HSOS #49: Stop Trying to Do It All: Why Breakfast Is Your Best First Move

Have you ever decided that Monday was the day you were going to change everything, all at once, and then by Wednesday you were right back where you started, feeling worse than before because now there's guilt on top of it? Yeah. Me too. And I want you to know that is not a willpower problem. That is a habit science problem, and today we're going to talk about why.

In this episode I'm breaking down why trying to do everything at once is actually working against your brain, and what to do instead. We're starting small, and I mean really small, because the best first habit you can build is one you probably haven't thought much about: breakfast. We're talking about what most women are actually eating in the morning and why it's putting them on a blood sugar rollercoaster before the day even starts, what to eat instead, and I'm even giving you a look at how the rest of the world does breakfast because spoiler: they're doing something we're not. Practical ideas, real talk, and a simple seven day challenge to get you started.

Let's talk.

Welcome to Her Season of Strength, where women over 40 reclaim their bodies, their energy, and their voices, without apologies. I'm Kim Duffy, registered dietitian, personal trainer, mom, and your biggest hype woman when it comes to aging like you mean it.

This show isn't about chasing skinny or counting wrinkles. It's about building real strength: physical, emotional, and hormonal. Each week, I'll share straight-talking nutrition tips, sustainable fitness strategies, and conversations that help you feel powerful in your skin once again.

Menopause is not an ending, it is only the beginning. This is your season of strength.

What I Cover in This Episode:

• Why the "change everything at once" approach always backfires and what your brain is actually doing when it shuts down
• The one small habit shift that creates a ripple effect through your entire day
• Why breakfast is the perfect first domino and the easiest place to start building real momentum
• The surprising reason skipping breakfast is NOT saving you calories and what it's costing you instead
• What the grab-and-go trap looks like and why cold cereal and pastries are setting you up for a rough morning
• The blood sugar rollercoaster most women don't realize they're riding every single day
• Why protein and fiber are the two things your breakfast actually needs and how much to aim for
• The eye-opening look at how the rest of the world eats breakfast (and why it's way better than ours)
• A roundup of high protein, high fiber breakfast ideas that are fast, real, and actually satisfying
• A simple seven day challenge to help you build one solid habit and finally feel the difference
• Get a new high protein recipe delivered to your inbox every Thursday by joining my subscriber list at: https://www.strengthinnutrition.com/high-protein-recipes

Links & resources for this episode:

Fit After 50+ Program: 8-Week Nutrition Coaching & Strength Program for menopausal women.  Join the interest list today for the best discounts, bonuses and updates about the next program coming Fall of 2026!

Free cheat sheet: "20 Tips to Crushing Menopause"

Join my free weekly newsletter list and get a new high protein recipe sent to your inbox every Thursday. 

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Transcript

[00:00:00] Hi there, and welcome to Her Season of Strength, where women over 40 reclaim their bodies, their energy, and their voices without apologies. I'm Kim Duffy, registered dietitian, personal trainer, mom, and your biggest hype woman when it comes to aging like you mean it. This show isn't about chasing skinny or counting wrinkles.

[00:00:20] It's about building real strength, physical, emotional, and hormonal. Each week, I'll share straight-talking nutrition tips, sustainable fitness strategies, and conversations that help you feel powerful in your skin once again. Menopause isn't an ending, it's only the beginning. This is your season of strength hello, and welcome back to Her Season of Strength.

[00:00:42] I'm so glad you're here and spending just a couple minutes with me. Today, I wanna talk about something that I think is gonna feel really familiar, and maybe a little bit like I'm spying on you. But don't worry, I haven't. But I have been a dietitian and a trainer for a long time, and I've seen this pattern [00:01:00] play out more times than I can count.

[00:01:02] And here's the scene. A woman decides that today's the day. She's done feeling tired. She's done feeling bloated. She's done feeling like she's running on fumes by 2:00 in the afternoon, and she's motivated. She's fired up. She has a plan. I like to call this the honeymoon period. The plan is to do everything all at once.

