4 Reasons To Eat Breakfast
You’ve heard it from your mom, your best friend, and probably your doctor too: “Don’t skip breakfast!” But between the stress of establishing your career, trying to drop a few lb’s, and trying to get in a few kicks, breakfast often becomes a last priority as you rush out the door in the morning.
Besides, let’s be honest, most of your at-home breakfast foods don’t really say “eat me”. Cold sugary cereals, or greasy eggs and sausage—is your mouth watering? While more enticing breakfast options might be out there (cinnamon rolls anyone?) they often leave you high, dry and another-pound-oh-my in the health department.
There are plenty of medical reasons for opting out of morning mealtime but the hidden effects on your lifestyle and health can be surprising:
1. Weight: Skipping breakfast means that you’ll end up eating more than usual later in the day as your body tries to overcompensate for lost calories. Also denying your body its morning fuel tricks it into entering starvation mode which leads to blood sugar imbalance and insulin irregularities. And of course eating breakfast means your energy levels are higher so you’re able to move around more.
2. Hormones: Do you have a bad period? Skipping breakfast has been known to contribute to painful periods and irregular bleeding.
3. Memory/ Cognition: Not having breakfast means not having brain fuel. It’s hard to be as sharp as a tack when you’re body is working hard to conserve energy.
4. Mood: Having a bad case of the mornings isn’t necessarily just a lack of sleep. Skipping breakfast contributes to low blood sugar. (Aka you become Miss Crabby Pants.)
So, that’s interesting. But I’ll admit it, I rarely eat breakfast. I usually just have a cup of coffee and hold out for lunch. When I do eat breakfast, it’s maybe a nectarine as I run out the door or donuts that someone kindly brought in to work.
But, for the next week, I’m going to eat a healthy and nutritious breakfast! I’m going to track the benefits and I’d love if you did it with me! Let me know if you notice a difference in your mood? Weight? Sleep pattern? Let me know and I’ll do the same!
January 14, 2013 @ 10:05 am
breakfast smoothie! yogurt, fruit, spinach and juice!
January 14, 2013 @ 10:07 am
Mango greek yogurt & granola
January 14, 2013 @ 10:32 am
Banana Oatmeal Smoothie this morning. So yummy! It cost just around a dollar to make and took less than three minutes to put together! I was pleasantly surprised when I calculated how much the ingredients cost.
So far this morning, I feel energized and positive. Tons to do, but I’m focused on getting it done now instead of dragging my feet. Bring it on Monday!
January 15, 2013 @ 9:02 am
Tuesday – Breakfast Pita (scrambled eggs, sauteed baby spinach, whole wheat pita pocket). Cost $1. Took just over five minutes to make which was actually less than I thought it would be considering the actual cooking involved.
I DID NOT want to get up this morning. Making a “hot” breakfast seemed like a hassel but the protein and whole wheat carbs help me get going. I felt satisfied and my energy level has been pretty steady this morning. I also, don’t feel like I’m starving now that its lunch time.
January 17, 2013 @ 3:35 pm
Wednesday – Oatmeal with brown sugar and pumpkin pie spice. Oatmeal is so cheap! Depending on where its like 20 cents a serving. I loved the pumpkin pie spice because it has so many more dimensions than just cinnamon.
It was very comforting and filling on a super cold day. Felt great all morning long.
January 17, 2013 @ 3:47 pm
Thursday – Breakfast Smoothie (orange juice, banana, carrot). I thought the carrot was going to make it taste a little weird, but the orange juice cancelled it out. Was just around a dollar to make.
Great lazy morning pick-up after a late night out. Healthy dose of vitamins to help recover and took just a couple of minutes to make. I’m feeling pretty good about this whole breakfast thing.