Tip of the Day- Eat Breakfast

by Alison Palmer | More from this Blogger

01 Feb 2007 11:01 AM

We're always nagging our children to eat breakfast. After all, it's "the most important meal of the day". But how many of us follow our own advice, or even remember why this meal is supposedly important?

Breakfast food is comfort food to many of us. Maybe because it's a lost art. Convenience foods are very prevalent and with our nonstop lifestyles, a good hearty breakfast is easily overlooked. That's sad, because I for one could use a little more comfort before facing the big bad world each day.

Breakfast can set the tone and our energy level for the entire day. People who eat breakfast are more physically active and healthier overall than those who regularly skip it.

Eating a healthy breakfast helps you to-

• Eat a more well-balanced diet as a whole.
• Consume less fat and have a lower cholesterol and lower risk of heart disease.
• Have more strength and endurance.
• Maintain a healthy weight. Skipping breakfast can help us pack on extra pounds. We are more likely to eat more calories and make poor choices in those calories later in the day if we haven't fed our tummies up front. Most of us know not to go to the grocery store hungry. It's the same thing. Don't start your day hungry, it messes with your thinking and judgment. Literally.
• Breakfast makes you more alert, helps you concentrate and boosts your creativity, productivity, and problem-solving skills.

Breakfast is an ideal time to look for high fiber choices and other healthy choices. Try to eat a variety of foods in the morning, but your best choice is to be well rounded. Include grains, protein, fruits and veggies and milk products.

Any breakfast is better than none, but a donut and coffee aren't exactly what we're after here. Yes, the occasional donut is ok. But starting off the day right by making a conscious healthy choice is really starting the day off right. You won't be as hungry as soon, and you've programmed yourself to focus on the best you that you can be that day.

So, the next time you find yourself nagging your child to finish his oatmeal and OJ, remember to shove some in your own mouth as well.

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Learn more about Alison Palmer

Writing is Alison's favorite past time, but you can also frequently find her reading, playing piano, cooking, taking long walks, sewing, or playing with her family.

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POP (10) 01 Feb 2007 01:18 PM

Great Advice...If you are raised in a bakery, that's what becomes the standard breakfast.....After all these years I still have a soft spot for such fare....

Julie Gentry (5915) 01 Feb 2007 11:53 PM

My doctor said 100% of the people she knows that are clinically obese skip breakfast. I'm *really* trying to gag down that oatmeal every morning ;-).

Alison Palmer (269) 02 Feb 2007 06:57 AM

Why is it I don't like oatmeal? I can eat cream of wheat and many other varieties of warm cereal but I have a total mental block about oatmeal. My mother used to cook hers up in cookies and call that breakfast. :) I thought it was a pretty good idea but it took all fun out of it for her when I suggested she also add wheat germ. The things we do in the name of health! BTW, the research really does back up what your Dr. said. So keep gagging!