The Break of Fast: a time when you arise from your slumber and perform the cooking ritual to banish the growling hunger. Breakfast can be imagined with cereal, fluffy pancakes, syrupy waffles, buttered toast, a bagel with cream cheese, or leftover pizza if you didn’t feel like cooking. All of that sounds appealing to satisfy your hunger, but will all of those foods satisfy your gut? Your gut took a long nap too, and needs something to kick-start it right for you to take on the day. For that, you gotta know what foods you should avoid for your first meal of the day.
Sugar-Packed Foods and Drinks
FREEZE! Drop all of those breakfast pastries, cereals, breakfast bars, and energy drinks. It sucks to drop a daily routine, and it’s okay to treat yourself once in a while, but added sugars are not a healthy breakfast. Having these consumables as everyday meals can lead to a variety of health issues, such as diabetes and heart disease. It’s nice to have that burst of energy from your favorite energy drink, but that energy will vanish as quickly as it arrived, and you will feel the crash.
Muffins and Waffles, and Pancakes! Oh My!
I know! It’s horrible to see more breakfast icons being targeted, but these foods give you little to work with. You will feel full, but not for an extended period. Processed flours, oils, saturated fats, and sugar can be found in muffins, granola bars, toast, pancakes, waffles, and most bread-based foods. All of them lack protein and the necessary fiber your gut needs to fuel the machine.
Processed Meats and Fried Foods
A bacon, egg, and cheese biscuit from your favorite café joint sounds good, but that has to be bounced as well. Pre-made meals and bottled to-go drinks are convenient for our hectic schedules. Processed meats – bacon, sausage, cold cuts – are high in salt and additives, and fast food is stuffed with high calories and grease that can make your body feel the ick. There could be protein and fiber in pre-made foods, but at the cost of consuming unnecessary tagalongs.
Balance and Moderation Are Key
Bashing all of our usual breakfast meals is annoying, and I’m sure we all have heard the same thing over and over again. Here’s the thing: you have full control over how you want to go about keeping your gut running. It is hard to change a routine, but you can’t be you when your gut can’t be your gut. Exchange that butter for peanut butter for your toast; switch that energy drink with a homemade fruit-veggie smoothie; or trade that biscuit sandwich for a whole grain bagel with salmon and veggies.
Don’t forbid yourself from enjoying what you love to eat and drink. You can have a bowl of cereal, a muffin, or an iced vanilla latte as long as you fill in the gaps those items lack. Keep an eye on your sugars, calories, and portion sizes. Make sure to have plenty of water when you need it. You and your gut are in this for the long haul.
