On the first breakfast of the week, I was nervous but had a supply of foolish confidence in my ability to handle what was ahead.
In the HBO documentary “Becoming Warren Buffett,” the legendary investor said his breakfast each day came from McDonald’s and was dictated by the stock market.
Typically, Buffett gets breakfast once the market is open. If stocks are up, he gets a bacon, egg, and cheese biscuit. If they’re down, he opts for a cheaper breakfast of two sausage patties. If the market is flat, as it was Monday morning before the open, he goes for the sausage McMuffin.
I get to work around 7:30 a.m. ET every day, meaning I had to base my McDonald’s selection on the premarket futures, which tend to be a bit harder to gauge. Regardless, I decided to try to factor in a bit of qualitative analysis based on the overseas markets and the previous day’s close (and, by the end of the week, what I could tolerate).
The first breakfast wasn’t too challenging. The biggest issue was the lack of coffee, as Buffett doesn’t drink the stuff.
I decided to front-load the Cherry Coke to get the caffeine I usually got from my coffee while also preventing myself from drinking soda well into the night.
Additionally, I’d decided to keep track of my weight each morning and night. For the calorie counts, the Cherry Coke totals are added to the count at dinner, since they were dispersed throughout the day.
Breakfast, Day 1: McDonald’s sausage, egg, and cheese McMuffin; Cherry Coke
Breakfast calories: 470
Monday-morning weight: 168.4 pounds