There’s a common phrase repeated about breakfast that I
don’t even have to say because we’ve all heard it a million times. [You’re probably
repeating it to yourself right now!] We’ve heard it because it’s true. Most of
the energy (calories) used by our body is used for bodily functions; breathing,
heart beats, brain function, cellular function, etc., all of which continue at
night without any food intake. In the morning, our body needs energy to refuel
from the night’s activity and to be ready for the waking hours.
For many people, morning is also one of the busiest times of
day making it easy to skip breakfast or make unhealthy choices. If you fall
into this category but would like to eat breakfast, you may find the strategies
below helpful.
Choose three meals
and don’t get too fancy.
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| Three different breakfast choices should be all you need. |
Save the splendor for another meal or the weekends. Your
breakfast-in-a-hurry needs to be simple. Three different well-balanced breakfast
meals should be all you ever need. To be well balanced, choose foods from at least
2 food groups; three is better. If you count calories, breakfast should be
around 1/3 of your calories for the day. “But won’t I get bored?” you ask.
Probably not. It’s likely that you already have a limited breakfast rotation.
However, if you are drastically changing the kinds of foods you eat for
breakfast (e.g. from donuts to oatmeal), it will take a while to adjust to the
new flavors.
Be honest with
yourself.
I recently suggested smoothies as a breakfast option to a
client and he told me, “I just won’t do it. I know myself and I just won’t get
out the blender.” Kudos to him for saying that! Know yourself and the context
of your mornings (how much time you have, what foods you like, where you are
most likely to eat, etc.,) and create a breakfast plan that fits into the
context of your life and morning, not the other way around.
Make it a no-brainer.
Once you decide what 3 meals you will choose from, make it so easy that it is 100% achievable to
eat breakfast every day. Always have all the ingredients, tools, containers, and
equipment on hand for all three of your breakfast meals. If your meals need
some preparation, schedule prep time when you know it will happen. If you need
to pre-portion cereals or cut up fruits, have containers and snack bags. Your
morning breakfast routine should have minimal steps.
Some examples.
I hope you’ve already thought of some ideas that will work
for you. Below are some specific examples that may or may not work for you, but
hopefully they should offer a good starting point!
Instant oatmeal with
blueberries and yogurt. Take a packet of plain instant oatmeal, add water,
½ cup of frozen blueberries, and sweetener (optional) and microwave in a
container for which you have a lid. Cover the oatmeal, grab a spoon, a single
serve yogurt from the refrigerator, and a napkin, put into a lunch bag and head
out the door. It’s ready to eat when you get to work, or take a few extra
minutes to eat at home.
Grab bags. Create
grab bags once a week that contain any of the following: 1) Apple, cheese stick(s),
almonds. 2) Single serve yogurt, granola bar, piece of fruit. 3) Dry cereal,
single serve milk, fruit.
