Breakfast: All the Cool Kids are Eating It. | The Sisterhood of the Shrinking Jeans LLC

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Breakfast has never been a priority for me.

Like, ever.

Honestly, I can remember as far back as middle school, trying to skip breakfast. And it wasn’t because I was dieting or anything. I was just too busy or not hungry or whatever. Like I said, it just wasn’t a priority.

As an adult, I know that breakfast is important. The most important meal of the day. But I still find that I’ll blink and it’s already 11 am and all I’ve had is a pot of coffee. It’s so bad. I mean, the kids have been fed, sometimes twice (breakfast and snack) and here I am, subsisting on a few stray goldfish and caffeine.

Of course, lunchtime rolls around and I’m ravenous. And it all snowballs. Spoonful of peanut butter while I’m making sandwiches for the kids lunch. A handful of animal crackers. The string cheese I keep trying to feed my four year old that I know he won’t eat but I keep trying anyway (probably so I can finish it).

And then I eat lunch.

Basically, I’m digging myself in a hole, nutrition wise.

I’m sure I’m not alone.

So, why is breakfast so important? First of all, it’s the fuel that helps your brain function. This piece of information should be enough to get me on the breakfast bandwagon. Cause my mommy brain has reached ridiculous levels of forgetfulness.

Also? People who skip breakfast are 75% more likely to be overweight than those who don’t.

HELLO?!

You might be wondering, what exactly is an ideal breakfast (I was)?

Here it is: 53% carbs, 27% fat, 20% protein. You want to aim for 25 to 30% of your daily calories at breakfast – if you’re trying to lose, that’s about 400, if you’re maintaining, 500, and if you’re very active, 625.

You may have every excuse in the book as to why you’re a breakfast skipper – too busy, not hungry, saving calories for a splurge later in the day – but the bottom line is that skipping your morning meal is terrible for YOUR BOTTOM LINE.

How can you make breakfast work for you? Here are a few ideas:

– Be prepared. Keep individual baggies of frozen fruit in the freezer so you can chuck it in the blender with some greek yogurt and psyllium husks for a quick smoothie.

– Keep it simple. Whole grain toast topped with natural peanut butter and 1/2 banana. Done. That takes all of three minutes. You have three minutes, right?

– Nosh on leftovers. Breakfast doesn’t have to be ‘breakfast’ food.  Heat up last night’s quinoa and vegetables. Your body will just be thrilled to be getting fuel.

– Keep an emergency stash. So you ran out the door without grabbing anything for breakfast…but you remember you have a little bag of almonds and dried apricots in your bag. Try to keep a small meal in your purse or your car that you can fall back on in a pinch.

– When you feed your kids, feed yourself. Obviously this only applies if you actually have children (though you could use your pets as a cue as well). I try to sit down and eat with my children in the morning. It forces me to slow down and fuel myself, and also sets a good example.

I’ve been making an effort to eat breakfast daily, and I have to say I feel much better when I do – and I notice my children eat better when I sit down and eat with them.

So, are you a breakfast eater? If so, what are your go-to eats? If not, what’s your excuse? Spill in the comments!

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