🍳 Balancing Blood Sugar Starts Here: Breakfast Habits That Help in Perimenopause
Picture this: you wake up, you’re groggy, you are running late and all you have time for, or care about, is grabbing your coffee on the way out the door. By midmorning, your guzzling the coffee to stay away, you’re craving something sweet, and you just feel on edge. As the day continues, you find yourself constantly snacking and not being able to walk past the plate of donuts in the break room. You struggle through the afternoon not being able to concentrate and just wanting to take a nap. Evening sets in and you are starved! Dinner is followed by late night snacking and the feeling of being "wired but tired." You dread going to bed because you know you are just going to wake up again at 2 am in the morning.
Can you relate to any of this? You’re not alone. In perimenopause, your body’s ability to regulate glucose, hunger, hormones, and stress responses are all doing a little dance — and, believe it or not, there is one daily habit that can make a huge difference: breakfast!
In this post, we’ll talk about:
- How breakfast helps balance cortisol (your stress hormone)
- What makes a balanced breakfast and why it matters more now that you are in perimenopause
- Tips to keep it simple + doable
- What to do if breakfast just doesn’t “feel right” (or you’ve gotten out of the habit)
You may be thinking, "I have never been a breakfast eater." Stick with me and hear my case why you may want to rethink breakfast now that you are in perimenopause.
🧠The Cortisol & Blood Sugar Connection
When you wake up, your body naturally releases cortisol (the “wake-up” hormone) to help you get started. (Thanks to a normal circadian rhythm, your cortisol is at its highest in the morning, which is totally normal.)
Eating a balanced breakfast will help to bring your cortisol level down, signaling to your body that it is safe by giving it the fuel that it needs. If you skip breakfast, you stretch that cortisol spike — your body feels in danger not knowing when it is going to receive fuel. (Don't forget that as your hormones are fluctuating during perimenopause, cortisol levels are already harder to control with or without breakfast.) In fact, some research shows that women who habitually skip breakfast tend to have higher levels of cortisol from morning into midafternoon, and a flatter daily pattern of cortisol decline. PubMed+2orthosurgery.ucsf.edu+2 That means that those evening munchies could be a snowball effect of how you started your day. Oh, and that coffee that you love and helps to keep you awake? Coffee has the ability to raise your cortisol level. Combine coffee with skipping breakfast and you might be putting your body into overload.
When cortisol stays elevated, it makes it harder for your body to handle glucose (or life for that matter!) — so blood sugar spikes and drops become more dramatic. This can worsen fatigue, cravings, mood swings, and even hot flashes.
There’s also some evidence that hot flashes may be triggered when blood glucose dips between meals. PMC So skipping or having a unbalanced breakfast may be fueling some of your perimenopause symptoms.
🍽 What a Balanced Breakfast Looks Like
Here’s the magic formula (roughly):
Protein + fiber + healthy fats + some simple and/or complex carbs
Protein + fiber + healthy fats + some simple and/or complex carbs
These components help slow digestion, prevent major spikes in blood sugar, keep you feeling full longer and brings down your cortisol.
Good examples include:
- Greek yogurt + berries + chia + nuts
- Veggie omelet + spinach + apple
- Overnight oats with flax + protein powder
- Smoothie (protein + greens + berries + healthy fat)
đź› Keeping Breakfast Simple + Sustainable
Breakfast doesn't have to be hard and you don’t need a 30-ingredient recipe. Here are some quick “rules” and hacks:
- Prep the night before: blend smoothie ingredients or have them all in a baggie ready to go, soak oats, chop veggies.
- Grab & go combos: hard-boiled eggs + fruit, yogurt + nuts, nut butter + apple.
- Batch prepare: make a recipe like a casserole or overnight oats that will last you all week.
- Rotate “go-to” breakfasts: have a few you trust and are ready to go so you don’t have to overthink it in the morning.
- Use leftovers: Turkey chili? Combine that with an apple or some berries and you are good to go.
- Keep some "emergency" options handy: keep some beef jerky, trusted protein bars, and/or nuts in your car, purse, or at work.
đź’¤ Not Hungry in the Morning? Or Used to Skipping?
If breakfast hasn’t been your thing, here are possible reasons + gentle ways to shift:
- Low appetite in the morning: your body may have adapted to skipping. Start small — a ½ smoothie, a few nuts, or some bone broth.
- Stomach not “awake” yet: give it 15–30 min. Try something light first.
- Caffeine first: Coffee on an empty stomach can raise cortisol further. Baylor Scott & White Health Try mixing something in with your coffee to start (protein powder or collagen).
- Irregular sleep / late dinners: If you eat too late, your body might still be digesting in the morning, blunting appetite. Try having your last meal 2-3 hours before you go to bed.
- Digestive sensitivity: Some women feel slow or nauseous in the morning — start with gentler options like cooked oats, eggs, or warm smoothies.
- Habit + mindset: If you’ve skipped breakfast for years, it’s a habit — not your forever. Keep in mind that what worked when you were younger may not be working during perimenopause. Start with 3–4 mornings/week to build back that habit.
Try it out: eat something small within 60 minutes of waking. Track how you feel (energy, mood, cravings, hot flashes) the rest of the day.
✨ Invitation + Next Step
If you’re curious to go deeper — to explore how your specific hormone shifts, symptoms, and blood sugar patterns interplay — I’d love to walk that path with you inside The Pause Party.
This month in there, we’ll dive deeply into “Breakfast & Blood Sugar” — personalized snack/meal ideas, habit plans, live teaching, and support so you don’t feel like you’re doing it alone.
Ready to step forward? The Pause Party
⚠️ Friendly Disclaimer
I’m not a doctor or dietitian — this post is for educational purposes. Before making changes (especially if you have diabetes or are on medication), talk with your healthcare provider.
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