Ladies and Gentlemen – Start Your Engines Please
I love breakfast. How can any day be bad that starts with good food? Or doing something good for yourself ! Breakfast comes in all shapes and sizes so there is something for everyone. Use your imagination.
To you Breakfast Scoffers out there – Answer me this :
Would you expect to take your car out of the driveway without gasoline in it?
Would you expect your house to be warm in the winter without fuel to the furnace?
So it is with our bodies. We need to add fuel to make them run efficiently.
I’ve heard all the excuses – even used some of them myself before I became a “breakfast believer.”
- I get more hungry if I eat breakfast. By mid-morning I’m starving
- I’m trying to lose weight. I can cut calories by not eating breakfast
- I’m just not hungry in the morning
- I don’t like breakfast food
- I don’t have time
We’ll put each of those myths to bed throughout this article. First let’s talk about the benefits of breakfast.
- Increased concentration
- Increased strength and endurance for the day’s activities
- Maintain healthy weight
- Increased performance (esp. for children in the classroom
- Decreased hunger throughout the day
- Decrease in calories consumed throughout the day.
A healthy breakfast combines protein, fiber and fruit. Protein blunts hunger and keeps us feeling satiated/satisfied for several hours. Fiber also makes us feel full. Most of us do not take in the number of fruit and vegetables servings we should have each day. This is an easy way to add at least one or two servings.
If you find you are hungry by mid-morning after eating breakfast review what you are eating. Sugary, high carb breakfasts will cause you to crash in a couple of hours. Avoid high sugar cereals, pastries, scones, donuts, syrupy pancakes. Switch to eggs, wheat toast, hot cooked cereal or whole grain cereal. Use peanut butter or almond butter as a source of protein instead of high in fat breakfast meats like bacon or sausage. Substitute chicken or turkey sausage for pork if calories and fat are a concern.
Add fruits to cereals for sweetness, or whole fruit jams on toast. Orange juice gives you an additional fruit serving as well as boosting good cholesterol (HDL). Honey is a good substitute for refined sugar.
You don’t like breakfast foods? Who determines what is a breakfast food. Any protein and fiber combination will work. Leftover pizza, baked potato with low fat sour cream, soup, tuna salad sandwich. Go for it. The goal is to fuel your internal furnace with protein and fiber to get your engine running for the day. There isn’t anything magic about certain foods like oatmeal or eggs other than the protein and fiber they provide.
Those who cut out breakfast calories to lose weight………..you aren’t doing yourself any favors. Cravings increase, metabolism slows and you end up taking in more calories when you finally eat at lunch time.
A healthy breakfast leaves you less vulnerable to cravings and revs up your metabolism. Going without food in the morning after fasting through the night sends a signal to the brain to start to conserve energy. Your metabolism slows down so rather than burning calories your body is starting to not use them as efficiently. Eating in the morning speeds up the metabolism.
Find yourself cranky by mid-morning? Eating a balanced breakfast works as a mood leveler by regulating your blood sugar levels. You avoid the highs and lows associated with high carb donuts or bagels.
No time for breakfast? Make it the night before. You can do oats with fruit in the crockpot overnight and they are ready when you are. Make enough for a couple of days and refrigerate leftovers to heat in the microwave. Pack a breakfast to take with you. Peanut butter and honey on whole wheat, a piece of fruit and a juice pack isn’t just for 1st grade lunches anymore. It works for the commute.
And if your cupboard is bare, you hate to cook, no time to pack, etc, Starbucks is everywhere……..and they offer some reasonable breakfast choices (far better than McDonalds or Burger Kind). Try a Starbucks Spinach and Feta wrap with your latte. Steel cut oats or the Greek yogurt Honey Parfait is a better choice than a Cranberry Scone.
Put away the excuses. Try it for a week. You owe it to yourself.
Think about it.