There’s only one word to describe my Friday: Yikes. After attending a sales meeting from 8:00 a.m. -4:30 p.m. with minimal breaks, my brain was fried. I was up at 5:15 yesterday…which isn’t that early to me, since I typically wake up around 5:30 for my daily workouts. Waking up wasn’t the issue. Putting on a suit at 6 a.m. ON A FRIDAY…the only business casual day of the week…now THAT was my issue.

suited up

Typically, I’ll eat a piece of fruit such as an orange, clementine, or a cup of strawberries daily around 6 a.m. before I head to my work’s gym to complete my cardio workout. Today however, there was no time for a gym workout. I had to be dressed and ready by 6:45 to catch a shuttle! Since this is wayyy to early for me to eat a full breakfast, I packed it to-go. I had the utmost intentions of eating a filling breakfast…I made homemade oatmeal the night before, packed nuts and granola for toppings, and rounded it out with a yogurt and an orange for some vitamin c. Good intentions…yes. Good execution? MAJOR FAIL.

I barely had time to scarf down my yogurt and half of my orange before the meeting began! You might be able to guess what this resulted in. By 9:00 (one hour into the meeting, mind you), I had a grumbling tummy and a major headache. A quick search in my purse lead to a Clifbar saving the day, or I guess just saving the hour. I was hungry again by 10, and honestly, no matter what I consumed for the rest of the day, I felt continuously hungry. I hate that feeling!!! Plus, it almost always ends up with me snacking mindlessly.

I wanted to address this because this hasn’t happened to me in almost a year. I don’t let it happen by making sure I consume protein, healthy fats, and carbohydrates at breakfast. I start with my pre-workout piece of fruit, have a post-work out fruit bowl, yogurt for calcium, and usually, at least during the work-week, homemade oatmeal with nuts for healthy fats, a handful of cereal or granola for additional toppings, and some syrup for sweetness.

cinnamon apple oats

Since beginning to read food blogs last year, I’ve gotten a zillion and one oatmeal recipes, so it never gets boring! To me, a filling, well-rounded breakfast gives me more energy, increases my productivity, and gets my day going.

favorite breakfast, favorite view!

What do you attribute your energy to each day? What’s your favorite oatmeal recipe (excluding bananas!)?