When your alarm clock jangles, do you smack the snooze button until the final instant that you have to haul your sorry carcass out of bed, jump into your clothes, and race to work?

Bad idea. While you sleep, your blood sugar levels nosedive. If you don’t replenish them by breaking your fast (breakfast, pretty clever, huh?), chances are that the day’s demands will break you. You won’t have enough energy to even compete in the rat race, much less win it.

A good, nutritional breakfast is essential to the Hard-Body Plan. And it’s strategic. Because you burn food more efficiently in the morning, you’ll start the day with foods that are most quickly converted into energy: carbohydrates andproteins. If you consistently eat a Hard-Body breakfast of cereals, fruits, and fat-free milk instead of a Homer Simpson breakfast of doughnuts, bacon, and half-and-half, you’ll look less and less like the Pillsbury Doughboy and more like the stud muffin that nature intended you to be.

Hot Cereal That’s Whey Cool

• 2 large whole egg • 6 large egg whites • 2 slices whole-wheat bread • 1 tomato, sliced • 1/2 cup orange juice

Scramble the whole egg and egg whites in a bowl. Fry them in a pan spritzed with vegetable oil spray, dump them onto the bread, and garnish with sliced tomato. Coat the bread with spicy mustard if you like. If you’re wide awake or ambitious, or if you just want to impress yourself, add green peppers, onions, or other vegetables to the eggs. If you’re in a hurry, munch on some of the tomato slices while cooking the eggs, toss a couple of slices on the sandwich, wrap the works in a napkin, and eat it while you drive. Gulp down a glass of orange juice on your way out the door. Totals: 476calories, 47.6 g carbohydrates, 40.9 g protein, 10.7 g fat

	Egg	Egg Whites	Whole-Wheat Bread	Tomato	OJ
Calories	150	92	146	31	57
Carbohydrates (g)	1.2	2	25.8	5.7	12.9
Protein (g)	12.6	21	5.4	1	0.9
Fat (g)	10.6	0	2.4	0.4	0.3

Hot Cereal That’s Whey Cool
• 6 ounces Maypo (or other whole-grain cereal) • ¼ cup fat-free milk • 1 teaspoon flaxseed oil • 1 ounce seedless raisins • 2 scoop powdered whey protein, such as Designer Protein Chocolate Whey	Mix the Maypo with unsalted water and nuke it. Then mix the milk, flaxseed oil, raisins, and powdered protein into the cereal. The result: a great hot breakfast and only one lousy bowl to wash. Totals: 484 calories, 56 g carbohydrates, 44.5 g protein, 8.8 g fat

	Maypo	Milk	Flaxseed Oil	Raisins	Whey Protein
Calories	122	47	42	95	178
Carbohydrates (g)	22.6	6	0	22.4	5
Protein (g)	4.1	4.5	0	0.9	35
Fat (g)	1.7	0.3	4.1	0.1	2

Hot Cereal with Vanilla Whey
• 6 ounces Quaker Creamy Wheat Enriched Farina • ¼ cup fat-free milk • 1 teaspoon flaxseed oil • 1 cup unsweetened frozen blackberries • 2 scoop whey protein, such as Designer Protein French Vanilla Whey	Not a chocolate lover? Try this vanilla variation. Mix farina and unsalted water, and nuke ’em in a bowl. Mix the milk, flaxseed oil, frozen blackberries, and vanilla whey into the cereal. Totals: 443 calories, 52.9 g carbohydrates, 40.9 g protein, 7.3 g fat

	Farina	Milk	Flaxseed Oil	Blackberries	Whey Protein
Calories	88	47	42	108	158
Carbohydrates (g)	19.2	6	0	23.7	4
Protein (g)	2.6	4.5	0	1.8	32
Fat (g)	0.1	0.3	4.7	0.6	1.6

Turkey Sausage with Cereal
• 2 ounces cooked Louis Rich Turkey Smoked Sausage • 3/4 cup Kellogg’s Complete Oat Bran Flakes • 1 cup fat-free milk • 1 teaspoon flaxseed oil • 2 sliced small bananas	Cook the sausage in a pan. Serve alongside the cereal, which gets topped with the milk and oil. If you’d rather not go bananas this morning, substitute 12 ounces of OJ. Totals: 550 calories, 84.8 g carbohydrates, 23 g protein, 12.8 g fat

