Whether you prefer eggs, yogurt, or
oatmeal, getting a healthy breakfast under your belt sets the tone for a day of
weight control and fewer calories
overall. In fact, research shows that people who start their day with breakfast
make healthier choices and have a lower body mass index
in general. The breakfast effect is even stronger for women than men.
"If we skip breakfast, we'll
make unhealthier choices at lunch. People who skip breakfast eat more during
the day," says Emily Banes, RD, clinical dietitian at the Houston
Northwest Medical Center. This is partly due to a thought process in which
people believe — incorrectly — that if they don't eat breakfast, they can eat
more at lunch or dinner.
Here's the reality. On a
physiological level, your breakfast choices — or lack of them — can set off a
cycle of cravings and blood sugar spikes that spells doom for weight control.
Better to start the day with stable blood sugar and ultimately fewer calories,
courtesy of breakfast, says Banes.
Breakfast Calories: What to Eat
You may have to find your perfect
breakfast food through a trial and error process. Banes advises thinking
outside the breakfast box. It's fine if you prefer a small turkey sandwich or a
hard-boiled egg to traditional breakfast foods, she says. Here are other ideas:
Consider whole grains. Whole grains are a good choice because they keep you feeling
full, according to a dietary study that compared feelings of satisfaction
between people who ate a hot whole-grain cereal for breakfast and those who ate
refined wheat bread. Those who ate the whole-grain breakfast reported feeling less
hungry over the following eight hours than the comparison group.
Opt for eggs. A study of people between the ages of 25 and 60 who were trying
to lose weight
found that those who ate two eggs for breakfast lost 65 percent more weight
than those who ate bagels, and they also reported having higher energy levels
throughout the day. Although this study showed no effect of egg consumption on
cholesterol levels, Banes cautions that this may not be the right choice if you
already have high cholesterol. Ask your doctor about egg-white alternatives.
Avoid high-sugar choices. Eating doughnuts, breakfast pastries, and sugary cereals may
begin that cycle of cravings and blood sugar lows that can undermine your
efforts.
Breakfast Calories: Ideas for Slow
Starters
Not everyone leaps out of bed
ravenously hungry.
"When you first wake up in the
morning, if you are not a breakfast person, but you can eat two hours later,
that's fine. Have a little yogurt with cereal in it, a little bit of peanut
butter on some crackers, or a granola bar with a little bit of protein
in it. It doesn't have to be traditional breakfast foods," says Banes.
Once you find the breakfast options
that suit your diet and your taste buds, plan ahead so that these foods are on
hand when you want them — and you can solidify a healthy habit that will last a
lifetime.
