RODALE NEWS, EMMAUS, PA—If you want to lose weight, eat something before you rush out the door in the morning. According to research presented at the Endocrine Society’s 2009 annual meeting, people who skip out on breakfast are more likely to succumb to the temptation of high-calorie foods later in the day than people who do eat breakfast. The researchers theorize that if you haven’t eaten anything in a while, your brain’s reward sensors are more likely to be triggered by high-calorie foods. Which may explain why people who skip meals, breakfast especially, still have a hard time losing weight. On the other hand, many of us start our days with too much on our metaphorical plates to find time for actual food.
Here are five ways to fit healthy breakfasts into your busy day:
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1. Hit the sack a bit sooner. Not willing to sacrifice 15 minutes or so of sleep time to get up earlier and throw breakfast together? Rather than skimp on sleep in the morning, get to bed 15 minutes earlier at night. If you’re not used to eating at that time of the morning, eat anyway, and stick to the new meal schedule for two weeks. Before too long, your body will begin to anticipate the morning meal and you’ll feel hungry when you wake up. If that little time shift leaves you too tired to get through your day, you may be sleep deprived. An afternoon nap could help, see our story How to Nap at Work—and Why You Should. |
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2. Stick to lean eggs and oatmeal. Eggs and oatmeal are two of the most filling breakfast foods you can eat, research has found, and they don’t have to take long to prepare. Buy quick-cooking oats and spice them up with fresh or frozen berries, or make an easy on-the-go scrambled-egg sandwich made with whole-wheat toast, a slice of tomato, and a few fresh spinach leaves. Speaking of oatmeal, there are plenty of other ways to enjoy the health benefits of oats. See 5 Easy Recipes Using Super-Healthy Oats for suggestions. |
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3. Prepare the night before. If eggs and oatmeal aren’t to your liking, make your own granola bars (it’s cheaper than buying them premade). You can make Ginger-Granola Breakfast Bars at night and then just grab one or two in the morning for an easy, healthy meal. Find other ideas with the Rodale Recipe Finder, which lets you search by ingredient, prep time, and other criteria. |
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4. Be smart about fast food. Fast-food outlets are notorious for doling out unhealthy food that’s not only loaded with sugar, fat, and salt, but also made with ingredients from factory farms and genetically modified organisms. However, we all have those mornings where it’s drive-thru or nothing. For breakfast on the road, head to Dunkin’ Donuts and get the Ham, Egg & Cheese English Muffin Sandwich, with an English Breakfast tea. The entire meal’s only 350 calories and 15 grams of fat, but it will supply nearly half your daily sodium intake, so watch your salt for the rest of the day. Whatever you do, avoid muffins, which can top out at 600 calories and 25 grams of fat. Find more suggestions at the Eat This, Not That website. |
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5. Slurp your coffee. It’s not a full meal, but if you’re a coffee lover, do keep your cup of joe as part of your morning routine. A recent study found that two components of coffee reduced the risk of type 2 diabetes in a small sample of 15 overweight men. Fortunately, if you don’t like the jitters that can come with too much coffee, the beneficial compounds are found in both regular and decaf. For coffee that's healthy for you and healthy for the planet, buy a shade-grown variety. For details, read 3 Ways Coffee Can Boost Your Health and Stop Global Warming. |