We’ve all heard it before. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. This meal will set the tone for the rest of your day, so you want to do it right. Would you be surprised to hear that you have most likely been doing it wrong all along?
That’s right – the types of food you most likely think of when you think of breakfast are probably the last things you want to eat for breakfast. You need food rich in vitamins to get your day started right, not food that is going to weigh you down.
Sure, you’re starving in the morning. It’s natural to want to go for that quick refill, but while this food might fill you up, it most certainly does not charge you and get you ready to take on the day. So here are twelve foods you’ll want to think twice about when you wake up in the morning.
Twelve Foods Not to Eat for Breakfast
1. Pancakes, waffles, and French toast – Say it ain’t so. Who doesn’t love a big, syrupy pancake breakfast in the morning? Your body, that’s who. Pancakes, waffles, and French toast are not good to have first thing in the morning. All of those carbs and sugar are not the way you want to get your day going.
2. Pastries – Donuts, Danishes and other pastries are not your best friend in the morning. Lots of sugar but little fiber makes for a rapid rise in blood sugar. This is not the way you want to start your day because it won’t be long before you have a sugar crash.
3. Bagels – What, now we can’t even have a bagel and a schmear in the morning? What is this world coming to? Like the other pastries, bagels will give you that great big high, but a very quick low. Before long you’ll be hungry for more, but you’ll also be bloated and possibly even constipated. So just skip the bagel.
4. Breakfast smoothies – Okay, not all breakfast smoothies are created equal. There are some that are a good choice, but you want to stay away from processed ingredients. Breakfast smoothies created with fruit juices, ice cream, chocolate syrups and powders, agave nectar, protein powders, or non-organic peanut butter are not doing you any favors. You need a breakfast smoothie that is going to be rich in nutrients with ingredients like fresh fruits and vegetables, chia seeds, and coconut milk.
5. Boxed cereals – And we always thought that if you ate your Wheaties every morning you would become an Olympic athlete. The problem with most boxed cereals is they are loaded with sugar and artificial flavoring. Cereals like Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Fruit Loops, Lucky Charms, and Honey Nut Cheerios have lots of ingredients listed that just aren’t good for you. If you stick with the organic cereals and ones with a few ingredients (without sugar at the top of the list), then you’re fine.
6. Bacon and Eggs, or Sausage and Eggs – This protein-filled breakfast has been a go-to for people for many years. But it is high in saturated fat, cholesterol, and animal protein, which do nothing good for your digestive system. It will just leave you feeling slow and moody in the morning, which is not how you want to start your day.
7. Muffins – AKA mini cakes. Usually packed with artificial sweeteners and processed ingredients, these yummy foods will cause a spike in your blood sugar like many of its other pastry-like counterparts. If you can’t do without your muffin then make your own out of gluten free flour, and use applesauce instead of oil and bananas to sweeten them.
8. Granola bars – Another food that unless you make it yourself you probably want to avoid. Store-bought granola bars might seem healthy, but they are often filled with fats and unhealthy sugars.
9. Yogurt – The dairy in yogurt is not a good way to start your day. It triggers the release of mucus from your body which can result in a phlegmy cough and runny nose. This is another example of a time when making your own is best. Making a yogurt out of coconut or almond milk will be a much better alternative.
10. Breakfast sandwiches – This goes back to the protein-packed bacon and eggs. Same idea here. They don’t have fiber and nutrients, and are very high in fat, sodium, and sugar.
11. Toast – There just are not enough nutrients to make this a good breakfast food and way to start your day. If you truly cannot do without toast, then opt for a gluten free option for your bread.
12. Instant Oatmeal – This highly processed version of oatmeal is packed with added sugar and flavoring and almost no fiber to get your day started right. Opt for rolled oats or steel cut oats the next time you want oatmeal for breakfast.
Stay away from these breakfast options in the morning and you are sure to have a much brighter start to your day every morning.