Four Ways to Slim Down Your Breakfast
Lindsay Bridges
| 2 min read
Many people argue that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Eating breakfast helps improve typical daily functions, including concentration for class or at work, energy and endurance when exercising, and can aid in lowering cholesterol levels.
Some people’s first thought may be, “But if I’m trying to lose weight, wouldn’t skipping breakfast mean I’m not eating as many calories?”
This is a common misconception because skipping breakfast may save calories initially, but the body ends up consuming more calories throughout the day because you end up being hungrier.
Here are a few tips on how to continue enjoying your favorite breakfast items, in a healthier way:
Breakfast Burritos
- A breakfast burrito can rake in a lot of fat calories from the bread, cheese and eggs. However, if you switch to low-fat shredded cheese and only use the egg whites instead of the entire egg, this can save calories and takes out, quite a bit, of the fat content.
Omlettes
- Similar to a breakfast burrito, the eggs and cheese contain the majority of the fat in omelettes. For those who enjoy the egg yolk, try using only one full egg, and egg white for the rest of the filling. This way you can still taste the yolk flavor but save on added calories and fat.
Waffles
- Waffles contain a lot of unwanted calories in the toppings and bread. Instead of your normal waffle, try eating multigrain instead. This provides a similar taste but contains less fat and more fiber. Cutting out the toppings also saves calories. Instead of putting on a layer of butter and syrup on top, try just adding syrup. This helps save plenty of fat calories.
Fruit Smoothies
- Smoothies seem like a healthy option because it’s just fruit mixed together. What could be so bad about that, right? Fruit smoothies actually contain a very high sugar content from the fruit and are also known to be high in fat. Bananas are very common in smoothies because they’re sweet. However bananas are very high in sugar, so think about throwing in an avocado instead, to eliminate the excessive sugar.
The most important thing to remember is that breakfast is a very important tool when getting your body ready for the day. Using these healthy twists on your favorite breakfast items shows that you can still enjoy your favorite meals, while creating a nutritional start to the day, making you feel more energized and focused.
Photo Credit: Emily Carlin