	Sausage	Bran Flakes	Milk	Flaxseed Oil	Banana
Calories	90	119	93	42	206
Carbohydrates (g)	2.2	23.2	12	0	47.4
Protein (g)	8.1	3.9	9	0	2
Fat (g)	5.4	1.2	0.5	4.7	1

Carrot Muffins and Fruit
• 2 low-fat carrot muffins, about 1.5 ounces each (or any other muffin with 3 grams of fat or less) • 2 teaspoons soft margarine • 1 cup fat-free milk • 1 small orange	If you really hate cleaning up after yourself, this ready-made, grab-and-go breakfast will only dirty a knife and a glass. One knife, one glass? Hell, toss ’em in the trash. Who’s gonna miss ’em… Totals: 545 calories, 90.3 g, carbohydrates, 24.4 g protein, 9 g fat

	Muffins	Margarine	Milk	Orange
Calories	313	67	93	72
Carbohydrates (g)	62	0	12	16.3
Protein (g)	14	0	9	4
Fat (g)	1	7.4	0.5	1

Grits ‘n’ Raspberries
• 2 packets Quaker Plain Instant Corn Grits • 4 ounces fresh raspberries • 1 scoop Designer Protein French Vanilla Whey • 1 teaspoon flaxseed oil • 1 cup vanilla soy milk	Microwave or cook the grits and mix in the raspberries, whey, and flaxseed oil. If you’re lactose intolerant or just plain tired of moo juice, the vanilla soy milk will hit the spot. Totals: 523 calories, 80 g carbohydrates, 29 g protein, 9.6 g fat

	Grits	Raspberries	Whey Protein	Flaxseed Oil	Soy Milk
Calories	188	63	79	42	151
Carbohydrates (g)	41.2	13.1	2	0	23.7
Protein (g)	4.4	1	16	0	7.6
Fat (g)	0.6	0.7	0.8	4.7	2.8

Strawberry Shake with Milk
• 2 cups fat-free milk • 16 ounces frozen unsweetened strawberries • 2 teaspoons flaxseed oil • 1 ounce toasted plain wheat germ	Pour the milk in the blender, then toss in the rest of the goodies. The frozen strawberries will make the shake so thick that you’ll need a spoon. Totals: 568 calories, 79.5 g carbohydrates, 28.3 g protein, 14.2g fat

	Milk	Strawberries	Flaxseed Oil	Wheat Germ
Calories	188	179	42	117
Carbohydrates (g)	24	41.4	0	14.1
Protein (g)	18	2	0	8.3
Fat (g)	1.2	0.6	4.7	3

Blue-Plate Breakfast: Diner Pancakes and Eggs
• 3 blueberry pancakes, approximately 1.3 ounces each • 2 tablespoons reduced-calorie syrup • 2 teaspoons soft margarine • 3-egg omelet • black coffee	Diners are pure Americana. You can find them just about everywhere. And you can eat hearty without bumping up your pants size. Totals: 680 calories, 72 g carbohydrates, 24.9 g protein, 32.4 g fat

	Pancakes	Syrup	Margarine	Omelette
Calories	220	121	67	272
Carbohydrates (g)	40	30.2	0	1.8
Protein (g)	6	0	0	18.9
Fat (g)	4	0	7.4	21

Eating Healthy at McDonald’s
• 1 McDonald’s Egg McMuffin • 3 containers orange juice	As guilty pleasures go, the Egg McMuffin isn’t the worst offender. Burger King’s breakfast biscuit sandwiches contain considerably more fat. Just make sure that the McMuffin is only an occasional indulgence. Totals: 541 calories, 87 g carbohydrates, 20 g protein, 12.5 g fat

	Egg McMuffin	OJ
Calories	284	257
Carbohydrates (g)	27	60
Protein (g)	17	3
Fat (g)	12	0.5

Remember, these breakfasts are for our 175-pound, 5-foot-10-inch reference man. You will need to adjust portions up or down a bit relative to your own weight and goals. Also if you can’t find some of these items in your area, feel free to make healthy substitutions.