Why it is Important to Eat a Healthy Breakfast
What is the first thing you should consume in the morning? Yes breakfast. Do you remember when you were a kid and your mother would say “eat your breakfast, drink your milk so that you can grow tall and strong?” There are added benefits of eating breakfast with numerous studies stating that eating breakfast provides the necessary energy, good nutrients, minerals and vitamins. Additionally, several studies have shown that eating a good breakfast allows you to have a better portion control over lunch and dinner. Eating a good breakfast means that you will have the energy and strength to carry out your day to day activities. By eating breakfast in the morning, you will be able concentrate on your task without worrying about food; however, if you skip breakfast you could find yourself getting distracted by hunger, frustrated if you are too busy to grab something to eat and when it is time for lunch… YOU EAT THE LUNCH “WITH A VENGEANCE” because you have been hungry all day and before you realize it you would have eaten way too much food.
When it comes to eating breakfast, you must understand the difference between energy depleting breakfast and energy-giving breakfast. Eating breakfast is good but not all breakfast is good for you. A good number of cereals currently in most grocery store shelves and online are low in fiber and protein but loaded with sugar and some even contain as high as 10 grams of sugar or higher. In addition to high sugar, low fiber and protein, the carbohydrate content is also usually high.
In order to derive energy and strength from you breakfast, you must eat breakfast that has balanced diet which is low in carbohydrates, low sugar, high in fiber and high in protein. Also remember that all carbohydrates are not equal therefore the carbs in your breakfast must be complex carbohydrate like wholes grains and not a simple carbohydrate like white bread. You must also pay attention to the sodium content in your breakfast. It is only by doing this that you will be able to consume energy-giving breakfast instead of energy-depleting breakfast. This will in turn help you control the portion of food you eat during lunch and dinner and eventually, this will lead to weight loss.
There are a lot of professionals who will rush to work without stopping to have breakfast why? The most common excuse for this breakfast-skipping habit is always the same “I am too busy or I don’t eat breakfast.” I have been asked “How can eating adequate breakfast help with weight loss?” By eating a healthy breakfast and incorporating fruits (low glycemic ones) you will not feel hungry until it is time for lunch and even during lunch you will notice that you are eating a smaller portion than you would have eaten if you had skipped breakfast.
Several years ago when I graduated from college and started working as a professional, I would skip breakfast and at about 10:30am would be so hungry that the first thing I would do would be to eat out of the vending machine at work (junk food) and during lunch time I would eat making up for breakfast. On weekends I would eat an extremely large amount of food that had the potential of spiking my cholesterol and food that was likely to increase my chances of becoming diabetic.