Thursday, October 2, 2008

Eat Breakfast!

Welcome back! Today I’d like to talk about breakfast. Not only would I like to stress how important eating breakfast is, but I would also like to give some healthy option to satisfy your hunger in the morning.

After a full night of sleep, the body is completely out of its main fuel source and is fully reliant on stored fat to keep you going. For most, this sounds wonderful. You’re eating up fat cells without even exercising. But wait, there's more to the story.

The human brain runs almost completely on carbohydrates, which are not exclusively stored for the brain's personal use. If your stomach is completely empty, your brain has nothing to run off of, which can be disastrous if you're trying to stay awake in class or properly take an exam. Running on "empty" is okay for short periods of time, but think of how much more alert you would be if you gave your body the nutrition it needs by eating a healthy breakfast.

Now, what should you be consuming for breakfast? As mentioned above, a strong source of carbohydrates must be included, preferably complex carbohydrates. Lucky for you, many common breakfast cereals have added complex carbohydrates to the ingredient list, not only for added nutritional value, but also to simply make you feel fuller.

When choosing a cereal to consume, the amount of fiber per serving is one of the most important factors to look for. In order for the cereal to be considered fibrous, each serving should contain at least 5 grams of fiber. With all the cereal choices out there today, this should be quite easy to accomplish. Some possible choices include Raisin Bran, Fiber One, and Frosted Mini-Wheats.

Not only will fiber keep you fuller longer, but it will also help you eat less over the course of the day, which is helpful with weight loss. Other benefits of consuming 25 grams of fiber daily include decreased risk of heart disease, obesity, cancer, diabetes, and digestive problems.

So start the day out right with a fibrous bowl of cereal! Your body will thank you.

Becky <3

6 comments:

Gaiden said...

Hello Becky, this is Gaiden. I am not really a breakfast eater. I like my glass of milk & I guess I could live with Frosted Mini Wheats for now. How long should I give it before I notice a change? Looking for any advice you can give. Thx Becky! Looking forward to your next blog.

Carleen said...

Becky,

I love your Blog and will be checking back often for important and helpful information.

Carleen

Carleen said...

Dear Becky,

I am losing my job and I am not yet ready to retire. Looking for advice on dealing with stress and anxiety.

Thanks,


Carleen

Sandi said...

Becky
I love your blog so far. I am also not a breakfast eater. I do eat a banana when I get up and then I tend to drink coffe instead of eating. I donate plasma twice a week, so I do need to start eating more healthy to keep my protein levels up. Any suggestions for a low fat/protein diet.
Thanks
Sandi

Becky said...

Hey Gaiden,

Thanks for your comment and for reading my blog!

If you eat breakfast everyday for 2 weeks you will notice you have more energy to complete your daily tasks.

If you do not like breakfast cereals, try a piece of fruit or perhaps a granola bar (I prefer FiberOne because it has 9 grams of fiber per bar, and it tastes great!)

Please let me know if you have any more questions! :)

Becky said...

Sandi,

Thank you for checking out my blog.

Let me start by telling you a little bit about your protein needs. Let's say you weigh 150lbs, then you should be consuming approximately 60 grams of protein daily.

Here are some good sources of protein:

Milk (skim) 8 grams/cup (so if you consume 3 cups/day, like you should already be doing, then you will have 40% of your protein needs covered).

Yogurt (low fat) 10 grams/cup

Baked Beans 14 grams/cup

Fish 7 grams/ounce

Eggs 1 egg has 6 grams of protein.

I hope this helps you increase your protein intake.

As for drinking coffee instead of eating. Try not to let more than 4 hours go by without eating. You will have more energy and feel more alert if you eat every 3-4 hours.

Let me know if you have any more questions!