Your body is a machine and needs to be charged

Moving through life too quickly to sit down and chew through the first meal of the day? I mean, no big deal right? Just have a big lunch to make up for it. Isn’t one less meal a good thing, you know – less food, less fat? Not really, you will be more likely to choose unhealthy foods or binge during the day. Establishing a well-balanced healthy breakfast will help you stay lean, improve your mood and improve your energy levels for the rest of the day.

You’ve just finished (hopefully) 8 hours sleep and the last meal was probably 10 or 12 hours before. This means you have had no nutrients or fuel for your body for an incredibly long time and your metabolism has slowed down. Breakfast is your body’s wake up call.

Your body is a machine which needs to be charged up with the metabolic power it will require to output during the day. Treat your body as the vehicle you need to get you through the day, don’t fuel it correctly and it will run out of power and start breaking down.

It is well established that eating at regular intervals of 3 to 4 hours is the best way to keep your body fuelled and the body fat down. And since most people can’t eat while they are asleep, you need a kick-start to stimulate your metabolism, replenish your energy levels and balance your blood sugars. Skipping breakfast will only encourage your body to keep your metabolism slow and store fat. Intentionally skipping breakfast to drop body fat doesn’t really work in the long run.

It’s not just your body that could benefit from having breakfast – breakfast is brain food! Studies have shown that having a good healthy breakfast improves our cognitive processes, our ability to pay attention and our memory. This means you are going be more productive at work and concentrate on tasks better and less likely to bite co-worker’s or partner’s head off.

If your lifestyle is so busy that you literally seem to be running around flat out, then maybe you need to restructure a few things to help you get into a new habit of eating breakfast every day. You can get up 30mins earlier, prepare your breakfast or have the ingredients laid out the night before. And there’s no reason you can’t have a mobile breakfast if you commute by train or bus.

Most nutritionists recommend starting the day with whole grains such as oats or brown rice which have a low GI (Glycaemic Index) which reduces spikes in blood glucose by absorbing more slowly into the blood stream. Avoid foods that are high in simple sugars like fruit juices, bagels and muffins. And steer clear of sugary breakfast cereals - just because it says it nutritious doesn’t mean it’s healthy.

Every time you eat you have the opportunity to make your body better or worse so start the day the right way and eat a healthy nutritious breakfast. It has been often said that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, if you’re too busy to eat a nutritious breakfast; you’re too busy to be lean and healthy.

Here are a couple of great breakfast ideas:

For “non-rushed” person:

Spinach, Mushroom and Cheese Omelette

Ingredients
4 Large Egg Whites plus One Whole Egg - beaten
100gms Smoked Turkey - chopped
1 Handful Fresh Spinach - chopped
½ cup Mushrooms - sliced
1 Slice Fat Free Cheese – broken up
1/3 Onion – chopped
Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Method
Stir-fry the chopped turkey, onions and mushrooms in a skillet with a little extra virgin olive oil (cooking spray works great) on a medium heat for five minutes, or until browned. Add the spinach until wilted but still a vibrant green. Set the mix aside.

Add the beaten egg to the (oiled) skillet and cook on medium heat. Wait for a few minutes until you see small bubbles forming around the edge of the egg ‘pancake’. Gently lift a section of the eggs to allow any runny egg on the surface to flow under so the egg ‘pancake’ is cooked. Wait another minute and then flip it over.

After flipping the egg ‘pancake’, add the slice of cheese to the top of the omelette, spread the mixture of turkey, onion and spinach mixture evenly onto one half of the ‘pancake’. Fold the omelette over to cover the contents and slide it all onto a plate and enjoy your creation!

For the “rushed” person:

Basic Oatmeal and Berries

Ingredients
1 cup rolled oats
1 cup skim milk
1 scoop of vanilla whey protein powder
½ cup berries (fresh or frozen)
Dash of cinnamon

Method
Combine the oats, milk and cinnamon into a large microwave safe bowl. Microwave for one minute, stir, then microwave again for another minute. Allow to cool for a minute then stir in the berries. Add the protein powder and mix thoroughly.

Important: Ensure the oats have cooled down enough so the protein does not become lumpy and sour. And enjoy....

For the “Super-rushed” person:

Strawberry and Banana Shake

Ingredients
1 medium sized banana
1 cup strawberries
1 cup skim milk
1 scoop strawberry whey protein
1 cup ice

Method
Combine all the ingredients in a blender. Process on a medium-high setting until smooth and creamy, if you want a thick-shake add more ice. Gulp and go!

Elton Young is a Fitness Coach from Shape and Motion