Your breakfast may be too skimpy
Breakfast kick starts your metabolism for
the day, so you don’t want to mess that up.
Here are the top four breakfast mistakes I
see, plus how to fix each one.
The mistake: you skip it to save calories
Forgoing breakfast may seem like a calorie-
saver, but it can actually be a fat trap.
Researchers at Imperial College London
found that when people went without an
a.m. meal, their brain reward centers lit up
when they were shown images of high-
calorie foods. That means turning down
treats becomes harder, and you’re likely to
make up for the missed calories (and then
some) with junkier choices later in the day,
when it’s tougher to burn them off.
The makeover
Commit to eating something every morning.
If time is an issue, stash a healthy energy
bar containing fruit in your bag.
The mistake: you turn to high-carb foods
for energy
Grabbing a blueberry muffin with your
coffee may not seem so bad, but a typical
bakery muffin packs more added sugar than
you should have for the entire day—a
staggering 44 grams. According to the
American Heart Association, women should
top out at about 24 grams of added sugar
daily (that’s 6 teaspoons’ worth).
The makeover
You don’t have to completely avoid sugar if
you need a jolt to get going. Chop up one
tasting square of dark chocolate and mix it
into your oatmeal. (I use this trick in my
overnight oats recipe, at right.) Also, make
fruit your friend: Blend up a smoothie or
fold fruit into yogurt or oatmeal. You can
also top toast with mashed avocado or
almond butter, then slices of fresh figs or
pears.
The mistake: you’re eating healthy but
missing produce
Only 8 percent of Americans eat the
recommended amount of fruit each day (2
cups, for a moderately active woman) and
just 6 percent hit the mark for veggies (3
cups), according to a report from Produce
for Better Health Foundation. So even if
you have a nutritious egg-on whole-wheat
sandwich in the morning, not fitting in some
produce may keep you from reaching the
daily goal.
The makeover
Get at least one serving at breakfast by
grabbing a piece of fruit before you head
out the door. For more, add vegetables to
an omelet or put greens in a smoothie.
The mistake: your breakfast is too skimpy
Being pressed for time is one of the main
reasons women don’t eat enough in the
morning. But the expression “Eat breakfast
like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner
like a pauper” holds up. Researchers in
Israel found that overweight women who
ate more calories at breakfast and fewer at
dinner lost more weight and had greater
waistline reductions than those who flipped
the numbers, even when total daily calories
were the same.
The makeover
Aim for a combo of lean protein, healthy fat
and good carbs in every breakfast. Instead
of just yogurt, add in nuts and fruit. Bottom
line: If you work normal hours, your dinner
should never pack twice as many calories as
breakfast.
Cynthia Sass, MPH, RD, is Health’s
contributing nutrition editor, and privately
counsels clients in New York, Los Angeles,
and long distance. Cynthia is currently the
sports nutrition consultant to the New York
Rangers NHL team and the Tampa Bay Rays
MLB team, and is board certified as a
specialist in sports dietetics
This article originally appeared on
Health.com
Full credit is given to the author.