[00:01:25] She's gonna overhaul her diet. She's gonna start working out five days a week. She's gonna cut out sugar completely. She's gonna drink a gallon of water a day. She's gonna go to bed by 10:00. She's meal prepping every single Sunday like some kind of wellness influencer, and she might even start journaling And for about three days, maybe four, if she's really feeling it, it's going great, and she feels amazing.

[00:01:53] And then life happens. Work gets busy. The kids need something. She goes on [00:02:00] vacation. She goes to a barbecue or a party. She's tired, and misses a workout here or there, and suddenly that whole plan falls apart, and she's sitting there feeling worse than she did before she even started, because now you add a little thing called guilt to the mix.

[00:02:17] I wonder if this sounds familiar. I know I can I can admit that, that I have done that far too many times than I can count. But here's what I want you to hear today. It's not a willpower problem. This is not a discipline problem. This is a habit science problem. And once you understand how habits actually form in your brain, you're never gonna try to change everything all at once again.

[00:02:43] So today, I wanna talk about why one small thing approach this one small thing approach works so much better, why breakfast is hand down, hands down the best place to start, and what most women are actually eating in the morning, [00:03:00] and why it's actually setting them up for a difficult or challenging day.

[00:03:05] And then finally, I wanna talk about what we can do instead with just kinda some real practical ideas that you can even start using this week. So let's dive in. So I think this is a piece that most people skip over, and it's actually the most important part, and that's when we get motivated to make a change, our brain gets a little hit of excitement, like dopamine, right?

[00:03:29] And it feels like absolutely anything is possible. And in that moment, it seems completely logical to think if I really want results, I really want something really bad, I should change as much as possible, as fast as possible," right? Except that's not how our brain works. Your brain is actually wired to resist change, not because it wants to work against you but because it's trying to protect you.

[00:03:55] Your brain loves the normal, the standard. It loves efficiency. [00:04:00] It loves patterns. It loves structure. It loves knowing what comes next. And when you try to overhaul everything all at once, your brain is basically "Nope, this is way too much. I'm shutting down." Habits are formed through repetition. So you do something, your brain notices the results, and over time, that behavior becomes more automatic, so that you don't even have to think about it anymore.

[00:04:24] It becomes easier. But that process takes time, and it takes consistency, and it takes repetitions. And we can't build 10 new habits all at the same time. We just can't, because something will always give. So what's the alternative? We pick one thing, one small, doable, specific thing, and we do that thing consistently and still it- until it starts to feel natural, until it stops feeling like so much work and effort.

[00:04:55] And then we might add one more thing. And I know that might feel [00:05:00] slow. I know it might feel like you're not doing enough, but I promise you, the woman who changes one thing and sticks with it will always outpace the woman who tries to change everything and burns out by Thursday. And the best first domino to kick over, are you ready for it?

[00:05:18] Drum roll. Breakfast. And here's why. Breakfast is the most predictable meal of the day for most people. We wake up, we're home, we have some control over what happens in those first few minutes of the morning. It sets the tone for everything that comes after. So when we start our days with intention, it's so much easier to keep making those intentional choices throughout the day.

[00:05:46] And w- but when we start our days in, in chaos, grabbing whatever is closest and fastest, or maybe we're, stopping by the gas station on the way to work and grabbing a donut, that energy tends to carry forward, too. [00:06:00] So we're starting with breakfast, and we're gonna get really good at it before we add anything else Now, w- let's talk for just a quick second about what's actually happening at the breakfast table, or I should say not happening, as the case may be.

[00:06:18] The number one thing I see is skipping it entirely, and I get it. Mornings are busy. A lot of women will say, "I'm not hungry when I first wake up. All I can do is have some coffee." Or maybe, you've been told that intermittent fasting is the thing to do, and you're trying to push your eating window as late as possible.

[00:06:38] Or maybe you're thinking, "If I just skip breakfast, that's fewer calories that I'm consuming today, and fewer calories, that, means progress, right?" But here's the problem with that logic. When we skip breakfast, especially as, women over 40 and 50 with our shifting hormones, we're not saving calories.

