Thursday, April 25, 2013

The Most Important Meal of the Day!


AH!  My apologies!  I had this written then didn't post it yesterday (blush).  I thought I would post it really quick this morning then post today's info later tonight.  While I didn't do a blog yesterday, hopefully two in one day will make up for it!  I now return you to your regularly scheduled blog . . .
Now THIS, I am already doing – eat breakfast within 60 minutes of getting up!
Gasp!  Not breakfast?!  I know there a many of you out there that skip breakfast, and I’m here to tell you – do your body good and eat breakfast!  We’ve all heard it, “Breakfast is the most important part of the day!”  It’s true!  If you want to get healthier and/or start losing weight, you need to start with having breakfast EVERYDAY; and not the cheesecake breakfast I had Sunday!

Ever wonder why they call it “breakfast”?  It is because you are “breaking the fast” that your body was in while you slept.  Remember, when you do not eat for a while, your metabolism slows down.  Eating breakfast within 60 minutes of waking up jump starts your metabolism.  It is like pulling the rip cord on your lawn mower.  It gets your engine going!
If you can’t stomach a full breakfast within 60 minutes of waking up, have some kind of healthy snack.  Just eat something to remind your body it isn’t starving and doesn’t need to store that fat then have breakfast within 2-3 hours of waking up! 

I have found that protein shakes work the best for me.  I have one of those smoothie blenders, so I can just grab the glass and go.  The protein helps keep me feeling full until snack time, and it is a good, balanced Fat Loss “plate”.
Besides talking about the importance of breakfast, day 3 also talks about willpower and what they have termed the Perceived Hunger Index.  Weight Watchers had a similar scale to help you better tell when you are hungry and when you are not.  Just like with Weight Watchers, I give this scale a big raspberry (TTTBBBPPPP!!!)  I pretty much always think I’m hungry.  I have NEVER been good at gaging when I’m satisfied.  I always like to push myself to the “I’m so full I could bust” stage. 

Even though I consider these scales hogwash (only because I can’t do them), there are still some really good points that I want to share:

1.       Don’t let yourself get too hungry or you’ll be more likely to overeat.  Oh my, it’s like they have a window to my soul!

2.       Wait at least 20 minutes after eating to gauge your hunger level.  Yeah, easier said than done; but if you can control yourself and not go back for that second helping and wait 20 minutes, you may find you do not need the second helping.

3.       Dehydration often disguises itself as water.  What?!  Yep, and I’ve tested this theory.  When I think I’m hungry, I have a glass of water or two and wait 15 minutes.  I almost always find I’m not hungry.
What do you like to do for a quick and healthy breakfast? 

2 comments:

Shirley said...

I rarely ever miss breakfast. I drink a protein shake AS soon as I get up...no waiting! Then after about 2 hours I usually have my favorite, steel cut oats. I can eat them plain or added nuts and dry fruit or just a bit of agave and cinnamon. I love the hearty texture. Not like your quick or rolled oats.(but I love them too!) Grits runs a close second.

I loved the water tip. EXCELLENT!

Mom said...

Today I had a Weight Watchers chocolate smoothie ( 10 grams protein ) and I added 2 tbsp of that PB2 ( 5 grams of protein ). That was very tasty and filling . I always keep my mug in the freezer for my smoothies and that makes them even more frosty .Other breakfast favorites that keep me full longer are , sliced apple with 2 tbsp. of peanut butter or Scrambled egg with chopped mushroom , 1 slice whole grain bread and strawberries with a couple tbsp. of Oikos greek yogurt ( this yogurt has 11g protein per container ).My favorite flavor is toasted coconut vanilla . I have found the more protein I can get first thing in the morning the better I feel and I don't get hungry as fast . I'm not sure I'm getting enough water so I decided yesterday to measure a pitcher ( 8 glasses ) of water each day and put in frig and drink from that until its gone . I finally found a Kroger that had that PB2 . The lady that went through the just arrived shipment found only 4 jars . She said they have a hard time keeping it or getting it when they are out . It comes in chocolate also but she said that's about impossible to get . Thanks for the tip of PB2. It was good in the smoothie and it saved me 4 Weight Watcher points . Love you and pray for you everyday . Mom