Research on over 10,000 people that have lost weight and kept it off lists “eating breakfast daily” as one of their healthy habits. The following are the other most common habits they engage in.
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- Exercising for about an hour each day
- Following low-calorie, low-fat diets.
- Weighing themselves regularly.
- Maintaining consistent eating patterns, even on weekends and holidays!
This information is from the National Weight Control Registry (NWCR) which was created in 1994. They track people that have lost at least 30 lbs and kept it off long-term. They’ve researched thousands of “losers” to find out how they did it. Then they made this list to highlight the most common habits that the majority of them engage in.
If those 10,000 people could do it then you probably can too! And one of the best ways to learn and get inspired is by reading about how other people have been successful! If you need some motivation, check out the NWCR website for their stories.
We all know that exercising and eating healthier, lower-calorie foods are both important for losing weight and getting healthy. But why would “eating breakfast daily” matter? Read on and I’ll explain the importance of this one particular habit a little better.
The importance of breakfast
So why do we always hear that breakfast is the most important meal of the day?
For starters, it provides us with the first nutrients our bodies get after fasting all night. “Breakfast” literally means that we’re breaking a fast. Upon waking, because we’ve had no food for a while, our blood sugar is low. And when blood sugar is low our brains don’t work as well.
Glucose (sugar from carbs) is the main fuel source that gives our brains the power to function optimally. It also gives our bodies quick energy. But before we do anything else, our brains first need to function well!
According to eufic.org, “Studies show that dips in glucose availability can have a negative impact on attention, memory and learning” and “consuming regular meals may help to achieve this”. If our brains work better then we’re able to make better decisions about everything, including exercising and choosing to eat a healthier diet.
So that means that after a fast it’s especially important to get some healthy carbs in our system for energy and brain function.
Get hydrated at breakfast
It’s also important to get hydrated right away in the morning.
When we first wake up we tend to be dehydrated because we just went all night without drinking anything. Dehydration lowers blood pressure and therefore energy levels. So hydrating for breakfast can give us more energy to face the day. Water is a great obvious choice so consider the following.
According to clevelandclinic.org, drinking warm lemon water right away may have even more helpful benefits including:
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- Aiding digestion
- Getting us hydrated
- Helping with weight-loss
- Preventing oxidation of cells
- Supplying more Vitamin C
- Providing potassium for necessary nerve-muscle communication
- Helping to prevent kidney stones
Related article: Get hydrated for weight loss and health!
One little warning!
Please don’t take the words “glucose” and “carbs” as a way of justifying a sugary drink right away in the morning. I know too many people that drink pop for breakfast every day!
Instead, I’m referring to healthy carbs that break down to glucose in your body. Think of your daily breakfast as your first opportunity to get some extra vitamins and minerals into your diet to boost your immune system!
Healthy or “complex” carbs include whole fruits or vegetables and whole grains. They contain fiber that helps slow down digestion, along with the release of sugar into your blood, and helps you stay full longer. But as I said, these foods also have the nutrients we could all use more of.
So what I’m saying is that you’re better off eating an orange rather than just drinking orange juice in the morning! Real, natural nutrients are what we need to fuel us and get us going, not refined sugar. That way we can power through our mornings without snacking on junk and looking for a pick-me-up later on.
Related article: Vitamin C and its effects on our immunity.
The science behind eating breakfast and weight loss
There isn’t much research to point to a cause and effect link between eating breakfast daily and losing weight. But since so many successful losers engage in this habit, it seems like they may be onto something!
“Studies have found that although people who skip breakfast eat slightly fewer calories during the day, they tend to have higher body mass index or BMI,” says Christy C. Tangney, PhD. She works as a clinical dietician at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago.
A high BMI (height to weight ratio) is associated with a higher risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, osteoarthritis, gallstones, and some cancers. All good reasons to keep your weight in a healthy range!
Louisville.edu points out that skipping meals slows down the body’s metabolism so you actually burn fewer calories. Since calories = energy, this leaves you with little energy or motivation to be physically active. This is NOT what you want! It also means you’re likely to eat more later to make up for that loss of energy. They conclude that:
“Eating small frequent meals actually helps us to lose weight.”
Most importantly, if you want to get all the nutrients you need for a healthy immune system from your diet, then eating breakfast every day will help you do it. Just remember, your breakfast doesn’t have to be full of fat and calories. It should be a chance for you to give it the right fuel for energy, mental clarity and motivation.
Eat your breakfast
If you like eating breakfast, then oatmeal is an excellent option. Oatmeal is a healthy carb with many benefits, including balancing blood sugar and helping to lower cholesterol. Oats also contain Vitamin E and beta-glucan, both of which are antioxidants that help boost the immune system.
