Reasons to eat a healthy breakfast

Would you start your car in the morning without putting any fuel into? Probably not. So why does it seem okay to start our own day without putting the proper fuel in our own system? There are certain nutritional requirements that our body needs to meet each day to work properly. By skipping breakfast your setting yourself up at a disadvantage to reach those nutritional needs. It will be more difficult to hit all the nutritional targets if you’re missing meals. Your body needs nutrients in the morning to perform its tasks.

Eating breakfast, not skipping breakfast, will actually increase your chances of reaching your weight loss goals. If you’re not adding fuel, through food, to your system, your body will burn calories more slowly because you don’t have enough stored energy. Eating a well balanced diet will increase your metabolism so you burn calories more efficiently throughout the day. By eating breakfast you are also less likely to snack or eat more later in the day. To set you off on the right foot for weight loss you should eat the most food for breakfast, less at lunch and even less at dinner. This will give your body the most fuel at the start of the day when you need more energy and will prevent the body from storing unused calories as fat at the end of the day.

Just eating breakfast isn’t enough. You have to ensure you are giving your body what it needs. Although a breakfast of coffee and a doughnut sounds great, this type of breakfast contains little or no nutritional value. The caffeine in coffee may give you a boost to start but it will be short lived and can drain you even more later on. Caffeine also dehydrates the body which can give you even less energy and decrease your productivity. Another common breakfast mistake is overeating. A meal containing eggs, hash browns, sausage, bacon, pancakes and toast is high in fat and doesn’t contain enough fibre.

Foods to eat

Make healthy choices with your breakfast and give yourself enough time to eat. If you are in a hurry in the morning than prepare your breakfast the night before or eat something that is portable. Protein shakes are tasty and will give you the nutrients you need to start your day off right. There are many great shake ideas out there so do some research and find the one right for you. Other fast ideas are breakfast cookies or bars. These can be made in advance or even store bought. Read the labels to see if you’re getting the right amount of fibre and protein. If you have more time in the morning and would like a hot breakfast then oatmeal, poached eggs or an omelette would be perfect. Combine foods for a well rounded breakfast, so include fruit or nuts with your meal. Another healthy choice is yogurt or cottage cheese. These are the perfect base foods to add fruit, nuts and seeds to.

Whether it’s for weight loss or maintaining a healthy lifestyle eating breakfast will help start your day off right and keep you going but make sure you make the right choices.