Choose a Healthy Breakfast for Weight Loss

Borrowed from Lifescript Diet & Fitness Article by Nancy Gottesman If you're skipping breakfast, you're not doing your body any good. The health benefits of a morning meal include weight control, mental focus and overall well-being. Here’s how to choose a delicious, nutritious breakfast that will help you achieve your weight-loss and fitness goals... Most Americans don’t & they eat their biggest meal at night; 20% don’t have breakfast at all. “We should be eating the exact opposite way,” says Karen E. Brewton, R.D., a clinical dietitian at Methodist Wellness Services in Houston. “We don’t need a huge meal when we’re getting ready to rest.” In fact, breakfast is not only important, it is vital to weight loss & fitness goals, well-being & performing at your mental best. Your brain needs morning fuel (glucose), which is provided by food, especially carbohydrates. Without a nutritious breakfast, you’ll suffer a mental slump by midmorning. Then there’s your long-term health: skipping breakfast puts you at greater risk for heart disease & metabolic syndrome, a group of symptoms that can lead to cardiac problems or diabetes.

Healthy Breakfast Ideas for Weight Loss

Skipping your morning meal may seem like a simple way to cut calories, but all the research shows that breakfast is essential for maintaining a healthy weight. “I have patients who skip breakfast to limit their day’s food intake,” Brewton says. “These are the absolute wrong calories to cut if weight loss is their goal.” Those who pass on breakfast end up overeating at lunch & dinner, more than making up for the morning calorie deficit, Brewton says. The most convincing evidence comes from the National Weight Control Registry, an organization that studies successful long-term weight loss. It compiled data on 6,000 people who’ve lost 30 pounds & maintained the loss for at least a year. Nearly 80% of these successful losers said they eat a morning meal every day. And a 2008 study of 12,000 adults published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition showed that eating a healthy breakfast promoted wise food choices the rest of the day. Best bet: Eggs! Men & women who ate 2 eggs for breakfast lost 65% more weight & showed a 61% greater reduction in BMI than those who ate a bagel, according to a 2008 Saint Louis University study. Obviously, you can’t eat eggs fried in butter & achieve this result. Try these low-fat, low-calorie cooking methods instead: Poaching. Just break eggs into hot water & cook until firm. Serve over whole-wheat toast with fruit on the side. Hard-boiling. Hard-boiled eggs last a week in the fridge, so keep a half-dozen on hand. A whole-grain English muffin and a cup of berries are perfect accompaniments. Microwaving. Mix eggs with chopped bell pepper, onion, mushroom and low-fat cheese and pour into a mug. Nuke for 45 seconds or until cooked through (stirring if needed). Eat as an omelet or plop the veggie-egg disc on toast. Baking. Create a “crustless quiche” by pouring an egg-veggie mixture into muffin tins; bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Freeze leftovers, then heat them in the microwave for less than a minute.

Healthy Breakfast Ideas for Staying Satisfied & Sharp

“Breakfast should be a balance of carbs, fat & protein, and contain about 400 calories,” says Dawn Jackson Blatner, R.D., a spokeswoman for the American Dietetic Association & author of The Flexitarian Diet (McGraw-Hill). “This combo will curb your appetite & keep you going throughout the day.” Your morning meal should, also, give you a jump-start on your daily fiber intake (about 25-30 grams), which keeps you feeling full. Best bets: Low-glycemic foods that won’t cause a rapid rise & fall in blood sugar levels. Here’s why: Foods low on the glycemic index heighten production of GLP-1, a gut hormone that leads to appetite suppression & a full feeling in your belly. In a 2009 study at King’s College in London, people who ate a low-GI breakfast had 20% higher blood levels of GLP-1 and 38% lower levels of insulin than those who ate a high-GI breakfast. More good news: Low-glycemic fare also increases the fat-burning effects of moderate exercise, like walking, after breakfast. Choose these low-GI foods each morning to keep you feeling full, energetic & mentally focused: Breads & cereals made from whole grains, such as oats, barley, rye & wheat, or any kind of bran. A 2007 study by Lund University in Sweden found that a low-GI breakfast of healthy carbohydrates can prevent blood sugar spikes. It also improves mental focus for up to 10 hours. A great low-GI, stick-to-your-ribs breakfast is: a bowl of oat groats. These are the least-processed version of oats, so they take a lot longer to digest than quick-cook oatmeal. (Steel-cut oats are second best.) They also take awhile to prepare, but you can slow-cook them in a crockpot overnight with cinnamon sticks or a splash of reduced-fat coconut milk.