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WEEK 2: Losing Weight Challenge- EAT BREAKFAST!

in The Too Busy to Diet Blog on September 9, 2015

If you are interested in losing weight or improving your nutrition I feel that the second most important thing to do is to include a breakfast each morning. Numerous research studies have shown that eating breakfast is an important part of good health.
Working with clients for over 25 years, I have found that breakfast skippers feel sluggish in the morning, feel hungrier at lunch and later in the day, and make better food choices when they do not feel starved.
Breakfast means, “breaking the fast”. After a night of rest our bodies are in a starvation state. Eating first thing in the morning is like putting fuel in our gas tank. Without fuel in our cars, they cannot run. This is how our bodies work as well. When breakfast is skipped, we stay in a starvation state and our metabolism remains slow. This makes it harder for those trying to lose weight and they find that losing weight is a struggle.
Research has found that individuals who skip breakfast consume lower levels of fiber, calcium, riboflavin, zinc, iron, vitamin A, and Vitamin C. They also consume more fat and cholesterol. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition reported in 2010 that individuals who skipped breakfast throughout childhood and as adults had higher levels of LDL, (bad cholesterol) than those who had always eaten breakfast.
Make sure that your breakfast contains high fiber choices. Consuming higher fiber foods at breakfast will help with hunger later in the day because high fiber choices tend to make us feel fuller longer. High fiber choices include: fresh fruit and high fiber breakfast cereals, breads, and muffins.
And try not to use the old excuse that I never feel hungry in the morning so I do not eat breakfast. If you are snacking all evening after dinner you will not feel hungry in the morning. Try stopping your snacking after 8PM or plan in a small 100-150 calorie snack before bedtime. Once you begin to limit late night snacking and eating breakfast, you will find that losing weight and feeling healthier becomes much easier.

Jacqueline King, MS, RD, FADA, CDE