Breakfast is a VITALLY important meal. Why? Not just cause your mother told you so. According to a study published in the British Journal of Nutrition (Leidy HJ et al. 2008), when people eat high protein foods for breakfast they have more of a “full” feeling for the rest of the day. There is a lot of data to suggest that high protein diets (20-30% of daily calories) decrease hunger dramatically, but this is one of the first studies to suggest that by eating a lot of protein at breakfast, you can sustain that lack of hunger for the entire day. This same study also confirmed two ideas suggested by many of these studies: that high protein content in a reduced calorie diet helps you to maintain lean body muscle (muscle) and that it even helps improve mood.
So what are some good morning choices? Not bacon, unless it’s turkey bacon (where the “fat” is really white meat turkey) and not not not sausage. Good choices include, but are not limited to:
Oatmeal with skim or 2% milk
Slim fast with a grain bar or whole wheat toast
Scrambled egg whites with whole wheat toast or oatmeal
High protein cereal such as KashiGoLean with skim or 2% milk
Any other cereal with a scoop of protein powder added to it
Morningstar Farms soy sausage links or patties: taste just like the real deal, but with a tiny fraction of the fat and lots of good protein! Use the patties with an English muffin and a single scrambled egg to make a healthy egg McMuffin.
Fruit and skim milk smoothie with ice and a scoop of protein powder.
Peanut butter crackers are not not not a good choice. The average package of 6 has 190 calories/9g fat/4g protein. A small bag of chips contains 139 calories/9.2g fat/2.2g protein. Might as well eat the potato chips since they have the same nutritional value and I guarantee they taste better.
Fri, Jan 23, 2009
Nutrition