It's one of the most overused, tired phrases in healthy eating: "breakfast is the most important meal of the day."
But guess what? It's true. Breakfast is the key to starting your metabolism, which controls your weight; and maintaining a healthy weight, combined with exercise, can decrease your risk of cancer by as much as 30 to 40 percent. It also determines how much energy you'll have to get through the day.
I remember shaking off everyone's words of breakfast advice in high school and snatching a Pop-Tart on my way out the door. That was acceptable as a ninth grader, but here's the sad part: some people still do it. They don't value breakfast, which is essential, fundamental, and imperativeto being healthy. If you're grabbing a muffin from Tim Hortons or eating sugary cereal every day when the sun comes up, you're doing it wrong. If you need to do that once in a while, more power to you (heaven knows we're all in a frantic rush at least once a week), but you won't lose weight by doing it consistently.
I'm not someone who will tell you that your meals need to get progressively smaller, meaning you need to down a smorgasbord for breakfast, a pretty big meal for lunch, and a little salad for dinner. Let's be real - you work hard, you've had a tough day, you deserve a real meal for dinner.
I'm not into all the gimmicks or fad diets, and you don't need to be either. It's all about good, old-fashioned, healthy eating.
Here are some tips to drop the pounds and get that metabolism roaring...
Wheats and grains all day, baby.
If you're really trying to lose a significant amount of weight, you should stay away from carbs altogether. However, they aren't as bad for you in the morning as they are late at night when you're watching Boy Meets World re-runs (I know someone out there just nodded in agreement). When you've got to have some bread, think wheat, wheat, and more wheat. Stay away from white bread.
If you have wheat bread in the morning, you'll likely be able to contain your burgeoning hunger. Unhealthy snacks between meals will kill your diet, so it's essential to stay full until mealtime.
Stay with the Quaker.
I switched to an all-oatmeal breakfast diet about three weeks ago, and I've never felt better. Oatmeal is packed to the brim with antioxidants and fiber - two crucial components to being healthy.
Plus it has the possibility to taste great if you jazz it up the right way. Throw in some light cinnamon, a banana or two, and some strawberries. Boom. Heaven in your breakfast-eating, fat-shedding, head-turning self. Was that a little too much? My bad.
A few other things oatmeal can do for you: lower your cholesterol, lessen your risk of diabetes, prevent heart disease, and boost your immune system.
In my opinion, the best benefit of oatmeal as that it "sticks to your ribs," as my mom always said. It's one of those foods that will keep you full, unlike cold cereal.
Remember that you needto eat to lose weight.
That seems kind of backwards but studies show that overweight people will skip breakfast to lose weight and that doesn't work when compared to their thinner counterparts who actually eat breakfast. When you skip the first meal of the day, you'll probably eat more during a later meal or eat super unhealthy snacks throughout the day. That's a huge party foul when it comes to dieting.
Get the picture?
You've got to eat healthy in the morning if you want to be ripped when people are looking.
Email: aaron.mansfield@ubspectrum.com
