Found an excellent article on breakfast at the Redbook website. Basically, the piece reflects much of AdvoCare’s own guidance on advising people not to skip breakfast and have a healthy breakfast.
The main gist of the article is this: More than 30 percent of us start our days on an empty stomach. “People think they don’t have time for breakfast, or that skipping it will help shed extra pounds,” says Tanya Zuckerbrot, R.D., author of The F-Factor Diet (the “F” stands for “fiber”). “But both are completely untrue.” In fact, people who do eat a morning meal are nearly 50 percent less likely to be obese than those who don’t, according to a Harvard University study.
Here are some quick facts on breakfast that might make you think twice before skipping it again:
- Breakfast Bonus #1: It gives you the nutrients you need.
Skipping breakfast makes it a lot harder to get the recommended daily dose of most vitamins and nutrients. Morning meals such as whole-grain cereal with milk and low-fat yogurt with granola provide calcium and fiber (nutrients many Americans are deficient in). If you don’t have time to fix a meal in the morning, try Meal Replacement Shakes or a healthy Fruit & Fiber Bar to help supply many of these otherwise missing nutrients. - Breakfast bonus #2: It can help you lose weight.
When your body goes without food, it burns calories slowly to conserve energy. As Zuckerbrot explains, eating after an overnight fast jump-starts your metabolism, which means more efficient calorie burning all day. But what you eat is key. Somer points out that simple carbohydrates (like a doughnut or most cereal bars) make your glucose (blood sugar) spike and then drop, leaving you starving by 11 a.m. and craving sugary foods. A smarter start: complex carbs like oatmeal or whole-grain toast. - Breakfast bonus #3: It’ll boost your brainpower.
Students who ate breakfast scored an average of 22 percent higher on word-recall tests than those who didn’t, according to a University of Wales-Swansea study. When you wake up, much of your energy—in the form of glucose and glycogen (stored glucose)—has been used up since yesterday. - Breakfast bonus #4: It can help protect you from disease.
Healthy women who skipped breakfast for two weeks developed higher levels of “bad” low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol than women who ate a bowl of fiber-rich whole-grain cereal with milk, according to a recent study. Fiber binds with cholesterol and speeds its excretion—before it reaches your arteries, says Zuckerbrot. Because of this, high fiber intake has been linked to an almost 50 percent reduction in heart disease over 10 years, according to the Harvard Nurses’ Health Study.
What to Eat
A healthy breakfast should contain at least 5 grams of fiber, one serving of calcium (equal to a cup of milk or yogurt), and some protein and fat. Also, limit added sugars to about 6 grams (1 teaspoon equals 4 grams). The following meal suggestions fit the bill.
AdvoCare products for when you’re on-the-run:
Meal Replacement Shake, to which you could add Muscle Gain or Peaches & Cream Fiber Drink, Apple Cinnamon Breakfast bar, Fruit & Fiber Bar, Meal Replacement Bar
If you have a few minutes:
Meal Replacement Shake, toss in some thawed frozen berries or bannana
If you’re at your desk:
Snack bars & Breakfast bars
If you like to prepare the night before:
Put your favorite fruits and low-fat yogurt in a blender and stash in the fridge. In the morning, add Meal Replacement Shake, add ice, blend and pour into a to-go cup.
Not Hungry in the Morning?
“Stop eating after 8 o’clock at night—within two to three weeks your body’s appetite clock will reset and you’ll wake up hungry,” suggests Zuckerbrot. If you still have strong cravings try Fiber Drink after 8:00pm.
