Kick Up Your Weight Loss with the Breakfast Burn

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Do you want a strategy that does work in the fight about the belly bulge (or thigh bulge)? Start eating breakfast. Sounds so easy but yet so many of us skip it. Think of breakfast as your springboard for the day. You know how when you start a tennis match and your first serve is really strong and placed just where you want it? You feel confident and it sets the tone for the game.

Same with breakfast…when you eat a healthy breakfast, it sets the tone for your day. When you skip it, it's a missed opportunity to power your body with needed vitamins, minerals, protein, carbs and fiber.

In fact, when you eat a breakfast providing about 15-20% of your total calories for the day, you can make an even larger contribution percentage wise to that day's diet of vitamins and minerals. This breakfast can be as easy as oatmeal (which does keep you satisfied long into the morning by the way) and OJ or a piece of fruit.

From a weight loss viewpoint, eating breakfast is associated with both a reduced risk of obesity and is a key player in keeping weight loss off long term. In fact, studies show that if you eat breakfast daily, you have a much greater chance for success with long term weight loss than if you never eat breakfast at all.

Have you noticed that when you do eat breakfast, some foods keep you more satisfied than others? Foods such as hot cereal, high fiber cereals, poached or hard boiled eggs, and bananas rank high on the satiety scale.

So, if you've been too pushed for breakfast in the mornings, try preparing it ahead the night before, taking it with you to work or giving yourself an additional 10 minutes of time in the morning to eat. When you shop for the next week, buy items for your pantry and refrigeration that will enable you to quickly eat a healthy breakfast. Your body will thank you.