Let’s Talk About Breakfast
Do you eat it, do you plan it or do you skip it?
I’ve recently teamed up with the guys over at Arla Protein to talk about breakfast. I absolutely LOVE breakfast and there is no way I’d ever skip it! However, I know skipping it can be the norm for a lot of people. In fact lately, having lost his appetite during his Dad’s illness, my usually healthy husband has taken to occasionally skipping breakfast too. Something which is always met with my disapproving look. I realise that for some people it’s a time thing, rushing around to leave for work, getting kids ready or maybe just lying in bed until the last possible minute. I’m sure some people would rather have the extra doze in bed than make time for food.
How many times have you heard the phrase ‘it’s the most important meal of the day?’ I know I’ve heard it hundreds of times in my lifetime! So why is breakfast so important?
Metabolism
The main benefit is that it kick starts your metabolism and helps you to burn calories throughout your day. If you’re embarking on a healthy eating plan, trying to maintain your current healthy weight or looking to lose weight, this is a huge contributing factor in your ability to succeed and achieve those goals. A slow metabolism can be a really hard obstacle to overcome so knowing that breakfast can kick start or speed up our metabolism, is a winner for me. Missing breakfast can impact our own body’s fast and eat cycle, meaning metabolism can be adversely affected.
Concentration
It can help provide us with the ability to concentrate on tasks and focus at work, or for kids, at school. A healthy meal to start the day can have our bodies up and running much quicker, help us to feel alert and to find that inner strength to tackle the day ahead.
Nutrients
Our bodies need nutrients to fuel us for the day. This is especially important to consider on work out days. If you work out first thing on a morning, don’t then rush off without fuelling your body with nutrients and calories that you have just burnt off. If you plan to work out later in the day then the food you have put in your body first thing is going to help to fuel you throughout the day and make you less likely to feel sluggish and skip your work out. Healthy snacks throughout the day can help you keep going too!
Fuel
When we wake up, our blood sugar is usually low, by eating breakfast you are able to replenish it and gain energy for the morning ahead.
Of course it’s also important to eat the right foods. Avoid sugary cereals or cereal bars that are only going to give you that initial sugar rush. Remember what goes up, must come down and that sugar crash will come, making you more likely to reach for the unhealthy foods later in the morning. Eating foods with protein and fibre early in the day helps to keep your appetite under control for the rest of the day.
I’ve recently teamed up Arla Protein, which has a range of products that are a perfect match for kick starting your day with a healthy breakfast as well as a great range of healthy protein snacks and drinks to fuel your day. If you’re looking for inspiration here’s something me and the hubby made for breakfast using the 20g Arla Protein yogurt pot. It comes in various flavours but we used the blueberry one and teamed it up with a selection of red berries and topped it off with granola. It really was as delicious as it looks The beauty of this is if you prepare it in a jar like this one (if you don’t put too much in, ha!) you can close the lid and take it to work with you.
If time really is an issue or you’re looking for post work out snacks then Arla Protein also offer some great ‘on the go’ products including the yogurt pouches and Tropical Milk Shake. I’ve talked openly on my blog about how I struggle sometimes to stay on track, whether it be a holiday where I’ve gone off track or a period of time where life really has thrown me off course. I mentioned earlier about the short illness that sadly resulted in my father-in-law passing away back in January. The ten week period that it lasted and the month afterwards threw our normal daily routine into turmoil and meal planning was tough as we never really knew where we were going to be during the day. Unfortunately this did mean lots of grab and go lunches and very late evening meals. However, the one that thing I managed to keep constant was breakfast. We were always at home so it was the one meal I was able to plan. My top tip in maintaining a healthy lifestyle is to meal plan. If you’re not able to plan all the meals in your week, then look at the ones that you can. If you know you won’t have time to eat before you leave the house on a morning, plan something for when you arrive at work or look at on-the-go products that pack the right nutrients to kick start your day.
I’d love to hear whether you’re a breakfast lover like me and what you enjoy for breakfast. If you’re a skipper, why? When and what do you first eat in your day?
*Disclaimer: This was a collaborative post with Arla Protein and I was given the products above in order to give an honest review. All words and opinions are my own.
