Today’s most important meal gets the title for a reason.
After a long night of fasting, your body asks for nourishment in the morning. Without the right fuel, you are left with low energy, a compensated mood, crazy desires and potentially a wider waist. Doesn’t sound too appealing, right?
Some classic breakfast meals are obvious diet criminals – waffles and popcorn, you fool no one. But other breakfast staples may not seem so sinful at first glance. Anyway, do yourself a favor and skip these seven foods at the breakfast table as they contribute to your weight gain. Choosing more nutritionally balanced, healthy breakfast options will actually prepare you to take the day, like these best healthy breakfast foods for weight loss. And to truly enhance your healthy eating skills, reveal these 21 best healthy cooking hacks of all time.
Leave Lucky Charms and Frosted Flakes where they belong – in your childhood memories. The sugar rate from these cereals will stir with your blood sugar and make you reach for more sweet snacks later in the day (turn to these healthy sweet snacks instead). “Classic breakfast foods can often contain a lot of sugar, lower nutritional value including vitamins and minerals, healthy fats, fiber and protein that can help us move forward in the day and feel satisfied and energetic,” says Isabel Smith, MS, RD, CDN, registered dietitian and founder of Isabel Smith Nutrition. This applies to sweet grains. If you are not drunk at breakfast, you will eat more soon after you have finished breakfast, which may cause you to take in more calories than you need and pack more pounds on your frame. Also keep in mind that healthier alternatives like granola can also contain large amounts of sugar, so be sure to read the nutrition label before you buy!
Waffles can be incredibly heavy on simple carbohydrates (meaning they melt quickly and do not keep you full for long) and have the potential to qualify as a dessert depending on what you choose. Some toaster varieties can offer a decent amount of fiber if stated on the package. However, other alternatives may be seriously lacking. Whether you make your own batter or dive a little in the toaster, waffles do not get you exactly a balanced breakfast.
“When it comes to choosing a good breakfast, you always want to combine protein or fat with minimally processed carbohydrates that are rich in fiber, such as scrambled eggs with fruit or toast,” says Smith.
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Nothing hits the spot like a glass of OJ in the morning, right? This breakfast aid actually contains a lot of sugar (yes, it’s natural fruit sugar and not “added sugar”, but it’s still dozens of grams of the sweet stuff).
Juice (especially heat-pasteurized fruit juice) in the morning can serve a high dose of sugar and calories. Given that the fruit juice is processed at a higher temperature, some of the nutritional value can also be lost. Instead, choose a freshly squeezed juice, cold-pressed juice or high-pressure pasteurized fruit and vegetable juices that contain more nutrients and less sugar, says Smith.
A good rule of thumb is to look for a juice that has two vegetables for each fruit included. Not in juice anyway? Then check out these 41 best breakfast smoothies ever for weight loss.
Do your best to resist that bagel shop on the corner. Sorry, but there’s nothing smart about this am pick.
Bagels are calorie bombs – you can measure them as one serving, but one bagel is equivalent to about four slices of bread – and offers very little nutrition. Not to mention, most are considered simple carbohydrates, so if it is not hell, you will miss the fiber content that makes you feel satisfied. And sorry to slap your beloved schmear, but cream cheese is really only there to satisfy your taste buds, not your nutritional needs – even if it’s a veggie kind. If you really can not kick your morning bagel, try eating half a hell of a bagel with avocado or peanut butter for the spread. This way you can reduce the calories and add some healthy protein, fiber and fat to balance the meal.
Oatmeal can be one of the best ways to start the day and there are at least 15 ways to lose weight with oatmeal. But premixed packages offer a little more than you negotiated.
“When we choose premixed oatmeal, we usually get less fiber because the grain is generally more processed and more added sugar,” says Smith. For a healthier bowl, add your own fruit to plain steel-cut oats. Peanut butter, seeds, coconut and cinnamon are also good and healthy supplements that actually help you ward off hunger and consume unwanted calories.
The only thing these pastries add to is your nostalgia. Taking a pop cake out of the toaster on the way to school as a child may have been enough then, but your body depends on your breakfast for energy – and this choice will leave you hanging. All the natural energy you get from the excess sugar in these pastries will soon be followed by a crash. The low number of fibers does not help to balance things either.
In the same way as premixed oatmeal, yogurt begins as a healthy choice before companies begin to add consumer attractions such as artificial colors and flavors. “Yogurt in its usual form is excellent because it is a good source of calcium, protein and intestinal healthy probiotics. In most cases, flavored versions contain a lot of added sugar and syrup – especially fruit-on-the-bottom varieties. Choose a regular yogurt instead and add your own fruit and even some nuts for healthy fats that will promote slower digestion and increased satiety, says Smith.Don’t miss these for more tips in the kitchen 52 life-changing kitchen chops that will make you enjoy cooking again.
