Losing weight starts with the right breakfast
Friday - January21 , 2011 Filed in: Body
Stock Photos from 123RF
The fact is drilled into the brain of every kid in America, as sure as state capitals and the Pledge of Allegiance: Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Simply put, our bodies cannot function without the proper fuel. You want to feed your muscles—and starve your fat.
When you don't eat breakfast, you're actually fasting for 15 to 20 hours, so you're not producing the enzymes needed to metabolize fat to lose weight.
If breakfast is the most important meal of the day, its best to make wise food choices. That's where fruits, vegetables, and whole grains come into the picture. These are high-fiber foods, they fill you up and have less fat. These high-fiber foods allow you to eat more food yet get fewer calories. It's a concept called "energy density".
If you eat foods with high energy density, such as bagels, you rack up calories quickly. If you eat high-fiber, low-energy-density foods - such as oatmeal, strawberries, walnuts, and low-fat yogurt -- you can eat more and get fewer calories.
Quick breakfast suggestions:
- Banana with peanut butter
- Banana sliced into yogurt
- Oatmeal with fruit -- like apples, blueberries, or peaches
- Small tortilla with a few tablespoons of peanut butter and chopped strawberries. Roll it up, slice it. It works for kids and adults.
- Breakfast smoothies -- berries, ice, and milk or yogurt.
blog comments powered by Disqus