The quality of your breakfast is crucial to your overall health and weight loss efforts. In addition, establishing a routine of healthy eating habits will lead you down the path for successful weight loss.
Here are 10 rules for breakfast that will help you achieve these goals:
1) Avoid processed and fast food breakfasts.- Processed foods lack nutrient density and offer very little in the way of filling you up. Fast foods are full of sugar and inflammatory fats, which sabotage weight loss. These types of meals will set you up for failure as you’re trying to lose weight.
2) Eat breakfast within an hour after waking up.- Your body needs all-important fuel to function, especially when you first wake. Skipping this meal may leave your body in starvation mode and NOT burning fat as a source of fuel, which is what we want!.
3) Eat whole foods at breakfast.- Whole foods are foods that haven’t been processed or refined and they contain a higher level of nutrients than processed foods. Eating whole foods will ensure satiety which will prevent you from overeating during the rest of the day.
4) Include protein and fiber at breakfast.- Protein and fiber make you feel fuller longer, by slowing down digestion and stabilizing blood sugar levels. They also prevent your blood sugar levels from rising excessively, which can make you feel very hungry again shortly after eating your meal.
5) Drink green tea or water with lemon first thing in the morning.- Green tea has been shown to speed up your metabolism and help you burn more fat.
6) Balance your blood sugar at breakfast.- Eating a breakfast that contains protein, fiber and some healthy fats will help to make sure your blood sugar levels stay stable for hours, instead of spiking and crashing, which will keep cravings at bay.
7) Eat vegetables at breakfast. – Adding vegetables to your diet will not only help you feel fuller longer but they are also packed with nutrients that are great for weight loss, including fiber and potassium.
8) Keep your meal to 300 calories or less.- You may be tempted to skip breakfast or load your plate with lots of carbs. This can lead to overeating throughout the day and sabotaging your weight loss efforts. Research has shown that limiting breakfast calories does NOT promote immoderate weight loss.
9) Have a healthy snack before breakfast.- Balance your blood sugar before breakfast by eating something healthy, protein/fat-packed such as nuts or cheese.
10) Avoid sugary breakfast cereals.- These are high in calories and very low in nutritional value. A serving of cereal contains a whopping 40-50 grams of sugar, which is the equivalent of 3-4 packages of sugary cereal. This can be a major source of calories and add unnecessary weight on your waistline.
