Once again, Sweet Life Wellness invites you to explore a nutritional topic that impacts your daily health and weight management: a healthy breakfast! Though this simple daily habit is often passed by, it is such an important part of a healthy life for several reasons. Follow along with Gaithersburg dietitian Kay Loughrey as she shares why breakfast matters as well as tips for healthy breakfast habits!
Breakfast is important not only for nutritional intake reasons but also for weight management, heart health, and mental health. Studies have confirmed that the habit of skipping breakfast is linked with obesity/overweight lifestyle and concerns with weight management. Skipping breakfast can result in eating more later in the day, which can often lead one to eat more than needed. Furthermore, other side effects have been found to be increased hunger levels and increased levels of insulin later in the day. Eating a healthy breakfast ensures that your body is satisfied with nutrients that it needs and encourages healthy eating patterns instead of compulsive overeating due to extreme hunger. Some studies have also linked not eating breakfast with a decline in heart health and an increased risk for cardiovascular disease and death from cardiovascular disease. Finally, skipping breakfast has been linked to poor mental health as well as low levels of important micronutrient intake, such as vitamins and minerals.
With a healthy habit of breakfast being linked to better mental health, improved nutrient intake, lower levels of obesity, and a more positive experience with weight management, here are 5 tips from Sweet Life Wellness to help you make breakfast a lasting part of your daily life!
Tips for a Healthy Breakfast Routine
- Choose whole foods that are nutrient dense! Make sure to choose foods that will provide what your body needs including complex carbohydrates, healthy fats, protein and vitamins and minerals.
- Plan your breakfast meals for the week! Set yourself up for a healthy start to each day by making your breakfast plans at the start of each week.
- Make your breakfast the night before! Planning is everything in the journey to a healthy life at a healthy weight and part of your breakfast planning can be to make your breakfast the night before.
- Choose complex carbohydrates! Complex carbohydrates like whole wheat toast, whole fruit, and whole oats for oatmeal allow insulin levels to remain steady as opposed to the simple carbs of say a white-flour pancake or a doughnut. Simple carbs will create a burst of energy for the body at first, yet quickly drop off as the morning goes on leaving your body feeling hungry again and lacking energy.
- Choose healthy fats, carbohydrates, and protein foods! Really consider the food choices you are selecting for the start of your day by observing if your foods meet your macronutrients in a healthy, balanced way.
3 Healthy Breakfast Ideas
- Fruit, low-fat Greek yogurt, healthy granola, mixed nuts
- Oatmeal with peanut butter and fruit, scrambled egg
- Whole wheat toast, avocado, sunny-side egg (prepared in extra virgin olive oil), fruit
Learn more about healthy breakfast choices here.
Resources
National Library of Medicine. Healthy habits for weight loss. https://medlineplus.gov/ency/patientinstructions/000733.htm. MedlinePlus. Updated 5/12/2022. Accessed 9/12/23.
Xiumei Ma, Qing Chen, Yueli Pu, Man Guo, Zongzhe Jiang, Wei Huang, Yang Long, Yong Xu, Skipping breakfast is associated with overweight and obesity: A systematic review and meta-analysis, Obesity Research & Clinical Practice, Volume 14, Issue 1, 2020, Pages 1-8, ISSN 1871-403X, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.orcp.2019.12.002. Accessed 9/12/23.
Rong S, Snetselaar L, Xu G, et al. Association of Skipping Breakfast With Cardiovascular and All-Cause Mortality. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2019 Apr, 73 (16) 2025–2032.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jacc.2019.01.065 Accessed 9/12/23.
Giménez-Legarre N, Miguel-Berges ML, Flores-Barrantes P, Santaliestra-Pasías AM, Moreno LA. Breakfast Characteristics and Its Association with Daily Micronutrients Intake in Children and Adolescents–A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Nutrients. 2020; 12(10):3201. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu12103201 Accessed 9/12/23.
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Kay Loughrey, MPH, RDN, LDN
Transformational Speaker, Breakthrough Coach, Nutritionist-Dietitian
Karis N. Hicks
North Carolina Central University
M.S. – Nutrition Studies
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