“All happiness depends on a leisurely breakfast.” – John Gunther
A problem that most people share is eating a very small breakfast or not having it at all. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day – it is a necessary fuel for your body and brain. Nutritious breakfast helps boost your metabolism, reduce cravings, and maintain a healthy weight. A morning meal also helps reduce the risk for certain health problems.
Below are the tips to help you develop good breakfast habits for your weight and health. By using these tips you may look and feel healthier.
1. Never skip breakfast. Starting your morning with breakfast will boost your metabolism. People who regularly skip breakfast have a higher risk of certain health problems.
2. Eat breakfast within an hour after you get up. Morning meal helps keep blood sugar levels stable during the day.
3. If you are not used to eating in the morning and feel like you are not hungry or if you think you do not have time for it – just make it simple – have a quick and easy meal (for example, yogurt topped with fruits, nuts and seeds, or instant grain porridge with your favorite healthy additives). Soon you will get used to having food in the morning.
4. First thing in the morning have some water – not too cold, close to a room temperature or warmer. A glass or two of water in the morning on an empty stomach is a good start for your digestive system. You can add a squeeze of fresh lemon juice – it not only adds flavor to water, lemon also provides vitamin C and helps cleanse toxins from your body.
5. Start your morning with healthy food. Avoid highly processed packaged foods. Essential ingredients of a healthy breakfast are whole grains, lean protein, low-fat dairy, fruits and/or vegetables. Keep saturated fat, sodium and added sugars to a minimum. Some of the good foods to eat for breakfast are whole wheat bread, whole grain cereals, plain yogurt, fruits, hard-boiled egg and oatmeal.
6. Think of the morning meal ahead. Some of the breakfast foods can be prepared the night before (like chopped fresh fruit salad or soaked whole grains that only need to be heated in the morning).
7. Choose protein for breakfast. Protein takes more time to digest, which means you will be less likely to crave a mid-morning snack. Including both lean protein and fiber in your morning meal, such as whole-grain unsweetened cereal mixed with low-fat plain yogurt (without sugar) and topped with fresh fruits, would be a healthy option for a morning meal. Good protein sources also include eggs, cottage cheese, lean meat and fish, and nuts.
8. Have something warm for breakfast. If you go for cold food, have at least a warm drink like tea or coffee. Just note, that beverage may only be a part of your breakfast – having only beverage is not sufficient for a morning meal. Warm food (including liquids) helps your digestive system work properly. If you drink coffee in the morning, have it made at home – this way you can control the amount of sugar (and other high-calorie additives) added to it. If you buy your coffee at a coffee-shop, make sure to get a low-calorie one, or have it just plain black.
9. Look for different breakfast meal options – try not to eat the same foods every morning many days in a row, or at least replace part of your morning meal with new foods once in a while. Eating the same foods every day may not only make it harder to lose weight, but may cause some health issues as well. There is no food that has all the nutrients we need in the optimum amounts, so we need a variety of foods to get enough of each nutrient.
10. Take your time when eating your morning meal – try not to eat on the run, instead – sit and relax. It is very important not to gobble it all up, but to have some time for chewing the food. If you focus on chewing carefully every bite of food, you will end up eating less food until you start feeling full. Also, chewing well helps improve your digestion.
