6
tips to help you stop skipping breakfast
If you regularly skip breakfast, try
these small steps to establish a healthy breakfast habit.
“Breakfast
is the most important meal of the day!”
“Eat
breakfast like a king!”
“Eat
diamonds for breakfast and shine the whole day!”
For those who eat breakfast
regularly, they’re words to live by. But what if you skip breakfast?
You hear those words, and you just feel guilty. You know you should eat,
but it’s hard if you’ve been up for hours and your stomach is still sleeping
in. You know that breakfast really is important – and that the right
foods in the morning really can help you “shine all day”. So the
question is, why aren’t you hungry? And is there anything you can do
about it?
Figuring out why you can’t face food
in the morning can be tricky. Sometimes it’s just a long-standing habit –
you just never got into the breakfast routine. And, since you manage to
get through your morning okay, you just tell yourself you don’t really need
to eat. Maybe you aren’t hungry in the morning because you routinely eat
an enormous dinner and snack all night until bedtime. Maybe you simply
don’t like breakfast food or you just rely on a pot of strong black coffee to
get you going.
Those who don’t eat in the morning
have likely heard all the reasons they should try to break the
breakfast-skipping habit. But just in case you need a reminder – here’s a
quick recap. When you get up in the morning, you’ve gone a pretty long
stretch without eating. And even though you’ve been sleeping, your body
has been tapping into stored fuel to keep your systems going. So if you
don’t top off your tank in the morning, you’ll lack the mental and physical
energy you need to get through your workout and your workday. Not only that,
the breakfast habit is associated with better weight management and a better
diet overall. The vast majority of those who have successfully lost
weight, and kept it off, eat breakfast nearly every day. On the other hand,
people who skip breakfast consume more fat, cholesterol, calories, and sugar –
and fewer fruits and vegetables – than those who routinely eat breakfast.
Here are some tips to help you to
eat better in the morning, so you, too, can “shine all day”:
Start
small and light
Ease into the habit with small
portions of easy-to-digest foods that are nutrient-packed. Try a protein
shake with fruit, or a dab of nonfat cottage cheese or a hard-boiled egg with a
piece of fruit on the side.
Include
some protein
Protein is important because it not
only helps to keep you satisfied, it also helps keep you mentally alert.
And one study showed that those who eat a high protein breakfast take in 200
fewer calories during the evening.
Break
your meal into small snacks
You don’t need to eat your entire
meal at once. Sip on your shake throughout the morning, or have your cottage
cheese or egg first, and your fruit an hour or so later.
Get
up 15 minutes earlier
An extra 15 minutes in the morning
can make all the difference to those who are rushed to get out the door.
You’ll not only have time to make something quick, you’ll also give your system
a chance to wake up.
Eat
what appeals to you
There’s no rule that says you have
to eat ‘breakfast food’ in the morning. A few bites of leftover chicken
and veggie stir-fry might just do the trick.
Don’t
rely on just ‘coffee and a muffin’
Many people think they’re not really
eating breakfast when they grab “just a coffee and a pastry” at the coffee
store. But that innocent looking coffee drink coupled with a bran muffin could
dump more than 700 calories and 6 teaspoons of grease into your system.
Copyright Healthy Weight Loss for
Life 2012
Thank you.
John
Cardinal
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