10 Reasons Breakfast
Is A Must
Is it an old wives' tale, or is breakfast
really the most important meal of
the day? Perhaps your mom always made
you eat hot lumpy cereal in the morning,
so as soon as you escaped her clutches,
you developed the coffee and cigarette
habit in college, and ever since then
breakfast was a bagel... at lunchtime.
You've realized your adolescence
ended (about 10 years ago!) and now
it's time for a change. You've stopped
that smoking thing... it was smelly
and made your teeth yellow anyway.
But your pants are too tight, you
can't climb a set of stairs without
huffing and puffing and you feel much
older than your years.
At @health, we offer a Nutritious
& Delicious Diet Meal Service
and Personalized Nutritional Counseling
to suit different metabolic rates,
lifestyles and food preferences. Low
carb, low fat or vegetarian... if
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find the program just for you.
Back to breakfast... yes it’s
true; breakfast can make or break
a diet, because breakfast helps set
the tone for the rest of the day.
If you’re one of those people
who thinks skipping breakfast is a
good way to lose weight... think again.
Here are the top reasons why you should
definitely eat breakfast, every day:
1. Break the fast.
Ever think of what "breakfast"
means? Your body responds to not eating
for hours and hours by slowing down
its metabolic rate. By eating breakfast,
you wake up your metabolism and get
your engine humming, burning those
calories you need to burn to lose
weight.
2. Eat more, weigh less.
Researchers have repeatedly shown
that people who eat breakfast have
a better chance of losing weight,
and keeping it off. When you skip
meals, you’re so hungry by lunchtime
you eat the entire cow! The National
Weight Control Registry shows that
among those who’ve lost 30 or
more pounds and have kept it off more
than a year, 90 percent report eating
breakfast most days of the week.
3. Are you interested in
doing better at work and school? Don’t
be a bed head... breakfast helps wake
you up. Studies show that
people who eat breakfast are more
alert and do better on tests than
people who skip breakfast. The USDA’s
Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion
Symposium titled Breakfast and Learning
in Children, April, 1999, cites a
"myriad" of studies that
show eating breakfast helps "improve
memory and positively affects the
tasks that require the retention of
new information.
Conversely, a hungry child can be
apathetic, disinterested, and irritable
when confronted with difficult tasks.
Breakfast is the key." No doubt
adults need breakfast as much as kids
do.
4. Breakfast is your chance
to eat the foods you may not eat the
rest of the day. You can
have whole grain cereal and berries
with nonfat milk -- here is your fiber,
folic acid and calcium in one easy-to-grab
bowl. Low-carbers need to go very
easy on grains, so opt for the highest-fiber
brand you can find. However, why not
indulge instead in the typical eggs
and bacon breakfast most other eating
plans frown upon?
5. Skipping breakfast makes
you grouchy. Studies show
that people who eat breakfast tend
to be in better moods (when I’m
hungry -- watch out!). Breakfast gets
you started on the right track for
the day. If you start out with a healthy
breakfast, then you set the mood for
lunch. You're more likely to choose
something reasonable for lunch if
you’ve paid some attention to
your breakfast choices.
6. Cancel the Danish or sugared
donut first thing in the morning --
they cause a blood sugar dip a couple
of hours later. You’ll
be desperate for something to perk
you up, and are more likely to grab
another high-sugar refined carb, for
a quick sugar rush.
7. Breakfast makes your machine
run better. Get yourself
on a schedule with a healthy breakfast,
and you’re ready to take on
the world.
8. If you're a parent, set
a good example. By skipping
breakfast, your kids will think it’s
not important. Breakfast doesn't have
to be a big affair, but don’t
wimp out... make it a habit, and your
kids will be way ahead of the game
too.
9. Don’t eat dessert
for breakfast. If you think
a glazed donut or a breakfast bar
with 30 grams of sugar are breakfast
items, then think again. Donuts are
fried lumps of sugared dough, and
many breakfast bars should be labeled
"candy bars" instead.
10. One more word about labels...
if it says, "Nutritious,"
it doesn’t necessarily mean
it’s healthy. Cereal
manufacturers are experts in marketing,
using words that send a message of
health, but unless you read the labels,
eat at your own risk. Kids’
cereals often have more sugar than
candy. Protect your kids from getting
hooked on these cereals... they’ll
get used to all the sugar, and will
want only pre-sweetened cereals.
Whether you're following the Atkins'
controlled carb program, or maybe
you're veggin' out with grains and
legumes... breakfast is one meal you
don’t want to miss.
Do You Know?
If it sounds too good to be true,
it is! The Federal Trade Commission
has released a new Red Flag education
campaign to help the media screen
out weight loss product advertising
containing claims that are "too
good to be true."
The guide is to help the media screen
out scientifically impossible weight
loss products, and to help them refuse
to run ads making bogus claims. According
to the report, the following seven
common weight loss claims made for
over-the-counter products are a "no
no":
1. Causes weight loss of two pounds
or more a week for a month or more,
without dieting or exercise
2. Causes substantial weight loss,
no matter what or how much the consumer
eats
3. Causes permanent weight loss (even
when the consumer stops using the
product)
4. Blocks the absorption of fat or
calories to enable consumers to lose
substantial weight
5. Safely enables consumers to lose
more than three pounds per week for
more than four weeks
6. Causes substantial weight loss
for all users
7. Causes substantial weight loss
by wearing it on the body or rubbing
it into the skin.
…Run, don't walk, away from
any products making these bogus claims!
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