Hello everyone. This is a guest post from Ed Beardsell who writes for ExpertsInMoney.com.
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Even if you actively enjoy getting up early every day, there’s still quite some effort involved in becoming a successful ‘morning person’.
Many people swear by doing stretches or another form of exercise to start each day off in a positive fashion. Some people swear by meditation or by reading for a short time. Others still like to get a head-start on their work commitments by spending a few minutes catching up on emails. Whatever else you may or may not do, it is generally agreed that you should – to coin a phrase – breakfast like a king. In other words, it most definitely IS the most important meal of the day. Here’s why…
• Eating a healthy, well-balanced breakfast gives your metabolism a kick-start and gets you firing on all cylinders for the rest of the day. Not only does it give you energy, but once your metabolism gets going, you actually burn calories more effectively. This means that when you’re trying to lose weight, eating breakfast is likely to help you reach your goal more quickly than skipping this valuable meal.
• If you eat a good breakfast, you’re less likely to snack throughout the day. The ideal combination is a mixture of lean proteins, whole grains and fats, along with some fresh fruit as well. Whole grains and some fruits are complex carbohydrates, which means that they release energy slowly and will keep you feeling full for longer. This hopefully means that you’ll be less likely to reach for potentially high sugar and/or high fat snacks which will give you a quick burst, but will then send your energy levels crashing down and leave you feeling sluggish and drowsy.
• For those of you with children, eating together as a family can be a great way for adults to model healthy eating habits. It will also send children off to school ready to make the most of their day. For anyone who finds that mornings tend to be rushed, prepare as much as possible the night before (even down to laying the table if necessary!) so that you maximise your chances of having at least a little bit of quality time together.
So there’s the ‘why’, now here’s the ‘what’! Good foods to eat at breakfast time include:
• Eggs – poached or boiled are best, scrambled are reasonable as long as you don’t add much butter, but fried eggs are not brilliant in the health stakes;
• Fruit – especially super foods such as blueberries. Bananas are quite filling and will give you that slow-release energy that keeps you going;
• Home-Made Or Sugar-Free Muesli – you can relatively simply create your own personal muesli by mixing up nuts, dried fruit and seeds;
• Wholewheat Toast – with a low-fat spread and/or savoury topping such as Marmite. If you have an incurable sweet tooth, the natural sugars found in honey are preferable to jams;
• Low-Fat Yoghurt – throwing in some fruit or muesli can provide a twist;
• Porridge – eating a porridge made from whole oats is better for you than buying an instant mix;
• Caffeine-Free Drinks – fruit or herb teas, or caffeine-free tea and coffee. Home-made smoothies are also delicious and nutritious.
About The Author:
This post was written by Ed Beardsell, a writer for the health insurance comparison site Experts in Money. Ed writes on a wide range of health issues as well as giving advice on how to cover yourself should the worst happen.