The Importance of Breakfast: Calorie Maker or Diet Saver?

The word breakfast literally means just that ”breaking our fast.” When we wake up in the morning, most of us have not eaten for at least 10-12 hours. While giving our body a break from eating and letting us fully digest our food and elimintate toxins is important, it is equally important to properly fuel our body when we wake up. What we eat in the morning sets the tone for our entire day.

Are you not eating breakfast because you are too rushed in the morning? Are you not hungry when you wake up? Are you not eating breakfast to “save calories.” If you are not eating breakfast for any of these reasons (or excuses), you are not alone! Many clients that come to me have this exact problem!

The problem with not eating breakfast, however, is that your body begins its day thinking you are starving. And, what does our body do when it feels like it is starving? It saves calories! Our bodies don’t know that we are not eating because we want to lose weight. Your body just thinks “help, I need to conserve calories.” When your body conserves energy and burns calories slowly, you end up with what is considered as a “slow metabolism.”

Additionally, when you starve yourself, you will lose fat and muscle! Muscle burns 70 times more calories than fat. So, if you lose muscle then your body will actually require fewer calories to maintain its’ weight and again you will slow down your metabolism making it harder for you to keep off weight.

Lastly, when we don’t eat breakfast, it also makes us ravenous when lunchtime approaches, and we are much more likely to make unhealthy choices and to overeat.

Breakfast does not have to be complicated. Following are some high-octaine options that I recommend for my clients (and have myself!):

* Bowl of whole grain granola with berries topped with either almond milk or a non-dairy yogurt (make sure that the cereal has no added sugar or high-fructose corn syrup and is sweetened with either agave or unrefined cane juice)

* 1-2 slices of 7-grain toast (Ezekiel or Manna breads are my favorites) with almond butter

* Green Protein Smoothies (my favorite recipes are below)

* Cup of yogurt (without added sugar) with fresh berries (my favorite is the So Delicious coconut milk-based yogurts)

Right now I am eating raw and my favorite breakfasts in the morning are either a fresh green smoothie or a bowl of absolutely delicious raw granola by Laughing Giraffe that I top with almond milk.

Having a smoothie (or even a juice) enables our bodies to consume something that is more easily digestible and gives your body added time to cleanse. But, if I know I am going to be going for a run or have a busy day, I will have something a bit more substantial such as the granola. Experiment and see what works best for you.

Just make sure you start your day off with a healthy breakfast and see how much better you will feel throughout your day!

Green Powder Smoothie

• 1 cup vanilla almond milk (or soy or rice milk)
• 1 frozen banana
• Greens powder (I use Nature’s First Food Powder)
• Few ice cubes
• 1 heaping spoonful Sun Warrior vanilla protein powder
• Handful of spinach or kale

Blend until smooth and this smoothie is so rich and creamy and totally addictive!

Chocolate Green Powder Smoothie

• 1 cup vanilla almond milk (or soy or rice)
• 1 frozen banana
• 1 tbsp unsweetened cacao powder (optional for richer taste)
• Handful frozen berries (optional)
• 1 heaping spoonful Sun Warrior chocolate protein powder

Blend in blender and enjoy! This is another one of my favorites and I have it when I really need a pick me up!!!

Via diet and lifestyle coach, writer, raw food chef, GirlieGirl Army Blogger,  and teacher Katherine Pennington from Be in Balance.  We also love reading her blog Raw Mom and Hot Dog Kids for tips on how to raise healthy kids in a very unhealthy world.

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