By Socalworkout.com Contributor Ms.X

No, it’s not beer. But, breakfast is the most important meal of the day, and you should really stop skipping it.

 

When you skip breakfast, you are doing yourself a huge disservice. You aren’t saving any calories in the long run, because you will overeat at lunch. There is no benefit to skipping breakfast, at all. Now, you can shift your breakfast time, for instance if you want to reap the benefits of doing your morning cardio on an empty stomach, you can do that, but you should really make sure that there is time to eat some breakfast after your run and before you have to start getting ready for work. In this scenario, you can do your work on the treadmill, elliptical, bike, jogging, etc. prior to eating breakfast and burn the calories already stored in your body from yesterday rather than burn off the breakfast you just ate. But, this is the only time I can think of that it is okay to “skip” breakfast, and you are not really skipping, just delaying.

The best thing to do is to get up and with in the first half hour of being awake, eat your breakfast. If you wait too long, your body goes into starvation mode, you gradually lose the hunger pangs and then all of a sudden it is noon and you become completely and rapidly ravenous And you eat double what you should, and that is not a good way to so things.

They don’t say “breakfast is the most important meal of the day” for no reason. Keep reading for some tips on how to get that morning meal taken care of, from a simple, on the run, in the car version to a lazy Sunday morning version.

If you have 1 minute:

• Grab a Luna Bar. These are specially formulated for women, and are packed with folic acid and calcium, both very important for women, and are rich in anti-oxidants. I choose this option on the mornings when I meet with my trainer, because I have gone to the gym on an empty stomach before (I know, I am bad too sometimes) and I feel like I might throw up. Conversely, I have gone after eating the wrong breakfast too, and feel just as crappy. Feeling a bunch of cereal and milk slosh around in your belly while you do your 100 crunches is not a good feeling. A Luna Bar leaves me feeling energized, but not too full. Every variety I have tried, from Chai Tea to Peanut Butter Cookie to Lemon Zest has 180 calories.
• Pick up an apple or banana on the way out the door. Our yellow friends are abundant in many different vitamins and nutrients, especially potassium. Bananas are considered an important food to use to boost the health of malnourished children, and are considered one of the healthiest fruits. An average banana holds about 140 calories, 36 grams of carbohydrates, 602 mg of potassium, and 4 grams of fiber. We’ve all had bananas before, you know how you feel pretty full after one. And you know the old saying “an apple a day keeps the doctor away”, well get one for breakfast and you should be good. Apples are high in many vitamins as well, and very high in fiber, about 5 grams in an average sized apple, which translates to 20% of your recommended daily value. Fiber means you feel full. Letting you make good decisions come lunchtime.
• Take a yogurt with you in the car. There are the “yogurt on the go” products out now, I personally think they are kind of gross, so I sometimes take a low-fat Yoplait Light yogurt (100 calories) with me in the car. I have lost 2 spoons now, so I also bought a package of plastic spoons for my glove box. To make it more interesting, I have created a little specialty version. I take the Lemon Cream Pie flavor and dump some blueberries on top (you may have to eat a few bites first to make them fit) which is a re-creation of a highly fattening lemon curd tarlet topped with a blueberry that I had at a party once. This is better tasting (really!) and so much better for you.

If you have 5 minutes:

· Dish up some cottage cheese with sliced tomatoes, fresh berries, fresh pineapple, peaches, cantaloupe…the possibilites on this one are endless. From slicing the fruit to rinsing your plate it is about 3-5 minutes, and you will appreciate your efforts come 10am. There are typically 90 calories in ½ cup serving of low-fat cottage cheese, and with the fruits you might add a few more calories.

· Make a bowl of cereal topped with fresh fruit and low-fat milk or soymilk. Go for high fiber, whole grain cereals and pick a fruit that you like to top with. I am eating a cereal called Raspberry Ginger Low-Fat Crisp from Wild Oats right now, it has 200 calories in one cup, and I use ¼ - ½ cup vanilla soy milk on top with blueberries. I am partial to blueberries for the high amounts of anti-oxidants, as well as the fact that there is no prep time. I can throw a handful of blueberries on my cereal easily, but if I use strawberries I have to slice them, wipe down the cutting board, wash the knife, put it away…and I only have 5 minutes!

· Toast a piece of reduced calorie bread (Sara Lee Delightful is a good one, only 40 calories a slice) and top with 1 tablespoon of organic peanut butter and sliced apples or banana. The peanut butter is a high calorie addition, but will stay with you longer and keep you satisfied until lunch, along with the high fiber bananas and apples, and your bread is a great source of fiber obviously, so you should be good for a while.

If you have 15 minutes:

• Whip up an egg white omelet. And if it gets sloppy, you can call it a scramble. There are a million ways to make an omelet. You can do a California version with fresh avocado, turkey bacon, diced tomato, spinach and mushrooms. There is the Mexican style, with seasoned ground turkey, salsa, black beans, tomatoes, jalapenos and low-fat sour cream on the side. You can take the leftovers from last night and sautee them, and toss whatever that is into the omelet. I have made an Asian Omelet, in which you sautee red and green bell peppers, scallions, shitake mushrooms, Japanese Eggplant, snow peas, etc in peanut oil, and then fold into egg whites. You see, not all omelets have to be ham and cheese.
• Make a healthy version of the Breakfast Sandwich. Take the aforementioned Sara Lee Delightful bread slices and toast. While that is happening, take one Omega-3 egg and fry in a non-stick frying pan (no oil or butter needed), and on the other side of the pan, heat up 2 slices of turkey meat. Spread a whole-fruit spread on the bread when it comes out, top with the egg and turkey meat, and if you are felling like it, can add a slice of reduced fat Swiss cheese. The whole thing should be about 200 calories without the cheese.

As you can see, there is absolutely no reason to skip breakfast ever again. Pick the meal that works the best for your schedule that day, and make it a habit. You will work out harder and longer and feel better all day long.

Be eXcellent,

Ms. X

 

and Orange County Personal Trainer Chris McCombs

Serving Anaheim, Irvine, Brea, Tustin, Newport Beach, Santa Ana, Costa Mesa and Placentia with high quality personal training services.