[00:06:56] We're actually borrowing against our energy. Our [00:07:00] body's been fastening all night long. Our blood sugar's low. Our cortisol, or that stress hormone, is naturally at its highest point in the morning. So when we're not giving our body fuel after all that, it goes into a kind of stress response, especially if we're giving it some coffee.

[00:07:18] It starts looking for quick energy, which can mean cravings, usually for something sweet or starchy, hit hard by, mid-morning. Or for some people, maybe they don't feel it in the morning or even lunch, and then it'll hit mid-afternoon, where they're like, "I'm so tired. I need some sugar." Or maybe it even is once you get home from work and you actually start eating something, you let down those guards, you can't stop, and that's when the cravings are really bad.

[00:07:51] And then there's what I call the grab-and-go trap, and that is the bowl of cold cereal, the granola bar, the pastry from the break room, [00:08:00] the drive-through muffin and a coffee with enough sugar to fuel a small vehicle. And these things are not bad because they taste good. They're not bad because you have no willpower.

[00:08:11] They're just not the right fuel at the right time. They're typically gonna be those more refined carbohydrates, which means they're gonna digest very quickly. Our blood sugar is gonna spike fast, and then it's gonna crash hard, and that crash comes, it might come late morning, it might come about two o'clock, giving you that lovely slump and the brain fog and the irritability and that, sudden desperate need for something that's sweet after lunch or after dinner.

[00:08:44] That's that energy rollercoaster that so many women were riding it every single day without realizing that your breakfast started the whole ride or didn't start the whole ride. So it's not discipline. It's just about fuel, and we [00:09:00] can always fix a fuel problem. So here's what we're going for. We want a breakfast that keeps you full- Keeps you focused and keeps you satisfied all the way to lunch without a crash.

[00:09:13] And two ingredients that are gonna make that happen are protein and fiber. I know you get tired of hearing me talk about protein, but so important. That's... those are the things that are going to help promote that nice longer-lasting energy. It's gonna help to fill us up, gonna make us feel fuller for longer.

[00:09:34] So first is protein. It's gonna be the anchor of a breakfast that actually works. So when we eat protein, it's gonna slow down digestion, it's gonna mean our blood sugar rises more gradually, and it stays more stable for longer. It tells those lovely hunger hormones to quiet down so that we're not thinking about food again 45 minutes later.

[00:09:56] And for women, who are post-menopausal, protein's [00:10:00] especially important because it's helped to maintain and build that muscle mass, right? And muscle is what keeps our metabolisms humming, keeps us strong, it keeps us functional as we get older. And we wanna aim for somewhere in the range of at least 30 to 35 grams of protein at breakfast.

[00:10:17] I know you'd be like, "Oh, my gosh, how am I gonna get that?" Especially if you're used to grabbing something that has five or at the most 10 grams of protein in it. But I wanna talk about, we'll touch on here exactly how you can get there in just a second. But that second piece is the fiber piece, and fiber is, buddies with protein at breakfast because fiber also slows digestion.

[00:10:43] It's gonna feed those good bacteria in your gut, which supports everything from our immune systems to our mood. It's gonna help to blunt that blood sugar response even further. And, to be honest, it keeps things moving, right? And that matters, too, because [00:11:00] we're adults and we can talk about pooping and peeing, right?

[00:11:02] We can talk about digestion. So together, protein and fiber are that, that combo that's super important. Not just, teeny little portions of them. Not cutting everything out, not white-knuckling it through hunger until lunch. Just that right kind of fuel mix in the morning that actually keeps you feeling like you have some energy and keeping you feeling like you're not starving and you're not looking for food so quickly after you just ate.

[00:11:31] So we're gonna be aiming for at least 30 to 35 grams of protein and somewhere around seven to 10 grams of fiber at breakfast. And I promise, you will feel a difference So let's take a little detour here, because if this is one of my favorite things to talk about, and it might actually change your whole, relationship with your breakfast foods.

