Losing weight is hard.
Waking up feeling like you’re hungover sucks.
PEELING yourself out of bed is one of the grossest feelings ever.
And it sucks even more when you don’t actually have a hangover, but have just got to bed late and need to get up early the next morning for work.
That was me this morning.
Got in from coaching at 9.45pm, didn’t wind down and sleep about 11.45pm, and up at 5.30am to start my day.
I woke up feeling like someone had glued my eye lids shut and filled my arms and legs with cement.
Trying to adequately fuel your body in that state when you’re already thinking 10 steps ahead about the meetings you have after lunch is HARD.
It’s a well known fact amongst people who are interested in their health and fitness by now that a meat and nuts breakfast is one of the strongest ways to start your day.
The protein and fat set you up with more sustained energy levels, less of a blood sugar crash afterwards, and increase mental acuity all the way thru the day.
But I was already behind because I knew I wasn’t gonna get up at 5am to cook eggs and bacon for breakfast.
So I left the apartment without eating, got my first session of the day in and then started to figure out WTF I’d do for food.
Then, like a goth in a mosh pit, it hit me.
MaccyDs.
The golden arches. Bastion of cheap, fast, easily available food.
It’s literally everywhere.
(I’m in the one in Omni Park, Santry typing this right now)
Before you freak out and lose your shit, yes… I’m in McDonalds writing a blog post on a fitness website about the breakfast I just ate.
(I took off my RevFit coaches hoody before I came in though, because I thought that MIGHT be a step too far!)
Not too long ago on a dreary Sunday morning in Belfast before an IPF referees course, RB tipped me off to a great way to get a pretty good quality breakfast in MaccyDs which fulfilled the following criteria;
> ZERO carb
> Good amount of fat and protein
> Lashings of caffeine
> €8
…and today, I’m sharing it with you.
So, next time you’re on the road ANYWHERE in Ireland and want a good (ish) quality protein and fat meal for breakfast, here’s what you need to say;
“Hey there, can I get 2 double sausage egg mcmuffins please? One is a meal, with an Americano, but no hash brown please. One is just the sandwich. No buns on either”
And the lovely people working hard in the morning to preserve your gains will bestow upon you 52g of muscle building protein, 54g of hunger staving fat, all wrapped up in 720kcals of energy, and a shot of caffeine infused goodness to start your day.
(that’s approx 1/4 of your energy and protein needs for the day by the way)
Is it perfect?
No.
But neither am I.
And neither are you.
(So get the fuck off your high horse, asshole)
I’m not telling you this should be your breakfast forever and always from this day forth.
What I am saying is that with a bit of lateral thinking you can make smarter choices in pretty much any restaurant to get a meal that better suits your goals.
A freshly cooked bison, poached egg, almonds and spinach meal would obviously have been preferable for me today, but events conspired to make that impossible.
If you’ve half a brain in your head, understand the principle of what I’m trying to convey here.
Otherwise… Let the backlash begin.
(By the way, if you’re a dude who’s below about 90kg, or a lady, hold off on ordering the SECOND double egg mcmuffin. Just get one – again, no bun. That’ll give you about 26g of protein, 27g of fat, and around 360kcals. Pretty solid from a macro perspective.)