Be sure to stick with the least processed oats, which are rolled (or “old-fashioned oats”), steel-cut oats, or oat groats, since they actually have natural fiber. Not only that, but oats also contain about 11-15% protein and they have anti-cancer properties. Bonus!
People tend to like the individual containers of oatmeal or the little flavored packets for convenience. Unfortunately, both of these options have added sugar, artificial flavorings, and less natural fiber.
If you don’t like to cook in the mornings then overnight oats are an easier option! And there’s no shortage of recipes for them online these days.
Remember that being healthy always requires some planning.
Whichever way you choose to prepare them, oats are a great base from which to build any number of interesting breakfast concoctions. I hear people say all the time that they don’t like oatmeal. And yes, plain oatmeal is very bland! It’s what you add to the oats that make it a great-tasting meal!
Try some of my favorite flavor options to enhance your oatmeal.
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- Add your favorite milk product or yogurt (I like yogurt for its creaminess!).
- Add nuts, or nut butters for some extra fat or protein to satiate you longer
- Add fruits, either dried or whole, for sweetness and flavor
- Add cinnamon, flaxseeds, or chia seeds for flavor and extra nutrients
- Be creative and experiment, it’s your first meal of the day!
Drink your breakfast
Breakfast doesn’t have to involve cooking or spending a lot of time preparing. I’ve known a lot of people that are not big morning eaters, so here are a couple of other simple options to consider.
A breakfast smoothie
A smoothie is made by mixing any fruits or veggies that you want together in a blender until you have a smooth, drinkable consistency. In fact, it’s smart to mix both fruits and vegetables to get the most nutrients. Because smoothies are made by just blending up whole ingredients they retain some fiber which most people need much more of too.
I originally started making smoothies to get some fruits and greens into my husband’s daily diet that he wouldn’t otherwise eat. He’s a little picky! He either doesn’t like the taste of some things or he doesn’t like the texture. When you mix a variety of items together you can’t taste just one thing and it makes a completely different texture that you have some control over.
If you’re worried about the time this takes then know that it only takes me 10 minutes to prepare our morning smoothie. And I love that I can add other things to it like ground flaxseeds, chia seeds, leafy greens, tofu for protein, cinnamon, or other spices that are healthy for us but undetectable to taste.
Juice drinks
Another drinkable breakfast option is to buy yourself a juicer and just make yourself a nutrient-packed drink every morning. This way you hit two birds with one stone! You get lots of vitamins and minerals while also getting extra hydration to start your day!
Just remember that juicing doesn’t provide any of the fiber most Americans need more of. A juicer separates the skin and fiber from the juice. Fiber can help you to feel full longer so a juice might not be a good idea if you have a big morning appetite. But it’s a great option for those that don’t like to eat right away.
Remember that buying juice from the store isn’t the same as juicing your own fruits and veggies! There won’t be any added sugars or preservatives in your own drink, and the all-natural ones from the store are pretty pricey.
I also feel that I should warn you that juicing creates a bit of a mess to clean up! So if you really don’t like cleaning, this may not be right for you. But I think the benefits outweigh the costs of cleanup. You really need to just get used to something new. After it becomes a habit, the clean-up doesn’t seem like such a big deal.
Another educational tip!
If you want to lose some weight then juicing is an ideal way of doing that! You can try replacing one meal every day with a juice. By doing this you’ll get the nutrients your body needs without the calories of a full meal.
Have you seen the movie “Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead“? It’s a documentary about a very sick man, Joe Cross, that does a juice-only diet for two months to reverse his many disease states. And it’s very successful for him! But this is NOT something I recommend to that extreme without being followed closely by a doctor.
Joe was checked regularly by a doctor during his entire juicing experiment. Again, this isn’t what I’m suggesting here. I’m only saying that a juice drink can be a healthy and convenient breakfast, NOT to replace every meal! But you can learn a lot from the movie!
My final thoughts
Oatmeal, smoothies and juices are just a few examples of healthy breakfast options. If you don’t like these ideas then start looking up recipes until you find ones that suit you. With all the recipes available online, there’s really no excuse not to be able to find something healthy to start your day. Even if it’s something you can prepare ahead of time and just reheat in the mornings.
If you want to lose weight, follow the healthy habits of people who have already done so and kept it off. Eating breakfast daily not only boosts your metabolism but it helps your body get more nutrients to keep you healthy. In my experience, long-term weight loss generally follows healthy habits.
Swapping out your usual breakfast with a much healthier one is an easy change to make. Start there and get used to that before moving on to the other meals of the day. One step at a time and you’ll be feeling and looking great before you know it!
If you still find changing some of your dietary habits too confusing or difficult on your own, then check out my health coaching services. I’ve already changed my diet from 20 years ago and would love to help you do the same so you can look and feel better too!
Related article: Change your diet for a healthier body.