Eating a Better Breakfast

From IDEA Health & Fitness

The alarm rings and you press “snooze” one time too many. By the time you roll out of bed, you think it’s too late for breakfast so you don’t eat. While some people do skip breakfast on a regular basis, it’s not a good idea. The potential perils include a more sluggish metabolism as the body shifts into starvation-response mode. Couple this with a tendency to become ravenous and binge later, and weight gain can happen. Cognitive abilities can also suffer: You may get headaches, feel fatigued and be less able to concentrate.
Exercise and Skipping Breakfast: Some people believe that by exercising on an empty stomach in the morning, they’ll burn more body fat. However, if the body burns a higher percentage of fat while exercising on no breakfast in the morning (and study results are mixed), that doesn’t mean metabolism—or total calorie burn—is speeding up. “If you’re going to do a long or strenuous workout on an empty stomach, you likely won’t have adequate carbs to power your workout and so you won’t be able to work out as long or as vigorously,” says Enette Larson-Meyer, PhD, RD, FACSM, nutrition professor at the University of Wyoming and author of Vegetarian Sports Nutrition (Human Kinetics 2007). “Even if you are burning a slightly higher ratio of fat, with impaired performance you're not be burning as many total calories or total calories of fat as you could if you were well-fueled.”
What Counts as Breakfast? “Usually we aim for breakfast providing 25%–30% of the calories for the day, so the amount will depend on a person’s daily energy expenditure,” says Larson-Meyer. Ideally, the morning meal should provide carbohydrates and fiber from vegetables and/or beans and fruits, as well as protein from dairy or plant-based varieties of milk or yogurt, as well as eggs, lean meats, or plant foods like beans and whole grains. Whole, fresh fruit is generally recommended over juice because fruit contains fiber, more micronutrients, and fewer calories. 

What about doughnuts or pastries? “…if you’re lost in the woods and starving, a doughnut is okay,” says Melinda Manore, PhD, RD, nutrition professor at Oregon State University, Corvallis, and author of several textbooks, including Nutrition for Life (Benjamin Cummings 2006). Otherwise, keep a stash of easy breakfast backups, like breakfast bars, nuts or even cold leftovers. These can give you more nutritious choices so that you’re not just filling up on sugar and empty, energy-killing calories. Don’t be afraid to get creative: Some cultures eat soups for breakfast, others eat beans (on toast or in bean burritos). Aim for a breakfast that provides energy and nutrients and that helps you feel satiated.