Breakfast is by far the most important meal of the day. You've likely heard this statement hundreds of time in your life, from teachers, coaches and your parents. But why is it that so many of us still choose to skip breakfast? Mornings are too rushed? Its a hassle to cook something when we are busy getting ready for work and the kids ready for school? All legitimate excuses but after you read this blog, they will be invalid. You will be versed on the importance of breakfast and given simple, fast and convenient meal ides to add to your breakfast go-to meal plans.
First of all, we must touch on the exact reasons why breakfast is just so important. One of the many answers to this question is in the name of the meal - BREAK FAST. Breakfast is your first meal of the day, the one that should be used to break the fast your body endured while you slept. If you're getting a good solid nights rest, you'll be sleeping at least eight hours. That's a long time to go without fueling you body. You'd never (hopefully) go eight waking hours without eating a meal. When you wake up in the morning, you need to break that fast and give your body the fuel it needs to get ready for the day ahead of it.
Countless studies have shown that breakfast eaters are typically thinner than their breakfast-skipping counterparts. This could be because eating a meal in the morning helps to kickstart your metabolism as well.
Eating breakfast has been proven to help aid your concentration for those early morning meetings at work or early classes at school.
Eating a healthy, well-rounded breakfast can also help to reduce your hunger throughout the rest of the day. Those who eat breakfast tend to eat less at other meals than they would have if they had skipped their morning meal. They also tend to make smarter and healthier food decisions later in the day as well.
Convinced yet?
So now comes the great debate, what to eat for breakfast. It's important that you have a nutritionally well-rounded meal that contains carbohydrates (to help fuel your body) and protein (to help fill you up). A great breakfast could look something like this:
- a vegetable omelet made with whatever veggies you have in the fridge (peppers, onions, broccoli all work really well) and a piece of whole wheat toast
- a whole wheat english muffin with one scrambeled egg on top
- oatmeal (not the packaged - flavored - kind but the kind you make yourself from oats) and 1/2 cup of frozen berries mixed in (my personal favorite)
- a serving of greek yogurt and a piece of whole wheat toast
- 1 egg, 2 servings of egg whites scrambled together with one piece of whole wheat toast
- a hardboiled egg, toast and a banana
- a protein shake made with water or skim milk, a scoop of protein powder and add-ins of your choosing (banana and peanut butter go really well with chocolate protein powder and frozen fruit goes really well with vanilla or strawberry powder). You could add a bit of oats into your shakes as well for more energy-giving carbohydrates.
The possibilities are endless. The shake is a great choice for people who feel they have to eat on the run while the other choices are great for those of us who find ourselves with a few extra minutes in the morning to cook a hearty meal. It doesn't take long to scramble some eggs. You'd only need to get up 20 minutes earlier in the morning to cook and enjoy a healthy meal that'll help you reach your weight loss and fitness goals. It's worth it, don't you think?
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