Popularly deemed “the most important meal of the day”, breakfast is one moment that many people target to introduce healthier habits and changes to their diet. While you should consider whether your lifestyle and routines actually suit this mindset, and virtually no diet is complete without physical exercise, there are a few things you can do to improve your early bites.
Rates of obesity are steadily increasing across the world. According to the World Health Organisation, worldwide obesity has nearly tripled since 1975. Achieving a healthy weight comes with numerous health benefits, but you should always check with your doctor or a specialised dietitian to make sure you do it safely for both your body and mind.
Below you can find some guidance by the British National Health System (NHS). According to this body, studies suggest that opting for a healthy breakfast can actually help you lose weight compared to skipping it altogether, as people who have breakfast tend to eat less and better during the rest of the day.
Think twice before skipping it
Most of us organise our routines around day and night and tend to follow somewhat similar activity patterns. While there’s nothing sacred about breakfast itself, if morning and evenings are the most active periods for you, you should probably stick to breakfast and improve it rather than eliminating it.
Granted, the “most-important-meal” label can be an overstatement and will depend greatly on your lifestyle. However, if your main motivation for doing away with it is losing weight, perhaps you should reconsider.
The NHS says that a healthy breakfast high in fibre and low in fat, sugar and salt can be part of a balanced diet, so don’t look down on it as if it doesn’t exist outside of the usual coffee and donut.
Tips for calories-counted breakfasts
Fibre is your friend
Fibre is one element you should definitely think of when counting your allies against the scale. According to the NHS, fibre is beneficial because it induces satiation, that is, feeling full. And we all know how useful that can be when we are faced with cravings. Fibre es only found in plant-based food. This includes food and vegetables, but also beans, peas and lentils.
For a higher fibre-based breakfast, the NHS suggests going for two slices of wholemeal toasted bread topped with a sliced banana, accompanied by a small glass of fruit smoothie. Legumes are also incredibly rich in fibre, so your baked beans can stay — just make sure they don’t have too much sugar, salt and other additives.
Don’t forget about fruits and vegetables
At this point, it probably goes without saying how critical fruit is for your overall health. It’s advised to have at least 5 portions of it a day, and breakfast is the perfect moment to kick your day by indulging in some healthy treats.
Fruits are great to consume without much preparation, so consider them when looking for a fast bite. If you want to add them to your breakfast, mixing them with wholegrain oats that are not sugared. You could also add them to low-fat yoghurt or — as an occasional treat — a wholegrain pancake. Choices include tomatoes, berries, mushrooms, carrots or avocado, to name a few. You could start your day with a veggie scramble or using eggs.
Easy on the smoothies
One thing you should know is that while smoothies are a usually an easy and healthy to eat fruit, juices and smoothies usually leave you less satiated. The British Heart Foundation makes clear that smoothies “are not a shortcut to a healthy diet”. Plus, sugars that are naturally present in fruit are released as they meet the blender, becoming “free sugars”. Try to prioritise eating fruit rather than drinking, and always go for natural smoothies rather than those with added sugar!
Cut down on sugar and saturated fat
Speaking of sugar, you probably know it’s a no-go when trying to stay fit. Limiting sugar is an important part of a diet plan, but supermarket aisles are plagued with sugar rich breakfast foods.
To combat this, try and think how you can sweeten your meals without actually going this road. Instead of added sugars, you can make use of those that are naturally present in fruits. According to Diabetes UK, a smart swap would be to quit cereals and switch to porridge, paying attention to the labels.
Another thing to look out for is oils. Go for unsaturated vegetable oils, like olive, sunflower or rapeseed oils, and avoid butter or ghee.
