Making the Effort to Eat a Healthy Breakfast

Aug 23, 2009 @ 06:19 am by Guest Author
by Juan Valdez

One very healthy habit that is good to cultivate is that of eating breakfast. Amazingly enough, even though it isn’t very hard to do this, a lot of people still start off their day without eating a healthy breakfast. This may be due to time or calorie concerns, but these are not good reasons to skip this important meal.

After sleeping the night, your body needs a healthy breakfast to help fuel it so it can get through the day. Think how long it has been since your last meal; that is a long time to go without food. It is better to eat something healthy so you don’t end up eating junk a little later because you are starving.

For those who are worried about calories, it has actually been shown that people who eat breakfast generally end up eating fewer calories in the course of the day than those who skip breakfast. Why is this? Most likely because if you skip breakfast you are starving later in the day so you end up eating a huge lunch and dinner to make up for it. Or you feel virtuous because of the calories you “saved” so you allow yourself an extra treat or two.

Eating breakfast will make you healthier. You will be able to do a better job at work or school since you will be have better concentration, and you will also get more minerals and vitamins. People who eat a healthy breakfast also tend to have lower cholesterol.

The best breakfasts include whole grains, low fat protein, low fat dairy, and fruits or vegetables. You want to try to choose something that will fulfill at least two or three of these food groups.

Eating a healthy breakfast doesn’t have to take a lot of time. There are a lot of grab and go options that are good and good for you. You could have a bagel with peanut butter and a piece of fruit, for example.

Planning ahead and preparing breakfast or setting out everything you need the night before can really help people who are in a time crunch in the mornings. This way you can quickly either grab your breakfast to take with you or eat it before you leave.

For those who don’t like typical breakfast foods, there are lots of other healthy options available. You can eat leftovers from dinner, a sandwich made from whole wheat bread, or even leftover vegetable pizza.

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