Bringing Breakfast Back!

One of the most common questions I hear as a fitness professional is "what's the deal with breakfast?" and "why is breakfast so important anyway?" In my opinion, there is only one drawback to breakfast - it usually occurs too early in the morning ;-) Besides having to take place in the early hours of the day, breakfast brings many benefits and is worth your time!!!

Breakfast literally "breaks" our "fast" after a night of sleep, replenishing our energy stores and providing us with essential nutrients we need to start our day. While a common weight loss myth is to skip meals such as breakfast, research suggests that eating breakfast actually assists in weight loss and maintenance, as well as helping to reduce total daily caloric intake. Studies have shown additional benefits to eating breakfast are improved strength and endurance in the late morning.

Here are some quick Breakfast Tips from the USDA's Human Nutrition Information Service to help get your day and breakfast off to a great, healthy start:

• No time? Build a breakfast around foods that are ready to eat or take little preparation time: fresh fruits, milk, yogurt, cheese, cottage cheese, ready-to-eat cold cereals and instant breakfast mixes.
• On the go... Try celery stuffed with peanut butter or a meat or cheese spread, dried fruits or vegetable juices.
• Spice up cereals...Top cereals with fruit or stir chopped nuts such as peanuts, pecans and walnuts into cooked cereal.
• Not hungry yet? Drink juice. Something is better than nothing. Have some wheat bread or crackers later in the morning, then drink some milk and eat some cheese, an egg or peanut butter.
• Don't skip if you're on a diet. There's no evidence that skipping meals will help you lose weight. In fact, studies show that most people who skip breakfast tend to eat more later in the day. Some even select more calorically-dense foods than those who eat breakfast.