Healthy Eating: Build the Perfect Breakfast
Why eat breakfast? Regardless of your health and fitness goals, eating breakfast within 30 minutes of waking up should be part of your plan.
When you eat breakfast, you are literally breaking the fast your body has endured for the past 8 hours or so while you were asleep, which increases your resting metabolic rate.
People who eat breakfast also tend to feel less hungry and eat fewer calories during the day than people who skip breakfast.
A hearty breakfast also helps you to feel energized, it can help your body fight off colds and other infections, and it significantly improves cognitive functioning.
What to eat? What to eat varies a little depending on what stage you're at in your health and fitness goals, but there are a few basic principles that are true for everyone.
You should try to get some high quality protein, complex carbohydrates, and high quality fats.
Protein The amount of protein you need depends on your goals.
If you're looking to gain significant muscle mass, your target amount will probably be in the 30-40 gram range, but even if you're just looking for a flatter stomach, protein should be part of your regular diet.
Try to avoid soy protein that's sometimes added to cereals because it has an incomplete amino acid blend (meaning your body can't use it very effectively) and it may mimic estrogen in your system.
Instead, go for a couple eggs, which are considered one of the best protein sources around (and they're cheap!).
If you're worried about the cholesterol and fat in eggs, you can always opt for egg whites - just know that this cuts the amount of protein approximately in half so you'll have to eat more.
You can also try Greek Yogurt, which packs anywhere from 12-18 grams of high quality protein.
Just watch the sugar content - you can try getting plain Greek Yogurt and adding dried fruit and/or honey to sweeten it, or you can opt for the "lite" versions that usually have less than 10 grams of sugar.
You can also get a good dose of protein from turkey bacon or sausage, a glass of milk, nuts, and other meats like ham.
Complex Carbohydrates You can get complex carbohydrates from eating fruits, vegetables, and whole grains.
For example, try spreading some peanut butter on a slice of whole grain toast, eat an apple, and drink some 100% fruit juice to give you the carbs your body needs for energy, the fiber your stomach needs to stay feeling full, and the vitamins your immune system and other critical functions need to keep you healthy.
Fat Eating eggs and peanut butter (or any nut) will give you some unsaturated fats.
You can also get your fat from the turkey sausage or adding some cheese to your omelet.
Remember, fat isn't bad for you - in fact you need fat in your diet.
If you're new to breakfast, it's okay to start small.
Even a 100 calorie snack right away in the morning is better than nothing.
When you eat breakfast, you are literally breaking the fast your body has endured for the past 8 hours or so while you were asleep, which increases your resting metabolic rate.
People who eat breakfast also tend to feel less hungry and eat fewer calories during the day than people who skip breakfast.
A hearty breakfast also helps you to feel energized, it can help your body fight off colds and other infections, and it significantly improves cognitive functioning.
What to eat? What to eat varies a little depending on what stage you're at in your health and fitness goals, but there are a few basic principles that are true for everyone.
You should try to get some high quality protein, complex carbohydrates, and high quality fats.
Protein The amount of protein you need depends on your goals.
If you're looking to gain significant muscle mass, your target amount will probably be in the 30-40 gram range, but even if you're just looking for a flatter stomach, protein should be part of your regular diet.
Try to avoid soy protein that's sometimes added to cereals because it has an incomplete amino acid blend (meaning your body can't use it very effectively) and it may mimic estrogen in your system.
Instead, go for a couple eggs, which are considered one of the best protein sources around (and they're cheap!).
If you're worried about the cholesterol and fat in eggs, you can always opt for egg whites - just know that this cuts the amount of protein approximately in half so you'll have to eat more.
You can also try Greek Yogurt, which packs anywhere from 12-18 grams of high quality protein.
Just watch the sugar content - you can try getting plain Greek Yogurt and adding dried fruit and/or honey to sweeten it, or you can opt for the "lite" versions that usually have less than 10 grams of sugar.
You can also get a good dose of protein from turkey bacon or sausage, a glass of milk, nuts, and other meats like ham.
Complex Carbohydrates You can get complex carbohydrates from eating fruits, vegetables, and whole grains.
For example, try spreading some peanut butter on a slice of whole grain toast, eat an apple, and drink some 100% fruit juice to give you the carbs your body needs for energy, the fiber your stomach needs to stay feeling full, and the vitamins your immune system and other critical functions need to keep you healthy.
Fat Eating eggs and peanut butter (or any nut) will give you some unsaturated fats.
You can also get your fat from the turkey sausage or adding some cheese to your omelet.
Remember, fat isn't bad for you - in fact you need fat in your diet.
If you're new to breakfast, it's okay to start small.
Even a 100 calorie snack right away in the morning is better than nothing.
