This series, 50 Habits of Thin People has covered 17 habits so far. If you missed last time, we talked about 8 healthy late night snacks! We have also spent some time evaluating how we are doing on making these habits stick.
Healthy Habit #18: Eat Breakfast (don’t skip it!)
(I was tempted for this habit to be entitled Don’t Skip Breakfast, but it’s much better to put things in a positive light. Eat Breakfast!)
There has been a LOT that has already been said about this subject. “Breakfast is the most important meal of the day.” “Don’t skip breakfast.” Just google it!
This quotes a study that has been done on 3,000 people who had lost on average 70 lbs. and have keep off the weight for a year or more. Only 4% of the group skips breakfast.
Katherine Zeratsky, R.D., L.D. on the Mayo Clinic Expert advice, answers the Question: Why does eating a healthy breakfast help control weight?
What breakfast will do for you:
It’s true. You NEED breakfast in order to jump start your metabolism, increase your alertness and concentration.
If you eat a healthy breakfast, you will eliminate your need for a mid-morning snack. Breakfast skippers tend to eat more food than usual at the next meal or nibble on high-calorie snacks to stave off hunger.
What you need from breakfast:
- whole-wheat breads (stabilize your blood sugar)
- at least 6 grams of fiber (make you feel fuller longer)
- whole fresh fruit
- whole eggs or egg whites (or a combination of both!)
- smoothies with yogurt & fruit (no added sugar)
NOT
- do not have lots of sugar in the morning (sugar high, then sugar low – leaving you to crave more sugar)
Breakfast Menu
Mayo clinic has a great list of quick and flexible breakfast options (on the second page). Some of which are,
- cooked oatmeal topped with almonds or dried cranberries
- whole-wheat pita stuffed with hard-boiled eggs
- leftover vegetable pizze
- a smoothie made with whole fruits, low-fat yogurt, and wheat germ
- a whole grain waffle with peanut butter
- egg omelet with vegetables (use more egg whites than yolk
- microwaved potato topped with broccoli and grated cheese
If you are looking for more menu ideas for breakfast, check out my Volumetrics menu!
Do you skip breakfast? If you do eat breakfast, what is your favorite breakfast?
© 2012, Betsy Pool. All rights reserved.
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Great post!! Although I know that eating breakfast is important, I used to always have trouble eating it. I never felt hungry in the morning. Then I saw a wholistic doctor who told me that I didn’t feel hungry because my liver was still processing all of the “junk” from the day before. She told me that when I improved my diet overall, I would start to be more hungry in the morning… it was absolutely true! I also agree that it is so important to have protein (and not sugar) in the morning. For me and for my kids it makes a huge difference in how we eat the rest of the day! When my kids ate cereal for breakfast, they were hungry all day long. Now they are much more balanced.
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That’s really interesting. Good to know. I’m usually hungry less than 2 hours after I wake up. Is that normal?
Yes, I agree. I’ve seen that eating breakfast does make a huge different in how you are eating the rest of the day.
I always eat breakfast. Don’t really know how anyone could skip it because I am usually hungry in the morning. My favs are eggs with veggies or whole wheat toast with pb and bananas. Yum!
I also wanted to let you know that I just completed a write up about bloggers you should know and included you. Cheers! http://littlegreenbow.com/2012/03/fabulous-bloggers-you-should-know/
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Really? That’s so cool. I’m honored, Deanna!! I’ll check it out.
I have to force myself to do it, but I do. I prefer to have a smoothie with my Isagenix, but when I’m out of that, I’ll have eggs. I’m a big baby about it, though:)
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Hey Betsy! This is a great post! I’m going to have to check out this entire series! One thing I’ve found that skinny people do is order and eat less food. Like at a restaurant, they tend to never finish the full plate!
I LOVE breakfast and all your standard breakfast food- #1 will always be cereal (laziness in the morning has a lot to do with that), french toast, pancakes, but my go-to breakfast is always 2 eggs-over-easy and 2 pieces of toast! LOVE it!
Btw- I subscribed to your RSS feed! Looking forward to reading your blog on a daily basis! Thank you for your comment on my blog!
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Thanks so much Ashley! Yes, eating less food when ordering out is great. Most restaurants have high calorie meals (much better to eat it for two meals instead of one!!)
Yeah, breakfast has so many great options. I think it’s my favorite meal of the day. Thanks for subscribing!! Thanks for commenting as well.
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I was just talking about this with my coach today…my preference is always to grab coffee and go (ok, more like a super sugary mocha-choco-coffee combo), so I’ve been trying to do organic coffee with stevia and organic half and half with gluten free bread and organic nut butter. A little boring, but it’s grab and go and light. Love your suggestions!
guilty. I drink coffee for breakfast. I really need to do better. I chalk it up to not being a “morning person”
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Nothing wrong with a little coffee with breakfast – just don’t put a bunch of creamer or sugar in it. And eat it WITH a healthy breakfast!
Great post! I have to make myself eat breakfast too! My favs are smoothies, eggs, and organic protein bars. And thank you so much for linking up at Healthy 2day Wednesdays!
MMmmm! Breakfast is my favorite meal of the day, I think.