Is it Day 10 of the Just For Today Challenge – 31 Days To A Better You already? The Challenge is going by so fast. I hope you are enjoying the various Just For Today tasks that you completed before today, including listing your 101 Things To Do Before I Die, telling 10 Reasons Why I Love You, Saying Thank You, and listing Your 25 Proudest Moments.
Just For Today, we will focus on your health and how you can improve it by eating a healthy breakfast. Notice that I said a healthy breakfast? Eating sugary cereals or leftover pizza does not count as eating a healthy breakfast.
You say you have no time to eat breakfast? What? You’re waking up 1/2 earlier now, aren’t you? If not, go back and complete Day 3 of the Challenge and you will have plenty of time in the morning to eat breakfast. If you don’t want to wake up 1/2 earlier than normal, get up 10 minutes earlier so that you can eat something before your day starts.
Want to lose some weight? Eating a healthy breakfast in the morning will kickstart your metabolism. During the night your body is busy conserving calories. Eating something in the morning will “break” the “fast” that your body is on and will start to end the conservation time to return your energy levels back to normal. Waiting to eat later in the morning, after being up for hours is counter-productive. Skipping breakfast does not result in losing weight, it frequently results in the total opposite. You gain weight when you skip breakfast as you tend to eat even more calories throughout the day.
You want to eat breakfast to start your metabolism running so that you have energy. A car doesn’t run on empty and neither does your body. Fill a car with premium gasoline and watch it go. It’s the same with your body by fueling it with a healthy breakfast.
Eating a healthy breakfast will stop the mid-morning high-calorie cravings for food at work and the trip to the vending machine or the donut shop for a muffin or sugary donut. Your wallet will also thank you for eating breakfast at home.
You can treat breakfast as quality time with your family. There’s nothing like sitting down and enjoying a healthy breakfast with the rest of the family. Start the day off right by eating healthy and enjoying your family. Don’t be surprised if your children do better in school, as well. Eating a healthy breakfast in the morning helps them concentrate better as they are not concerned with the rumblings in their stomachs, plus they are more likely to be physically active throughout the day. You’re also setting a good example for your children for their later years. They’ll remember sitting down with the family and enjoying their breakfast which will translate to better health in their future. Start the habit early in their lives and they will thank you for it.
You may notice that you’re more productive and alert at work, as well. Your boss will appreciate you working, rather than going out for the 10:00 am coffee/donut run. They don’t call it the Most Important Meal of the Day for nothing, you know.
What to eat for breakfast? Ideally, you should have a good combination of protein (such as eggs, dairy, meat and beans) and fibre (found in whole grains, vegetables and fruits). So, have an egg, a glass of milk and a banana or have yoghurt with whole grain cereal with blueberries. There are endless combinations that you can enjoy in the morning.You can even split your breakfast if you’re rushed for time by eating a hard boiled egg at home and bringing a piece of fruit with some walnuts or almonds to snack on when you get to work. You don’t have to eat breakfast food, either. You don’t have to eat oatmeal if you don’t want to. Instead, you can eat a P&J sandwich on whole wheat bread, if you want. In a pinch, you can even eat some of your leftovers from last night (as long as they are healthy).
Remember to enjoy your food and start off your day the right way by eating a healthy breakfast Just For Today.
Let me know if you noticed any changes by eating a healthy breakfast this morning by leaving a comment. What’s your favourite breakfast tip for us? Thanks!
For a list of all of the Challenges, see the Just For Today Challenge page.
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{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
Personally, I have found that eating less frequent meals has helped my physique and energy tremendously. It is called Intermittent Fasting. All my life, I was never a breakfast eater. I hated it, the foods, I was never hungry, etc etc…Being an aspiring health and nutrition consultant, for the past 6 years or so I have been eating 6 meals a day, breakfast, etc. etc…It was like I was constantly preparing food and eating “just because I have to keep my metabolism running.” I was eating when I wasnt hungry and just was not feeling like I was getting much. I recently ran into a phase called Intermittent Fasting which is basically eating in a 8 hour window. Instead of eating numerous meals throughout the day to “stoke the fire (metabolism), you eat one or two large meals. This has helped me tremendously in many different areas such as better insulin resistance (which is basically the biggest factor in weight gain weight loss), more energy, tremendous drop in fat (have a fully defined six pack now) and I dont have to revolve my life around preparing food. Plus when I eat now, I am actually full and enjoy it. It is slowly hitting the bodybuilding and fitness crowd and gaining a large following than the traditional more smaller meals plan. Here is a recent study to show that eating more frequently, smaller meals is no different than larger and less frequent meals. IF is also based on how we have been eating for thousands of years and how our body adapts to the fuel we give it. We do not need to eat constantly for energy, our bodies have an incredible capacity to adjust to what it has. It is one of the most efficient things in the world.
From Pubmed.gov
“Increased meal frequency does not promote greater weight loss in subjects who were prescribed an 8-week equi-energetic energy-restricted diet.
Cameron JD, Cyr MJ, Doucet E.
Behavioural and Metabolic Research Unit, School of Human Kinetics, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada K1N 6N5.
We conclude that increasing MF does not promote greater body weight loss under the conditions described in the present study.”
If you would like to look more into Intermittent Fasting, look at LeanGains.com and also the Warrior Diet, Primal Diet, and the Paleo Diet. I will actually be writing a post on Paleo/Primal/Warrior diet and will eventually write a post on Intermittent Fasting (have about 10 sources compiled so far for it.)
But with like anything relating to health and nutrition, what works for some people does not work for others. If what you are doing is working then stick with it, if its not, then it is a signal telling you something needs to change. I firmly believe I found what is right FOR ME and want to make it clear there are a lot of options when it comes to health and nutrition.
Sorry for the LONG reply Karen lol, it is just one of the areas I am passionate about and hope to implement more health and nutrition into LD as I have been studying it for about 4-5 years now.
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Hey Tanner,
Thanks for the lengthy post and the useful information.
I’m always happy to have another opinion on the site. It sounds as if you really know what you’re talking about and have put a lot of time and effort into your nutrition. Good to hear that you’re getting some strong results.
I think eating breakfast is a personal choice. As you say, what works for one person may not work for another.
There’s a lot of science backing up eating breakfast, too. For myself, I usually don’t eat anything until about 10:00 (usually have coffee all morning), but when I do make the time to eat breakfast, it fills me up and I notice a real difference in my energy levels and my clarity. For instance, today I had some cereal with low-fat milk and a banana. I’ve noticed that I’ve had more energy than my usual mornings.
With the coffee, I am usually sluggish and still really tired. Eating food before work wakes my body up and lets it know that it’s time to get going!
Each to their own
Thanks for the great comment!
Karen
Exactly, whatever works! Coffee and I do not work well together as it affects insulin too much. I also forgot to mention that I am hypoglycemic. I resort to tea, Yerba Mate to be exact. It has 3 xanthines in it that provide a calm and clear energy in theobromine, theophyline, and caffeine (small amount). Its good stuff and highly recommend it if your ever looking for a tea. Takes some used to getting used to as it has an “earthy” taste.
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I bought some Yerba Mate last year and it’s still sitting in my cupboard. I should definitely bring it out to cut down on my coffee consumption.
I definitely drink too much coffee. It’s a bad habit that I need to break. I’ve gone 6 months without coffee before – it’s time to do that again.
Thanks for the nudge!