Breakfast is a Meal Not a Dessert

We all know that breakfast is supposed to be the most important meal of the day. But many of us don’t treat it as a meal at all.

According to a poll about what Americans eat for breakfast, done by ABC in 2005, nearly 40% of us eat cold cereal for breakfast. While the poll didn’t list each particular type of cereal, some of the names on that list are the sweet cereals which are mostly marketed for children. Yet this was a poll of adults. It seems that adults are just as sugar crazy in the mornings as kids are.

In addition to cereals, many people eat pancakes or waffles. All of these things don’t really constitute a meal. They’re more like dessert.

The most important MEAL of the day should actually be a meal, not a dessert. If we believe that what we eat for breakfast effects the rest of our day and plays a role in how easily we lose weight or gain it, shouldn’t we make sure to actually eat wholesome food and not dessert?

If you want to lose weight you need to stop eating dessert for breakfast.

My (partial) hit list for bad breakfast items includes:

• Most cereals. Yes, some are not bad but even those marketed as containing whole grain and dietary fiber are often rich in sugar and useless calories. Let’s face it, if a cereal tastes like chocolate or if you can actually feel the sugar grains with your tongue, how good can it be for your waistline?
• Pancakes - It’s just white flour with (usually) low quality maple syrup on top. While maple syrup can be good for you, most people eat too much of it. In addition, it is not a replacement for the real meal that breakfast should be.
• Muffins, donouts, waffles, croissants, and any other white flour pastry.
• Coffee – Yes, this may seem harsh, but most people put too much sugar in their coffee. In addition, coffee is not a meal even though for many people it is the only breakfast they have. I have no problem with you drinking coffee as long as it’s not full of sugar.
• Sodas (the study specifically named coca-cola) are not suitable breakfast beverages, in my humble opinion.

A while back I wrote about my morning ritual and how the way you begin your day determines the rest of your day as well. I believe that if you begin your day with a healthy meal you will be less likely to eat poorly during your day. You won’t want to “ruin” the good that you’ve already done. If you start your day with bad food, you may feel like this day is already ruined so you can just continue eating poorly. This is why I believe that your breakfast is crucial for weight loss, not just due to nutritional reasons but to behavioral ones as well.

So, eat a good meal with quality protein, carbs, and water. Make breakfast a solid meal and not a dessert.