By Rosanne Rust



You may be thinking that skipping breakfast is saving you calories, but think again. Usually this leaves you hungrier later in the morning and later in the day, sabotaging your weight control efforts.



Breakfast is important because it helps you ‘break the fast’ which jump-starts your metabolism in the morning. It also provides you with needed energy so you can focus on the tasks at hand. Breakfast skippers often replace calories during the day with mindless eating. A nibble here, a nibble there, and by lunchtime you are famished and overeat. Stop this cycle and start thinking about how you can add a quick breakfast to your meal plan.



If you want to be successful at weight loss, act like a "successful loser". The folks who belong to The National Weight Control Registry have made eating breakfast a daily habit. These people have maintained a 30-pound (or more) weight loss for at least a year, and some as long as six years.



To fuel up in the morning, try to include a bit of protein with your carbohydrate. Also include fiber- whole grains and fresh fruit. If you eat high-fiber, low-energy, dense foods – such as oatmeal with strawberries and walnuts, or granola with low-fat yogurt - you can eat more and with fewer calories. Try out these quick ideas:



§ Cereal and milk – check portion size. Generally it’s 1 cup with 4 ounces of low fat or nonfat milk

§ English muffins have fewer calories than bagels. Try a whole grain type, add 1 tsp peanut butter for protein

§ One slice of pizza may work for some people

§ A yogurt with ¼ cup of crunchy whole grain cereal or low fat granola cereal

§ Oatmeal with fruit and chopped nuts

§ One ounce of cheese melted on whole grain toast





Breakfast helps children and teens maintain healthy weights too:

Cereal is a quick and easy way to fit breakfast in. A group of researchers analyzed data that followed more than 2,000 young girls from ages 9 to 19. They found that regular cereal eaters had fewer weight problems than infrequent cereal eaters. Those who ate cereal only occasionally had a 13% higher risk of being overweight compared to the regular cereal eaters.



Another study showed that the prevalence of obesity decreased by number of daily meals. In other words, the more times per day a child ate (meals and snacks) the less likely they were to be overweight or obese. So children should also be eating breakfast daily, having a couple of healthy snacks, and not skipping other meals either.



Getting something into your children and teenagers before school is better than nothing. If they really don’t want to eat, at least make sure they drink some milk or orange juice. Some “on-the-go” ideas for those kids who can’t get out of bed on time:

§ Quaker Breakfast Squares

§ Instant Breakfast powder in 12 ounces of milk

§ A Banana

§ Packaged peanut butter crackers



So set a good example for your children, and start eating a healthy breakfast every day. It could be your new secret weapon to weight control.





Rust is a licensed, registered dietitian and nutrition coach who has a private practice in Meadville. She is a licensed provider for Real Living Nutrition Services® and the author of The Calorie Counter for Dummies®. To order the book or find out more about her online weight loss programs, go to her website: www.rustnutrition.com



©Rosanne Rust 2010