[00:11:53] And we have this very American idea of what breakfast is supposed to look like. [00:12:00] Cold cereal, pancakes, waffles, muffins, toast, eggs, if you're feeling fancy. And a lot of people, when they try to build a high-protein breakfast, they get stuck because they get tired of eggs, or they don't love Greek yogurt, or they just don't know what else there is.

[00:12:14] But here's the thing, most of the world doesn't even eat what we consider breakfast food in the morning, and they're doing just fine. You look at Japan, and they-- a traditional breakfast might be like miso soup, some steamed rice, grilled fish, maybe some fermented veggies. In Turkey, we might sit down to a spread of like eggs and olives, fresh tomatoes and cucumbers and cheese.

[00:12:41] Colombia, the breakfast often includes beans, rice, eggs. And across the Middle East, you might have hummus and flatbread, hard-boiled eggs and fresh vegetables. You notice what all of these have in common, they're real food. They're giving you some good pr- [00:13:00] protein, some good fiber, and w- none of them contain cold cereal.

[00:13:05] So here is your official permission slip. You're allowed to eat whatever sounds good and fuels your body well in the morning, even if that's leftovers from dinner last night, and regardless of whether, it looks like what you were raised to think breakfast should be. So if you have leftover, roasted salmon or maybe some sautéed greens in the fridge and that sounds better to you at seven in the morning than a bowl of oatmeal, eat the salmon.

[00:13:32] There's no breakfast police. Nobody's gonna come and check on you. So this mindset shift alone, it can open up so many more options and make getting that protein and fiber in the morning feel so much less like a chore. So let's talk about maybe some real options d- that you can maybe think about or consider for breakfast with some actual ideas that you can use, not just those concepts.

[00:13:59] So [00:14:00] first, eggs and veggies. This is one of my favorites and a lot of times I might even be eating this for lunch too. But like a lovely egg scramble, you can do one whole egg, and you can do some egg whites if you really wanna beef up the protein without the extra fat. Load it up on whatever vegetables you like, mushrooms or spinach, peppers.

[00:14:21] And then maybe you can throw a little avocado on top. This is like simple, fast, satisfying, and you're gonna get good s- some good protein and fiber without a ton of effort. Next would be like some Greek yogurt, and you can put on it maybe some chia or flax seeds to give a little bit of extra fiber and a little bit extra protein.

[00:14:43] Maybe you add a little, some walnuts. You can top with some berries, and you have some good protein and fiber and healthy fat all in that one bowl third, cottage cheese is a great one. Not everyone grew up loving cottage cheese, but it does have, it has had a [00:15:00] serious glow up, and there's so many ways to eat it now.

[00:15:03] Plain with some fruit, drizzle of honey. You can blend it smooth and use it as a base for a savory bowl. You can mix it with everything bagel seasoning and use it as a dip for veggies. The protein content is pretty good. Pretty good. Another thing that I love to start my morning out with is a green smoothie.

[00:15:22] This is great for people who generally aren't necessarily hungry in the morning 'cause you can drink it slowly, and it still kinda gets the job done. I also will make a big pitcher of it so that I make four servings at once, and then I'm eating, I'm drinking one a day. So it's like I make it once, and I get four servings out of it.

[00:15:42] Maybe you throw s- a good quality whey protein powder. You can put, I love to put fresh spinach in mine frozen berries. You can put some Greek yogurt in there. You can put some chia and flax seeds and really get a nice solid, higher [00:16:00] protein, higher fiber drink that you can, especially if you're somebody who's running out the door in the morning to get to work or whatever, it's easy to grab and go.

[00:16:09] Another one I really like to make are, like, egg muffins or egg bites, so you make 'em in your muffin containers, and they're so easy because you can put whatever you want in them as far as veggies. You could put maybe some chicken or turkey sausage. You can put eggs, egg whites yogurt or cottage cheese to beef up the protein.

[00:16:31] I have a ton of these recipes. A really good one that's called savory breakfast muffins. If you're interested in that recipe, just email me at info@strengthinnutrition.com, and I'd be happy to send it to you. But it's, they're super easy, and then you come out of it with 12 muffins. Two muffins is a serving, and you have something you can eat on for, six days.

