Perhaps, you have heard many times that you should never forego your breakfast for something else because it is the most important meal of the day.
Studies show that by fuelling your body before you walk to your workplace, you will be improving your productivity, curbing cravings and taking an important step towards weight loss.
However, when preparing your breakfast, you should remember that some breakfast food choices could make you fat.
Reaching for sugar-loaded cereal or chocolate chip muffin could wreak havoc on the waistline. It is important that you avoid making some of the following breakfast mistakes.
Eating something different each day
A more recent British study shows that the individuals who vary the calories amounts they consume each morning are around 90 percent more likely to develop a larger waistline and have a higher risk factor for heart disease.
Having skimpy meals
A study that involved diabetes patients who consumed large nourishing breakfast for a period of three months had reduced blood pressure and blood sugar – three times greater than those who ate smaller meals.
That is according to the study Israeli published in 2013. Breakfasts containing more proteins will lower your ghrelin levels – the hunger hormone.
Easting cereals with smaller flakes
Researchers from the Pennsylvania State University crushed wheat flake cereals to 80 percent, 40 percent and 60 percent of their original size.
As the flake size reduced, the grains looked more crushed. Participants consumed lesser calories compared to the bowls containing larger flakes.
Opting for butter in place of peanut butter
Overweight women who add peanut butter or peanuts to their breakfasts of Cream of Wheat report feeling full for around 12 hours.
The study published in the British Journal of Nutrition also showed that nuts increase levels of peptide YY – the hormone that makes you full for long after your meals.
Waiting very long to start eating
If you never wake up hungry, you should start looking at your eating habits – you might be consuming a lot at night.
If you do not like eating a lot, you should get some food into your system – a banana will do the trick – within one hour after you wake up to start your metabolism and to prevent hunger cravings later.
Opting for skim milk
Fat-free milk is seemingly a virtuous choice, but you will lose everything you save in the calories because the body will not absorb the nutrients.
Milk has to be fortified with fat-soluble vitamins and you should therefore add some fat for the nutrients. Use 1-2 percent unsweetened almond milk or milk.
Filling and more delicious carbs will keep you going throughout the day.
Simple carbs such as bagels can quickly raise your blood sugar levels and cause you to crash earlier – that can lead to more cravings later on the day.
However, the fibre-rich carbohydrates will keep you feeling full and burning calories throughout the day.
Dr. Jennifer Stagg, the author of Unzip Your Genes: 5 Choices to Reveal Radically Radiant You and a naturopathic physician, recommends consumption of steel-cut oatmeal, while others go for breakfast staple.
Ensure that your breakfast meals consist of fiber, protein, and chewy texture that can force you to eat slowly and make you get full faster.
While your body converts the carbs into energy, the metabolism level will run at the full capacity and therefore burn more calories on the way.
Moreover, individuals who consume more good carbs, such as oatmeal, enjoy reduced sugar cravings, more energy throughout the day, have regular bowel movements and lose more weight.
You can pair your bowl of steel-cut oatmeal with nuts, fresh fruits and quinoa for nutrient-rich goodness.
Conclusion
The metabolic rate of your body determines the number of calories you burn each day. Your metabolism rate has no relationship with our genes.
It might suffer for several reasons, one of them being bad breakfast habits.
Good metabolism will not guarantee faster weight loss – if you will be exceeding the number of calories that your body needs each day, you will rarely lose weight regardless of the efficiency of your metabolism level.
Metabolism does not change with time – it changes according to lifestyle choices.
By eating healthy balanced diets and exercising, you will be able to maintain a healthy weight.