Healthy Breakfast: The Key To Weight Loss

By HelloLife

Many people skip out on this very important meal. It is true that it's the meal of the day that will give you the most benefits. If you are on a diet, don't think that missing out on breakfast will help you lose weight, because in fact, it can have the reverse effect.

Why is Breakfast Important?

Energy is the most popular answer for this question. Not only does it give you a boost of energy for the early parts of your day, but it also speeds up your metabolism. Throughout the night, your body is starving, so it needs nourishment first thing in the morning. By not eating breakfast when you wake up, your body will become sluggish, so everything you eat throughout the day won't burn as quickly as it would if you had eaten breakfast. The calories are burned faster when your metabolism gets that kick-start in the morning. Even while you're resting, your body will still be burning the calories of the food you ate. Without breakfast, the food your body consumes will only sit there instead of being used for energy, thus making you even more slow and tired throughout your day (and you'll gain weight this way).

But I Work at Night

This is not an excuse. If you work in the evening hours, eat breakfast before you go in. Breakfast is for when your body first wakes up after a long sleep. If you want to pull that all-nighter for work, you will need the boost of energy that breakfast gives you.

What if I'm Not Hungry in the Morning?

This is the case for many people. Not being hungry when you awaken from a night's sleep can mean two things:

You ate a lot the night before

Your body is too sluggish because you haven't given it enough fuel

Try to eat something light anyway. A lot of times, once you take a bite of food, you begin to feel how hungry you really are.

Lose Weight and Still Eat

Starving yourself is never the way to lose weight. If you are planning to cut down on eating or to do more exercising, you must do so gradually. If you try to immediately begin running miles when you haven't exercised in years, this could cause lots of trouble. And if all of a sudden you stop feeding your body a certain amount of food, there will be adverse effects. If every morning you ate two donuts, which in turn caused you to gain 10 pounds each year, eliminate them and you will lose the same amount. The same with exercising - try working out for 20 minutes a day to start.

What is a Healthy Breakfast?

A healthy breakfast should contain low calories and is rich with fiber and vitamins. If you are someone who doesn't have much time in the morning and aren't willing to wake up earlier to eat, consider some of the following breakfasts for your morning boost:

Yogurt - can mix with rice or bran cereal. No sugar or salt
Banana w/ glass of milk
Raisins and peanuts (try a trailmix)
Bran muffin w/ jam
Bagel w/ low-fat cream cheese
Graham crackers w/ low-fat milk and low-fat peanut butter
Granola bar

If you have more time in the morning try eating grain, bran and rice cereals with sliced up fruit. You can also boil an egg or fry the eggs with low-fat butter. A fresh fruit salad too can help with a breakfast metabolism boost. Also, instead of frying foods, try grilling them (fried foods hold fat).

Sources: http://www.weightlossresources.co.uk/diet/healthy_eating/breakfast.htm http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/health_advice/facts/loseweight.htm http://www.tbrhsc.com/patient_information/nutrition_articles/breakfast_for_weight_loss.asp