Are you a fan of breakfast? I will admit I love most breakfast foods, but occasionally I get in a rut where all I have is coffee until lunchtime rolls around.
Yesterday there was some research results released about the benefits of a big breakfast when it comes to weight loss. Study participants who ate a larger breakfast over an 8 month period, not changing anything else in their diet, lost more weight than those who ate a smaller breakfast.
It is important to note the small breakfast was high protein and the larger one had carbs in the form of 2 slices of wheat bread.
There were two things that came to mind after hearing about this study.
The first thing was that the types of foods in the big breakfast were very similar to those popular in other countries. It consisted of a slice of cheese, lunch meat (I think it was turkey), 2 slices of wheat bread, 2 cups of milk and coffee with cream.
If you’ve every visited another country you’ve probably seen a meat and cheese tray at a hotel’s continental breakfast. These are less common in the US. We typically stick to sausage and bacon.
The second thing is that eliminating fake foods at breakfast time can be a challenge. This isn’t due to availability. There are so many great items that are fresh and healthy – eggs, oatmeal, fruit, coffee, some yogurts, breads, potatoes, and lean meats to name a few. Even homemade waffles and pancakes can be an option if made from scratch with quality ingredients.
When it comes to our early morning meals it is more an issue of time. When I was working in an office outside home, I barely had time to get dressed in the mornings, let alone make breakfast. I’m not a morning person and have a hard time getting up. Many people have other commitments like children to take care of, emails to answer or morning workouts.
With this lack of time, it is so easy to grab breakfast convenience foods. Granola bars were always my food of choice, but even a frozen waffle, toasted and taken along in the car was an option from time to time. Then there were those days when I left hungry and then someone would bring in donuts to the office.
The problem is this started my day with processed foods, preservatives, unhealthy carbs and I’m sure there is some high fructose corn syrup in there somewhere.
I began to switch to cereal mixes I put together myself consisting of whole grain bran cereal, dried cranberries and walnuts. I also hard boiled eggs and took string cheese.
Making yourself eat a real, fresh breakfast can be difficult. Now, even though I work at home, it still takes a conscious effort to make myself something instead of grabbing a cereal bar and sitting back down at the computer.
I just have to remember that it will be worth it in the long run though. According to that study, it might even help us lose a few pounds.
Photo by ppdigital, morguefile.com
