The importance of breakfast before teeing off

I’m going to sum it up for you in three words. Breakfast is important. Why? Well, let’s think of breakfast as a superhero. She’s fast (as it says it in her name), she’s got loads of energy, and she kicks our butts with heaps of benefits, including:

• Breaking your overnight fast
• Refueling our energy stores (we need this, especially on the last hole of the day)
• Kick starts our metabolism (a chemical process that occurs to convert our food into energy to power our everyday movement, aka getting that smooth swing on the 9th)
• Reduces our chance of eating high-kilojoule foods later throughout the day (aka avoiding that sneaky mars bar during that long 18th hole) (key information sourced from: http://www.nutritionaustralia.org/national/resource/breakfast)

Do you ever find yourself driving down the road, only 10 minutes away from the club, you find yourself with extra time up your sleeve, so you quickly zip into your fav cafe and grab a warm raspberry and white chocolate muffin plus a coffee before you tee off? What would you do if I told you, that the so innocent looking muffin and coffee could put at least 7 teaspoons of sugar into your system to start your day? Did you know that 7 teaspoons is actually the recommended amount of sugar for an average Australian PER DAY?! If this is sounding like you, please keep reading…

(NOTE: 1 teaspoons of sugar is 4 grams, recommended amount is 28g, thus 7 teaspoons)

Images from: http://www.thatsugarfilm.com  (a film I highly recommend watching)

A lot of women find themselves without the time, and yes, trust me…I get you. The amount of times I’ve told my daughters off for not eating a well-nutritious breakfast is ridiculous. I often have those days where I tell myself to forget it, and I have a piece of toast with butter and there. Fini within 30 seconds. But let me tell you a little secret, we all have enough time. Seriously, we do. Whether it’s setting your alarm clock just 10 minutes earlier, or simply preparing the night before, it can change your WHOLE day. Just 10 extra minutes can provide you with a nourishing breakfast to give you the physical and mental energy you need to have a successful day at golf. I’ve read copious amount of books and articles on this very issue, and I’ve educated myself to the point where it’s hard for me not to go by a wholesome breakfast, because I know of all the benefits I’ll miss out on.

Now, don’t get me wrong here. I’m not telling you to stop eating yummy muffins and that well deserved celebration cake at the end of a game, because who doesn’t LOVE a good choccy muffin?! The issue is that we need to be more AWARE and CONSCIOUS of our everyday food choices and what and how much unnecessary added sugar is going into our system.

Advice to start a good breakfast habit, along with an idea of a quick breakfast you can prepare the night before to eat on the way/before your triumphant golf game are below:

Tips

1. Set your alarm clock 10 minutes earlier to prepare a nourishing breakfast OR
2. Prepare the night before
3. Be careful not start your everyday golf game with your recommended serving of sugar per day (7 teaspoons)

Prepare the night before is the easiest for me, and a way I like to do this is through making overnight oats, here’s a simple and classic recipe I like to use

Recipe: Overnight Oats

What you need

• 1 jar/bowl
• ¼  of greek yogurt
• ¼ milk (or almond milk)
• ½ cup of oats
• half a mash banana (needs to be ripe before you mash it up)
• 1 tablespoon of chia seeds
• 1 teaspoon of cinnamon
• 1 handful of berries
• 1 handful of nuts
• A drizzle of honey

Whisk the yogurt, milk, oats, chia seeds and honey together, refrigerate the night before, top with berries and nuts in the morning and voilà

Image from: https://www.alpro.com/uk/recipe-inspiration/overnight-oats