How To - Healthy Living - Week 6 - Benefits of Breakfast

Dear Friends,
No weight loss, yet thankfully no gain this week.  I feel like my weight loss is moving at a turtle's pace.  I went to the gym 4 times this week.  My water has increased and my sweets have decreased.  Neither is perfect yet both are an improvement and that's all I ask for.

Here is my delema.  We had out of town visitors again this past week for 4 days.  That completely throws me off my game plan.  We actually have visitors for 5 to 7 days every month on average.  I need to come up with a plan on how I will continue my weight loss when guests are in town.  When we have guests it is a time to go out and eat and show them around town.  All my hard work goes down the tubes.  For me, this next week, I'm not going to add a new habit, but conitnue with what I currently working on; increasing water, decreasing sweets and exercising.  The other focus is to WRITE out a plan on how to handle it when we have guests.  I'm putting serious thought into this plan of mine.  Any tips for me in this area?

For the rest of you, I'm going to talk about the importance of eating breakfast every day.  This is something I already do.  I eat a bowl of Fiber One with a half cup of blueberries, a teaspoon of chopped toasted pecans (for a healthy fat) and a cut of skim milk.  I'm a creature of habit and this is my breakfast 90% of the time.  I also have 2 cups of coffee with a tablespoon of sugar free flavored creamer.

The reasarch shows it is vital to have a HEALTHY breakfast every day.  The following benefits come from http://www.webmd.com/ .  Some of the benefits of eating breakfast include:

A more nutritionally complete diet, higher in nutrients, vitamins and minerals


Improved concentration and performance in the classroom or the boardroom

More strength and endurance to engage in physical activity

Lower cholesterol levels

Breakfast can reduce hunger throughout the day, and help people make better food choices at other meals. While it might seem you could save calories by skipping breakfast, this is not an effective strategy. Typically, hunger gets the best of breakfast-skippers, and they eat more at lunch and throughout the day.

This just goes to show how important it is to choose the right foods for breakfast. A healthy breakfast meal should contain a variety of foods, including fruits, vegetables, whole grains, low- or non-fat dairy, and lean protein.


Even if you think you don’t have time to eat breakfast, there are grab-and-go options that fill the bill. Some quick and healthy choices include:

A veggie omelet and a piece of whole-wheat toast

A whole-wheat English muffin with low-fat cheese, a scrambled egg, and slice of tomato or lean ham

Smoothie made with fruit and low-fat yogurt

Salmon on 1/2 whole-grain bagel with light cream cheese

Whole-grain cereal with fresh fruit and low-fat milk

Oatmeal made with skim milk, raisins and nuts, with 4 ounces of orange juice

Low-fat yogurt and a piece of fresh fruit

Yogurt smoothie and breakfast bar

Hard-boiled egg and a banana

If you are not eating breakfast, I hope you will consider making this a habit.  Again, if you have any tips for me regarding eating when guests are around, PLEASE SEND THEM MY WAY!!!!!

As always, if you have a post on healthy living, be sure to link up below.  Have a great and healthy week!
Nancy

This Post Links To:
Smart and Trendy Moms
Toddler Awesome
Still On the Verge
Never Growing Old
Frugal Novice
Trendy Treehouse