast is the key. It works well because you are allowing your cortisol to have its morning spike and your insulin to stay at its natural morning low. The same holds true and is critical for losing fat.”

A breakfast and lunch that are higher in protein can support the healthy morning spike of cortisol:

“This gives you energy for both your muscles and your brain. It allows you to burn fat for full and keep your blood sugar levels stable throughout the day.”

I have to mention too that Dr. Christianson conducted a trial of this daily macro plan, and his participants did improve their cortisol patterns and significantly lost weight, as well.

If you're starting to approach mid-life hormonal changes...or you're there or past that point…or if you’re wanting to get pregnant…or if you’re just wanting to feel less stressed and anxious…

Then I do recommend implementing this idea!

If you’re eating slightly less protein for certain health conditions—then go for the lower end of the protein recommendations.

If you are eating for building muscle & fertility—then go for the upper end of the recommendation. 🙂

25 - 35 grams of Protein for Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

As I mentioned earlier—this High Protein amount—especially for BREAKFAST—helps you reset your daily cortisol rhythms.

This may be more Protein for Breakfast than you're currently eating!

The way I'm personally rocking this is that I eat 2 pastured whole eggs, 1 cup of kefir & several scoops of grass-fed whey protein for breakfast (plus 1/4 cup of oven-roasted potatoes, water-sautéed collards or salad).

You can use www.cronometer.com to count how many grams of Protein you're getting…and aim to get 25 - 35 grams at both Breakfast and Lunch to help stimulate higher Cortisol in the morning and early afternoon (when you WANT it to be naturally higher).

Sooo exciting!!!

Other Breakfast Tips:

Best time to eat Breakfast…and what about coffee??

Dr. Alan Chriastianson also recommends eating breakfast within 1 hour after you wake up—to help spike your cortisol levels in the morning.

And he recommends having a cup of coffee before 9am, as caffeine can spike cortisol as well. No need to give up coffee or tea completely.

Also—I do highly recommend Swiss-water-processed Decaffeinated Coffee (LOVE this brand here) as it's the only type of process to decaffeinate coffee that makes it truly 99% caffeine free. Other ways of making decaf coffee still have a good amount of caffeine in them.

Personally, I go for having a cup of really strong, extra dark coffee before 9am with a good dose of morning sunshine (or you could use a full-spectrum light). And then after that first cup—I switch over to Water-Processed Swiss Decaf coffee for the rest of the day. Super yum!

So my final Protein Breakfast tips—eat your egg yolks or whole eggs (and I shared more about why this is such a crucial food in Part 2 of this module)…plus add in some extra whey or pea protein powder and/or a calcium-rich food like kefir or yogurt to get to:

25 - 35 grams of Protein for BREAKFAST>

Eat within the first hour of waking up.

Drink your cup of coffee before 9am & switch to herbal or low-caffeine teas or Swiss water processed decaf coffee after that!

And enjoy the FEEL GOOD, energizing start to your day!