[00:16:54] And then lastly I wanna say it again, leftovers. You could have a [00:17:00] piece of chicken from the night before. You could have some soup, scoop of black beans, some avocado. Don't overthink it. Good food is good food, morning or not. All right? One thing I do want you to remember when you're building your breakfast is start with that protein piece.

[00:17:16] So ask yourself first, "Where is my protein coming from this morning?" Do you have meat? Do you have eggs? Do you have yogurt? Do you have cottage cheese? Do you have some beans? Do you have some nuts and seeds? And the fiber is gonna kinda follow naturally once you've got that protein anchor in place So let's bring this all together 'cause I wanna make sure today, you leave with some key things to hold onto.

[00:17:40] So first of all is trying to change everything all at once, it's just gonna set yourself up for burnout. Not because you're not strong enough, you're not motivated enough, but because that is genuinely not how habits are built in the brain. So give yourself some permission to go slow on purpose. Number two, breakfast is the perfect first habit to [00:18:00] nail because it anchors your entire day.

[00:18:02] So when we start that morning well, we naturally tend to make better choices. One good decision leads into the next Number three, skipping breakfast or grabbing something fast or overly carb or sugar heavy is gonna put you on that blood sugar rollercoaster before the day even really starts. And you deserve better than that, and you deserve something to set your, you and how you're feeling up right away in the morning as compared to starting you on that rollercoaster.

[00:18:33] And number four, we wanna aim for at least 30, 35 grams of protein, around 7 to 10 grams of fiber every morning. So those two things are the combination that's gonna keep us full, gonna keep us focused, and off of that snack hunt by 10 o'clock in the morning. And number five, breakfast does not always have to look like breakfast.

[00:18:53] So open up your options. Think about it, just food as fuel and what it's actually [00:19:00] doing for your body. Open it up to, maybe you're trying something different. Maybe you're gonna have more of a Japanese type breakfast in the morning with some yummy rice and some fish, some vegetables, whatever sounds good to you.

[00:19:15] And here is your challenge for this week, 'cause I wanna keep this really simple, because simple is the whole point of today's episode. For the next seven days, I want you to commit to one thing: eating a high-protein, high-fiber breakfast every single morning. That's it. So pick two or three ideas, of really solid high-protein, high-fiber breakfast ideas and rotate them through the week.

[00:19:41] Make one and makes... make one recipe, I should say, w- that makes at least, I would say, three or four servings so that you can make it once and eat on it multiple days. That is so important to save your time and your energy. And notice your cravings. Notice whether the, you're [00:20:00] hitting that mid-morning wall like usual, or whether you're actually feeling really good and sailing through to lunch without really focusing on food or feeling crazy hungry.

[00:20:11] So one week, one habit, and see what happens. And if you wanna share what you're eating, come find me on Instagram or Facebook at Strength in Nutrition LLC or drop me a message or tag me in your stories. I really love seeing what you're making and cheering you on. And if you're already on my subscriber list, you know I send out a new high-protein recipe every single Thursday, as well as a short summary about the podcast that dropped that day.

[00:20:37] So if you aren't on my list yet and you would like to be, you can either go to https://www.strengthinnutrition.com/high-protein-recipes or I'm gonna also drop the link in the show notes if you'd like to sign up to get those weekly high-protein recipes. And remember, if today's episode resonated with you or if you heard something that made you think of, a friend or a sister or coworker who's been trying to [00:21:00] do all the things all at once- and wondering why it isn't sticking, I would love for you to share this episode with her because sometimes all it takes is one conversation to shift the whole trajectory, and that's exactly what this podcast is for.

[00:21:14] So make sure you're following Her Season of Strength so you never miss an episode. I'm dropping a new one every single Thursday, and I have a lot of good stuff coming up. And as always, remember, this is about progress over perfection. We're in this for the long haul, and this is your season of strength.

[00:21:30] Have a great day.