The Breakfast Rule To Follow For Better Eating Habits

If you're struggling to improve your eating habits, the first step is to tackle your breakfast. To kickstart the practice of fueling your body in a considered way, you must eat your first meal of the day within one to two hours of waking up.

It goes without saying that a balanced breakfast replenishes the body's energy stores that have been used overnight. However, eating within that two-hour window also encourages you to make healthier eating decisions later in the day. If you've eaten well and are satisfied with your first meal, you simply won't be as tempted to graze on snacks an hour later. Skipping breakfast or waiting to eat until you're ravenous is an ineffective move because your brain, in particular, needs glucose for energy so you can concentrate and make better choices that align with your goals.

If you don't have the desire to eat anything in the morning, it's vital that you train your body to establish those timely hunger cues. Once you get into the routine of eating within two hours of waking, your body will begin to feel that hunger again, and you should find that you start your mornings stronger. Making that initial step towards fueling your body well will also lay the foundations for the rest of the day and encourage you to continue making the best choices for your body.

There may be several reasons why you don't feel like eating breakfast, such as sleeping poorly, taking certain medications, or working irregular shifts. Perhaps you ate a large dinner the evening before? Even high anxiety levels and an increase in the stress hormone cortisol can play a part in a loss of appetite. To bring that hunger back, start small with something you can manage, such as a yogurt, granola bar, or crackers. For instance, Ina Garten's daily breakfast is stunningly simple and features nothing but buttered whole-grain toast and coffee. Once you've gotten something down, you can move on to completing your breakfast with protein-rich elements, like boiled eggs or cottage cheese. Simple ways to add more nutrition to your breakfast are to sub the sweetener in your homemade breakfast muffins for bananas or add filling flaxseed. Eating a balanced breakfast should include fruits and veggies, but if you can't stomach chewing on spinach leaves and apples in the morning, consider whizzing them up into a tropical fruit smoothie with a few chunks of pineapple. As our metabolism works better in the mornings, eating the right foods to maintain a stable blood sugar level will trickle down into the rest of the day and hopefully help you stick to your objectives.