HealthyGirl.org Book Club [previous posts]
Breakfast always seems to be one of the most talked about meals, especially among health professionals, and Dr. Bulik has devoted all of Chapter 5 to discussing it in her book Crave: Why You Binge Eat and How To Stop. Bulik is a BIG supporter of eating breakfast (even if it’s small), and backs up her thoughts with a lot of good reasons why it might be extra helpful for someone dealing with binge eating or overeating in general.
As a smart, independent person, I don’t often like to be told what to do, but in this case, I think I kind of agree and see eating some sort of breakfast as helpful-particularly when first trying to recover, stop binges and/or overeating and regulate your eating habits. She makes the basic point that breakfast creates a healthy foundation for the rest of your day and helps to get everything (your body, brain, hormones, etc…) in a rhythm that sets you up for success. There are also a ton of studies supporting that eating breakfast helps with metabolism and weight regulation as well.
Bulik suggests taking small steps towards fueling yourself up with a proper breakfast. I definitely know people who claim to “not be a breakfast person,” but Bulik says you can reset that by starting off with something small and enjoyable that you can put together easily. The goal in mind is to get to a point where your body (stomach) and brain get used to eating breakfast and even like it!
I’ve found that for me it is really important to eat a good breakfast when I wake up in the morning. Some days I am hungrier than others, but tuning into my body is also a really important habit that I have trained myself to practice. In order to set myself up for a day of “regular” eating, I like to have a breakfast that has a balance of protein and whole grains. That could be:
• some scrambled eggs with a piece of whole wheat toast
• or if I don’t have time for eggs (which really don’t take that long, I promise!), putting peanut butter and banana on the toast is another favorite.
• If I am not as hungry, I like Greek yogurt with walnuts (protein!) and some fruit or a drizzle of honey.
I like to add a little fruit in there if I can, mainly because I love fruit and also know it’s great for me too! For me the key is finding a good combination of things so breakfast is relatively balanced…and most importantly, delicious. I really do look forward to my little breakfasts, and I think if you get creative, you can find something you like too!
I could go on and on with breakfast ideas (I come from a breakfast-enjoying family…), but I also truly feel that eating breakfast has made a big difference in maintaining healthy habits the rest of the day. It really does set me and my body up for successfully making it through the day eating and feeling like a normal person. Plus, I hate starting off the day with just a caffeine or sugar high, because I just crash so early on or end up eating more later in the day and get sort of thrown out of whack. But when it comes down to it, breakfast needs to be something that works for you! What do you guys think?
Do you notice a difference in your overall eating on days when you do or don’t have breakfast? What do you like to eat in the morning? -Morgan
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I’m a bit of a mess if I don’t eat breakfast. I’m SO much hungrier throughout the day. In fact, yesterday I was so busy that I ran out of the house without anything and just gulped down a measly yogurt while sitting at my desk at 10:30 a.m. For the rest of the day I was famished. And I even started craving Doritos. Which is rare for me! xo…Sunny
I made a commitment to eggs last week and have been having one or two every morning for breakfast. I’ve been trying them in as many different omelet combos, or with cheese and salsa…and it’s unbelievable. I do not get hungry until it’s time to get hungry…like 4 hours or so…you know, the normal time to get hungry. Before when I would have toast and peanut butter or cereal of some sort, I would always find myself ready for more a few hours later. Over the Olympics, the Canadian stations had these little mini bios about the athletes and I was astounded to hear how many of them talked about eggs…(perhaps they were sponsored by eggs…?) Nonetheless, I decided that I would try it. Some mornings, it feels heavy and gross, other mornings it is fine…but I keep chopped veggies and cheese ready to go in the fridge, toss them into the frying pan and 2 minutes later, it’s ready.
I feel like the Ontario Egg Farmers should probably hire me. I sound like an idiot! In spite of that, go eggs!
I am most definitely guilty of skipping breakfast. I usually just have some tea or juice in the morning, I find that when I do have breakfast, I am more hungry during the day as opposed to the times when I skip breakfast, my mom is the same too. She usually just has lunch at noon and dinner, unlike me she’s got a handle on her food intake
Oh, I forgot to say what I like to eat for breakfast, these! http://healthygirl.org/2009/09/27/3-breakfasts-this-healthygirl-loves/
Honestly, once I reached high school and I started getting ready for school on my own, breakfast fell by the wayside. I just don’t like eating that early in the morning, even now when I may not have class until 10 or 11 am. But eating SOMETHING before walking out the door, or taking something with you on the road really makes a huge change in my hunger during the day. Since I don’t usually have time to cook anything, I always stock up on easy, light grab-and-go breakfasts — I really like grabbing a Luna bar or a GoLean Chewy bar, a banana, a Special K protein shake, or something along those lines. Also, I found these great breakfast sandwiches from Jimmy Dean that are frozen and take 2 minutes to cook in the microwave. It’s a honey-wheat english muffin, an egg, a slice of Taylor ham or Canadian bacon (whichever you call it) and a slice of low-fat cheese. It’s totally filling, and I don’t feel the need to scarf down a danish from Starbucks an hour into class. I credit eating breakfast on being the catalyst to my healthier lifestyle!!
This never makes sense to me because I always ate breakfast! However, i used to not eat until I was hungry (10:00am) and then be starving the rest of the day. Now I make sure I eat breakfast first thing in the morning. If i have an early morning I make sure to bring lots of snacks so if I become hungry I can eat something.
This never makes sense to me either too cos I’ve always eaten breakfast, as soon as I get up. I like cottage cheese mixed with yogurt and chopped apple (lots of protien) or oatmeal with protein powder in it. I had 3 scrambled eggs on toast for ages too as well - that seriously sets you up for the day.
I am not a big breakfast person, however, I have been trying! I usually just have a yogurt or an apple… whenever I do eat breakfast, I always feel super hungry before noon… is that normal??