Posted Aug 28, 2011
The body needs nourishment after going eight to 12 hours without food, so breakfast skippers who want to lose weight may want to reconsider, say nutrition experts.
“Eating a good breakfast is like putting gas in your car; it will provide you with the energy you need to start the day off right,” said Roxanne Marshburn, a dietitian at Onslow Memorial Hospital. “One major misconception is that skipping breakfast leads to weight loss. In reality eating a healthy breakfast can help individuals with weight loss and with maintaining a healthy weight.”
There are studies to back up Marshburn’s claim.
A University of Massachusetts medical school study found that the risk of obesity was 4.5 times greater in those who regularly skipped breakfast. Researchers from the University of Minnesota followed a group of high school students for five years and found body mass indexes were 30 percent higher in students who always skipped breakfast than in students who ate breakfast every morning.
And breakfast eaters are less prone to overeating.
“Typically hunger gets the best of breakfast-skippers, said Marshburn. “They might eat more at lunch or indulge in a quick fix such as vending machine candy. Eating breakfast can help reduce these tendencies and gives you more energy.”
What you eat for breakfast matters, Marshburn emphasized.
“Breakfast should include protein and fiber,” she said. “This combination should keep you feeling full until lunch time. The protein can come from low fat meats, eggs and dairy products. High fiber foods include fruits and whole grains.”
Marshburn also noted that a healthy breakfast does not have to be extravagant or take a long time to fix.
“It can be a whole wheat English muffin with peanut butter, oatmeal with raisins, eggs with whole grain toast or a half of a turkey sandwich on whole wheat bread,” she said. Marshburn advocates the seven suggestions on how to fit breakfast into your schedule provided online at everydayhealth.com. Those include set your alarm 10 minutes earlier; no eating after 9 p.m.; plan in advance; make breakfast the night before; make breakfast part of your commute; stock essentials at work and be flexible.
“I especially like setting the alarm 10 minutes ahead and doing some advance planning,” she said.
Pull out box:
Seven ways to squeeze breakfast into your schedule:
Set your alarm 10 minutes earlier: Four quick breakfast choices: fresh fruit with yogurt; a peanut butter sandwich on whole grain bread; high fiber cereal, skim milk, and fruit; a breakfast wrap made with a whole grain tortilla filled with leftovers like sauteed vegetables or turkey; or low-fat cheese.
No eating after 9 p.m.: You don’t want to wake up starving, but you want to have an appetite for breakfast. This is a mindset and a habit to cultivate, just like any other choice you make.
Plan in advance: This means shopping ahead for breakfast foods to have at home or convenience foods to bring to work. If there’s no refrigerator at work to store milk, fill up a thermos and take in with you to save on the expense of buying a half pint each day. If you have a long commute, buy a soft cooler tote or bag that will hold breakfast and maybe lunch, too.
Make breakfast the night before: Do all your prep work in advance; place any refrigerated items in the front on the top shelf, and have your soft cooler bag on the counter ready to pack. If you usually take your lunch, adding breakfast will only require a few more steps.
Make breakfast part of your commute: Buy a quick breakfast on the way in. Coffee bars and convenience marts at commuter stations have gotten savvy about offering better breakfast choices. Pick up a yogurt parfait from the prepared foods section, a container of zero-fat Greek yogurt or a yogurt smoothie from the refrigerator case. Cut up chunks of fresh fruit — always a better choice than juice, which has most of the fiber removed.
Stock essentials at work: If you can’t eat at home or on the way to the office, eat when you get there. Focus on your breakfast, even if it’s just for five minutes.
Be flexible: You may not be able to eat at the very start of your day but that doesn’t mean you need to slog through until lunchtime on an empty stomach. Have a small breakfast after your workout or right after your meeting.
Source: everydayhealth.com
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