Do you wish you had a fast, healthy post workout breakfast meal every day? Are your mornings seemingly impossible to fit breakfast into?  Do you wish you had a healthy post workout meal to fuel you before heading to work?  If you are looking for a healthy, fast, fueling breakfast to get you through the morning, this post is for you.

If you’ve created a morning workout routine, you know you need to eat breakfast, but what do you eat?  After a workout, you have a tight window to get ready in the morning (including breakfast), but what meal is fast enough when you don’t have the time?

If you want a simple, healthy, plan on what to eat for your post workout breakfast meal, this post is for you.

Develop A System

“We are only as good as our systems”

– James Clear, Atomic Habits

Create a pattern of behavior so you don’t have to spend energy (or time) thinking what comes next.  Have a consistent recipe in the morning that you stick with M-F during your busiest mornings. Let the weekends be the “fun foods” like steel cut oats, or high-protein, high-fiber waffles (yes we still stay healthy and eat real food on the weekends).

The Tools You Need

• I couldn’t live without my non-stick pan for eggs

• A silicon spatula

• Glass measuring cup (love my Pyrex)

• No fuss rice cooker

• Kitchen scale saves me from overeating

• Meal prep containers

• Cast Iron pan

Plan Out Your Morning Before Hand

Write down your morning before you attempt it.  Write down all of the things you need to do in the morning from when you wake up to the time you are at work.  

Estimate the time it takes to do everything. Work backwards and see what time you need to start your routine or see if you can reduce the things you need to do in the morning.  

Ask yourself a question: Do I really need to do this in the morning? Could I do this the night before? How would that transform my morning to give me more time when I need it?  If that task must be done in the morning, do I need to wake up 5 minutes earlier to get it done?

Here’s an example of my morning plan:

5:15 AM Alarm goes off

5:20 AM Brush teeth

5:25 AM Put on workout clothes

5:30 AM grab water bottle, if necessary, a little (4 oz) coffee chilled in the fridge from the day before (this wakes me up, just don’t overdo it)

5:35 AM Drive to gym

5:45 AM Arrive at the gym, warm up

6:00 AM Workout begins

7:00 AM Drive home from gym, upon arrival, turn on the stove to warm up pans for breakfast. **Multitasking is crucial to saving “waiting” time.  Warm up your pans while you shower or get dressed for work.

7:15 AM Shower (I only wash my hair once a week, so this is quick for me)

7:20 AM Clothes, make-up, hair

7:35 AM Cook breakfast, pack lunch

7:50 – 8:00 AM Drive to work

8:15 – 8:30 AM Arrive at work

My Post Workout Breakfast Meal Recipe

Protein is crucial for a post workout breakfast meal.   Here’s my secret, I ALWAYS eat the same thing M – F or slight variants of the same thing. I’ve included my variations of breakfast options below.  

You must pick from each category:  Protein, carbohydrate + vegetable/greens, healthy fat.

Please please please don’t get all Keto-fat happy on me, we aren’t using fat as fuel here.  That’s not the goal of this meal. There are common misconceptions about carbohydrates and how our body processes these.  Carbs are not the enemy. Far from it, especially after a workout.

Even if you didn’t workout in the morning, you still need calories. Find out exactly what you need with this calculator. Your brain uses food as fuel, which I’m assuming you’ll need if you are about to head into work.  There is no way I could go all morning (at least consistently) without a balance of macros and be at the top of my game.  

The goal is to give you the fuel you need after a morning workout to last you until lunch.  You do this by giving yourself a balance of protein, carbs, and fat.

It’s very easy to go overboard with fat, the calories add up quick.  Especially when we are cooking with oils or butter in most meals. Be careful here to only use the minimum amount of fat necessary to cook your food.  

Protein = 1-2 eggs in Pyrex, fill to 1 cup with egg whites

Carbohydrate = 100 – 150 grams Rice, quinoa, sweet potato, or whole wheat/high fiber bread

Vegetable = One handful of spinach

Fat = ½ tsp Extra virgin olive oil for eggs (or non-stick spray) + tsp for rice or quinoa.  Coconut oil for pan searing the sweet potatoes. No fat for the bread unless I’ve done a hard workout that morning and will do 30-50 grams avocado.  

Conclusion

If you’ve just started your morning workout routine, congratulations, that’s a milestone.  To ensure you are properly fueling your workout and the rest of your morning, a solid post workout breakfast meal is key.  I still don’t know how some people skip this meal, it’s my favorite meal of the day. Breakfast gives me energy and brain power to tackle the toughest of situations my day might bring.  Keep it simple with my consistent, simple, system and you will be seeing the results in no time.