A good, healthy breakfast can set the tone of a day filled with inspired food choices. Eating a healthy breakfast will give you great energy, that lasts. Good breakfast foods will boost your metabolism, fight disease and help you maintain your weight. Bad breakfast foods will do the exact opposite: lead to mid-morning crashes, slow down your metabolism and cause weight gain. One thing to live by, though, is to not skip breakfast - doing so will make you gain weight, lose energy and concentration. But you should skip the worst breakfast options. To help you, we’ve compiled a list of our top 5 breakfast foods to avoid when possible.
1. Boxed Cereal
Cereal that is high in carbs and sugar and low in fibre will cause the sugar levels in your blood to spike, then quickly drop, which can lead to mid-morning cravings. Boxed cereal is usually packed with carbs and sugars, and has insufficient amounts of fibre. We recommend choosing cereal with at least 3 grams of fibre per 100g. You can also add natural ingredients, such as flaxseed, berries and nuts to increase its nutritional values.
2. Fruit Juice
Many of us have very busy lifestyles and are usually on the go at breakfast. Some people grab a glass of orange juice and call it a meal. Regardless of the nutrients and vitamins of juices - from cold-pressed green juices, to the popular orange juice, they don’t pack enough protein, which will most likely accelerate your hunger by mid-morning. They also contain lots of sugars (albeit natural), which, again, will make your sugar levels go up and then drop quickly. A better version of a glass of juice is a smoothie with more fibre and protein - for example, a banana, flaxseed and peanut butter smoothie.
3. Pastry and Muffins
You can find them in any cafe at breakfast and they always look lovely. They look even more appealing when they seem to be made of bran or look dark. But don’t be fooled: most of them are just cake in disguise, as they still contain loads of sugar. A typical bakery muffin will have over 400 calories; an apple turnover will have over 350 calories and a yum-yum, 300. As an alternative, why not bake a batch yourself at the weekend, using protein powder instead of flour, as well as good ingredients such as fruit and yogurt. We have found some great recipes here.
4. Bagel
Most bagels, especially those loaded with cream cheese or butter, are about 300-500 calories worth of starch. Cream cheese and butter also add more saturated fat - not to mention the amount of carbs in the actual bagel. There are also wholegrain, low fat alternatives, however, if you’re buying it on the go, you’re probably not getting a calorie-conscious, whole bagel with low fat cream cheese. Why not buy wholegrain bagels from the supermarket and toast it at home in the morning. You can also use low fat toppings, such as cottage cheese, natural peanut butter, or soy butter.
5. Processed Meats
Who doesn’t love a good sausage and bacon bap in the morning? Well, it turns out our hearts don’t. Processed meats are the most harmful type of meat, and consuming 50g can raise heart disease risk by 42%, according to research. We only recommend consuming these foods a special occasions, such as family breakfasts every once in a while. Also, if you do indulge, make sure your diet in the rest of the day is made of healthy foods.
Avoid Skipping Breakfast
One important thing to remember is it's best to avoid skipping breakfast. Eating almost anything may be better than skipping breakfast.Why? Because skipping breakfast increases the likelihood you will overeat later in the day, and also miss out on healthy nutrients consumed at breakfast. If you are one of the people who don’t feel hungry when they wake up, why not look at your overall eating habits - eating too much at dinner may be the reason why.
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