They say breakfast is the most important meal of the day for a reason because it sets the pace for the rest of the day, helping kickstart metabolism, determining whether one would be energetic or sluggish for the rest of the day. Everyone is in a rush mode in the mornings and the easiest way to satisfy that growling stomach is to apply a thick layer of sweetened, high-calorie chocolate spread on an equally unhealthy white bread or combining a healthy ingredient like milk with a nutrient-devoid packaged cereal. However, starting your day with unhealthy options such as these will not only upset your weight loss goals, they might be the reason why your weight is creeping upwards.The right kind of breakfast revs up metabolism, helping burn more calories through the day, blood sugar stable, and curb frequent hunger pangs. That’s why, we at Rati Beauty, place great importance on the type of meal you choose to begin with so that you can continue burning good amount of calories throughout the day. By breakfast, we are referring to the first meal of the day, irrespective at what time you decide to pick the spoon and fork. And in this post, we are listing down 7 breakfast mistakes that can lead to weight gain and why you should rectify them asap.
1. Having Sugary Treats in the Morning: Yes, we are also talking about the quintessential breakfast item popular all over the world – bread and jam here. Having a sugar-rich breakfast, though is an easy way to get a quick boost of energy, it creates a sharp insulin spike followed by a subsequent crash, making you sluggish and tired within a few hours, craving for more of such treats, and triggering frequent hunger pangs – all of which would lead to weight gain. Check out the Rati Beauty weight loss diets for healthy breakfast options to start your day with. If you have to eat something sweet, replace processed sugar with natural sweeteners such as raw honey or stevia.
2. No Protein Source on the Breakfast Menu: Starting your day with a protein-rich breakfast keeps you full for most part of the day, keeps hunger hormone “ghrelin” in check, helps burn more calories with its thermogenic properties, and curbs frequent hunger pangs. If you do not have a protein source on your breakfast plate, bring back the eggs, paneer, poha, oats, dalia to get enough protein in the meal.
3. Not Practicing Portion Control: You have to absolutely practice portion control with every meal, even with breakfast. Here are some “10 Tips to Portion Control Food for Weight Loss” that you could follow.
4. Lack of Fiber Source: Fiber is a nutrient that does not get its due space in breakfast meals. Fiber regulates blood sugar levels, keeps hunger in check, curbs appetite, and keeps you full through most part of the day, just like protein. Fiber is important to maintain a healthy gut flora, which is essential to lose weight.
5. Replacing Butter with Margarine: Have you been using margarine instead of butter to spread over your brown bread? No, margarine is not a healthy option when compared to plain butter! Some margarine options available in the market are whipped up from vegetable oils and may have transfat content that is linked to increase in belly fat. Though butter also has saturated fats, it’s a dairy product, and does not undergo heavy processing like margarine. So, stick to naturally-extracted butter and practice moderation with it too.
6. Starting the Day with Processed Food: Heavily processed foods contain high sodium, sugar, unhealthy fats, and transfat – all of which raise inflammation in the body, making it extremely difficult to shed extra weight. That’s why, do make a conscious effort to avoid all forms of processed food (including packaged cereal boxes), chocolate spreads, jams, cupcakes for breakfast. Also, you would have to think twice before thinking about grabbing a bite at your favorite fast food joint now because most of the items there can be categorized as processed.
7. There’s Refined Carbs Too: A breakfast rich in refined carbs causes sharp insulin spikes, increase cravings for unhealthy food, and supply the body with nutrient-devoid empty calories, and it might be one of the reasons behind your weight gain. A refined carb free diet would in fact decrease the level of hunger hormone ghrelin.
So, start your day with complex carbs, protein, and adequate fiber, and do not forget, healthy fats. You would find the correct combination of these nutrients on the Rati Beauty weight loss diets on the Rati Beauty app.
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