Have you ever had one of those mornings where you’ve overslept and you’re in a mad rush to make it to the office by 9am? You’re in such a haste that you simply forget or skip breakfast completely.
Sound familiar? That used to be me not so long ago, I used to be rushing through peak hour traffic to make it to work; quite often without eating anything because I had a gazillion other things on my mind.
We are so busy prioritising other activities that sometimes we seem to overlook our health. You’ve probably thought “Oh I can make up for it with lunch” or “I want to lose a bit of weight so this will work”
Sure, we mightn’t always have the time or the patience to eat a lavish “insta-worthy” breakfast spread each and every day, but trust me a healthy dish makes all the difference.
Here’s why:
Breakfast – literally translates to “break the fast”. When you wake up in the morning your body is famished and in need of energy, since you haven’t eaten anything since dinner 10+ hours ago or so.
During the night, your body metabolised the energy from last night’s meal, and now your energy levels are low so you need to fuel up with a healthy and nourishing breakfast – not just a cup of coffee.
Apart from providing us with energy, breakfast foods are a good source of important nutrients such as calcium, iron and b vitamins as well as protein and fibre. If these are missed at breakfast, research shows they are less likely to be compensated for later in the day.
Without breakfast, your brain has limited glucose available, an essential carbohydrate needed for the brain to function. Chances are you will find it very difficult to concentrate at work, you also might feel more irritable and stressed. Just like any other organ in the body, the brain needs energy to be fully functional.
If you are trying to lose weight or maintain a healthy weight, not eating breakfast causes your metabolism to slow down. Staying hungry won’t help speed your metabolism up, in fact it will hinder weight loss and might cause unwanted weight gain. Eating a healthy breakfast gives your metabolism the kick-start it needs.
If you consistently skip breakfast, you will find that during the day your blood sugar levels are unstable you will get tired very fast. As well as this, once hunger does set in you’ll be in the mood for anything sugary and high fat. Which can lead to unwanted weight gain as well.
If you don’t feel hungry when you first wake up, that’s okay just be sure to eat within 2 hours of waking up.
So now that I’ve laid down the nitty gritty for you, you’re probably wondering how can you still have a healthy breakfast if you are time poor. Turns out it can be quite simple if you spend a little bit of time preparing each week. In addition, you are also reducing your chances of battling with obesity, high blood pressure and other coronary diseases as well as diabetes later in life.
Here’s 3 time saving hacks to ensure you have a healthy and nourishing breakfast each day.
1) Ban the snooze button.
I know it can be so tempting to stay in bed, especially on cold winter days. But if you set your alarm for 30 minutes earlier and leave it away from your bed (an easy way to ensure you must get up to turn it off) you will be able to start your day with time to ensure you eat breakfast.
2) Make your breakfast portable.
If you’re on the go a lot and don’t have the time to always sit down and eat. Making portable breakfast options such as a smoothie, fruit salad with yoghurt or even a boiled egg is a great option. You can still meet with your demands as well as ensuring that you provide your body with lots of fuel to help you make the most of each day.
3) Eat your breakfast at work.
Many workplaces do provide kitchen amenities so why not utilise them. If you know that there is little chance you can eat breakfast before work. Having it once you arrive allows you to settle in and have a nourishing start to the day. A great option is quick oats as there are very nutritious as well as filling. They will help keep you feeling full and energised until lunchtime.
