Weekday breakfast: latte, plain yogurt +ground flaxseeds +strawberries, When Pigs fly whole wheat bread +butter, hard-boiled egg
Victory belongs to the most persevering. ~Napoleon
I did it! I ate breakfast for the last four months. Mornings are a huge rush for me - I work out, read the papers, do last minute cleaning and run out the door for work. The only breakfast I had was coffee at my desk. If you're sheparding kids to school, it's even more chaotic!
Writing on the importance of breakfast prompted me to commit to eating it. All the research indicates it supercharges your day. I'm not sure that breakfast supercharges my day (I'm also not sure it doesn't), but it definitely made a positive difference:
- It saves time: I used to snack desperately during the morning before lunch, and I'd start snacking ravenously again at 3pm for a couple hours. Looking for all that food took a lot of time! Now I only need one morning snack and one afternoon snack.
- I eat less. The volume of snacking went down, and also the amount I eat for lunch and dinner. It probably has something to do with evening out glucose levels. This also helps if you are trying to lose weight.
- Tub of plain yogurt: Spoon out a bowl and add flax seeds and fruit (or a tablespoon of jam if you're in a hurry)
- Cottage cheese: same as the yogurt
- Sugarfree cereal + milk: Barbara's Bakery or Kashi are great
- Hardboiled eggs: these travel well if you have to dash
- Whole wheat bread: this also travels with you
- Fruit
- Nuts
For all you non-breakfast eaters, try it for a few weeks and see what you think.
What to do: Eat Breakfast
Of course, lingering over breakfast/brunch is an occasional treat. My friend Jon is in Ireland, and he sent in a picture of his recent Irish breakfast. The eggs and the beans are healthy, but we wouldn't recommend this as a regular occurrance (unless you're a professional athlete or do a lot of manual labor).
What I ate: yogurt + ground flaxseeds + strawberries, latte, 2 hard boiled eggs, brown rice + seaweed, cajun fries (Labor Day celebration), Pirates Booty, Mindful Mix, 1 black plum, chicken, salmon, fava beans, Greek yogurt + strawberries, 1 peach, 12 oz. kefir, milk, water
Exercise: easy 5 mile run, a little lifting (very little)