Breakfast grains

[Jason Donaldson]

Robert - could I get your take on this? For my breakfasts, I make batches of porridge in advance, using homemade meat stocks to cook grains, with some vegetables (okra, spinach, lima beans, mushrooms, black-eyed peas for variety), eating it alongside eggs and/or meat + whey isolate for protein.

I have a couple of random questions around the grains. I do varying mixes of buckwheat, steel-cut oats, and grits, because I like them. First, is there any benefit to mixing/varying them, other than personal preference? Second, any concerns over buckwheat? Oats and grits are pretty common in the US, but not buckwheat, so I'm curious if there's a reason.

Also, I do intermittent fasting, keeping a 14+ hour window between last and first meals. It seems to work well with this breakfast, but just checking if there's anything to be aware of there.

Thank you.

[Robert Santana]

I'm not sure what your question or goal is? I don't have any concerns over buckwheat or mixing those combinations.

[Jason Donaldson]

Sorry - on re-reading, that wasn't too clear.

For buckwheat, I'm curious why it's very common elsewhere, but not here - is it less nutritious, harder to grow,...just not close enough to the over-processed, high carb rush foods Americans are used to...?

As to the combination, I'm wondering if there's any benefit to the variety in terms of nutrients. I assume it would small, but just wondering.

As to my goals, I started the IF at my doctor's suggestion for fat loss and getting my blood sugar numbers out of pre-diabetic and worsening. Having lost a good amount of visceral fat (c. 50" down to 39") and sticking with IF, my blood work is great now, and I want to keep that up. I eventually plan to lose some more visceral fat, but right now, I've been re-building my strength, and am hitting PRs again. It seems to me that the oats and buckwheat at least should be slower digesting, hence better for keeping my blood sugar healthy while still getting adequate fuel for training. However, I know that may be the gen pop dietary equivalent of bro science, so I'm looking for a sanity check, mainly to make sure I'm accurately understanding things.

So, I'm mostly asking about fine points from a knowledge standpoint. I know that what I'm doing works, from what I'm observing. I'm just looking to understand, and to avoid over-extrapolating and forming erroneous principles. If I'm just overthinking things, then I'm certainly open to "quit overthinking things, jackass".