Fit Tip: Eat Breakfast
Happy Sunday!
I hope everyone has enjoyed this weekend. Independence Day is my favorite holiday, and I thoroughly enjoyed working with my personal training group at the Lakefront, getting my own workout in, and attending the parade, a cookout and the
fireworks in Evanston yesterday! Here is my fitness tip for this week.
Eat Breakfast Every Day
Do you eat a nutritious breakfast every morning? If you don’t, please consider establishing this healthy habit. Here’s why:
Breakfast Provides the Energy and Nutrients You Need To Get Through The Morning
Have you ever felt sluggish in the morning and unable to get started, or had difficulty focusing on your work once you did get started? It might be because you didn’t eat a healthy breakfast. Also, if you don’t eat breakfast, you are likely to snack on foods that are high in fat and sugar - doughnuts anyone? Those foods will not provide the nutrients you need and can prevent you from experiencing the important benefit of eating breakfast that follows.
Breakfast Helps You Manage Your Weight
Studies have shown that people who eat breakfast can lose weight and maintain a healthy weight more easily than those who do not. Conversely, people who skip breakfast are more likely to be overweight or obese than regular breakfast eaters. Why is this? Eating regular meals stimulates the metabolism and signals the body to burn fuel instead of conserving it. Also, people are more likely to overeat at lunch and/or dinner if they skip breakfast, leading them to consume more calories overall and gain weight.
Breakfast Improves Your Memory, Mood and Overall Health
Studies have shown that eating breakfast improves cognitive function, particularly short-term memory. In addition, because a healthy breakfast will help you feel more energetic and less stressed, your mood will be more stable. Finally, a healthy breakfast enhances your overall health. In fact, one long-term study showed that people who ate breakfast were significantly less likely to develop heart disease and diabetes.
I hope that, if you do not eat breakfast regularly, you will consider starting. What constitutes a healthy breakfast? I recommend a combination of protein (eggs are great), whole grains (1 or 2 slices of bread or oatmeal) and vegetables or fruit. A vegetable omelette or scramble is particularly good because it contains plenty of protein and gets you started consuming vegetables early in the day. If you don’t want to eat a full breakfast, smoothies can be good, but make sure they don’t contain too many calories and/or too much sugar (fruit, fruit juice and sweetened yogurt can increase the calories and sugar content dramatically).
Incorporating these changes into your diet can make you more healthy and fit for years to come. Have a healthy, active and productive week.
Leslye