Lots of folks don't make the time for breakfast in the mornings. Amidst the hustle and bustle of preparing for work, getting kids ready for school, commutes and getting out the door, at times it is hard to fit in breakfast in the first place. Then... when someone is restricting their daily calorie intake, breakfast seems like a logical place to save a few hundred calories.
This is day two of good news... ;) YOU SHOULD EAT BREAKFAST!!! Even when you're conserving calories, spreading them out through the day is the best plan to keep your belly satisfied and will prevent you from overeating to catch up. Think about it this way -- if you ate dinner at 6 pm, and didn't eat again until near noon... your body has been fasting for 18 hours!!! That 18 hour fast every day can really make your metabolism sluggish. Small frequent meals throughout the day are like adding fuel to the calorie burning fire and allows your body to do its job more efficiently.
So what should you have for breakfast? Well, the cereal companies have done their own studies, and of course the outcome is as we would expect. Eat cereal, lose weight.
Healthy cereals are a great choice. Even a sugary cereal may be better than skipping (this wont work for me, for reasons I'll get into later) for some folks. In either case it's hard to get a bowl of cereal down on a typical commute. So you could choose to take some dry cereal and down a glass of non-fat milk, or look at some other alternatives.
1) Drink your breakfast -- Skip the bloody mary, of course, but there are MANY options available to you. I personally drink Shakeology every morning, but there are also fruit smoothies, protein shakes of all varieties, and you can make them according to your personal taste and dietary needs.
2) Belly up to the bar -- (okay, I'm sensing a theme here) be it granola, protein, fruit or flax seed nutritional bars are great on the go, but as I mentioned with cereal, try to pick something that tastes good but has some nutritional value. Many breakfast bars are chock full of sugar and fat.
3) Portable fruit - apples, bananas, pears, you name it. Just grab something on your way out the door or while you are supervising the morning activities and you're set. Add some cheese slices for a serving of protein to help keep you full for a longer period.
4) Waffle with peanut butter - instead of a regular waffle loaded with syrup, add about 1TBS of PB and a little J if you wanted and get on the road.
5) If must hit the drive thru, stick to the Egg McMuffin. 300 calories and lots of lean protein would be a great choice.
6) Yogurt - Greek or other low fat yogurt is a good food to start the day with. Both are low in fat and high in protein to fuel your body.
7) Feel like a kid again by having some yogurt tubes. While very portable, most kids' yogurts are nightmare of sugar, artificial colors and flavors. But Kroger brand, Stonyfield Farms, Horizon Organic, and I'm sure there are others, make yogurt tubes without all of the junk that you don't need. These are lower in protein than their "adult" counterparts, but would do in a pinch. Maybe add some nuts or granola too.
Here are a few more, just for good measure. Ants on a log, hard boiled eggs, a bagel thin with low cream cheese, a ham and cheese sandwich.
No matter what your breakfast choice, try to stick to things that are high fiber or protein. A combination of both is ideal, but when eating on the run both may not be possible all the time. Avoid high sugar without protein and fiber because these foods have a tendency to spike your blood sugar and the subsequent drop can leave you feeling hungry earlier and maybe crashing from that sugar buzz.
In closing, EAT BREAKFAST!!! Millions of moms and teachers can't be wrong -- they've always said it's the most important meal of the day.
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