Eat Your Breakfast!

Breakfast really is the most important meal of the day.  It sets the tone.  It gives you fuel to get out the door.  It also requires that you sit down and breath.  Eating a healthy breakfast allows you to work through the morning with out obsessing over your hunger.  It allows you to work without falling into the trap of eating something full of fat and empty calories just so that you don't "starve".  It also allows you to indulge sensibly if someone happens to show up at work with donuts or some other tasty treat.

I am a huge proponent of cereal.  Not just any cereal.  Cereal that is high in fiber, low in sugar and made with whole grains are the only cereal I recommend for breakfast.  I eat cereal everyday.  Even if I'm going to go out for breakfast (maybe 2 or 3 times a year)  I still eat my cereal first.  This is very important!  I really think this is a key ingredient to my health and my size. Even if you don't usually eat breakfast, I strongly encourage you to do this.  Try it for at least 2 weeks before you make any judgements. Even if you aren't hungry, eat your breakfast.  It doesn't have to be a huge bowlful.  Just a reasonable amount.  
It's important that the cereal you choose is high in fiber.  My favorite is All Bran Bran Buds.  It contains 13 grams of fiber per serving.  That's alot.  The latest recommendations for daily fiber intake are around 35g.  Most Americans don't even come close to that.  It's super easy to get a big dose in the morning with your cereal.  A big plus to eating a high fiber breakfast is regular BM's.  I know that's not too nice to talk about, but come on, we all do it.  Fiber helps keep your digestion moving at a good pace.  We don't want to just look good, we want to feel good too.  Check out
http://www.generalmills.com/Responsibility/health_and_wellness/Benefits_of_cereal/Cereal_and_breakfast.aspx
for some good cereal propaganda.  There's a pdf link in the upper right hand corner with even more good info in it.

Here's how I do it:  I pour a serving of the Bran Buds. OK, now this is not the best tasting cereal on it's own.  So I add to it some Cheerios.  Not honey nut or anything fancy, just the plain ones.  (You can have the fancy stuff for a bedtime snack).  Then I top it with banana slices (1/2 a banana) and a handful of raisins.  The result is that I get whole grains, tons of fiber and a serving of fruit. All of that and it's not even 8 in the morning.  This is a pretty filling breakfast.  I use 2% milk, so the fat, along with the fiber and protein keep me going all morning.  If you are trying to lose weight, you probably want to switch to skim or 1% milk until you reach your goal. 

Read the labels on your cereal box.  Nothing less that 5 grams of fiber is advisable.  My husband, who is very fit and healthy, chooses Grape nuts (7g).  That's a good one but it's really not enough fiber for me.  If you choose a cereal that is a little short on fiber just sprinkle a couple of spoonfuls of milled flax seed (available near the flour in your grocery store) on it to boost your fiber and protein content. If you really like Oat Meal, that's fine just don't add a bunch of butter and cream to it.  Sweeten with local honey if you need to sweeten.  And certainly do not eat the fruity instant stuff.  Don't forget to add your flax seed!  Oat meal on it's own does not have enough fiber.  Also, add a handful of raisins, or berries (frozen is fine) to it.  It will be more satisfying and you'll get the serving of fruit as well.
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/flaxseed/AN01258 This is a good article on milled flax seed.

Bottom Line:  Eat your (High fiber cereal) breakfast to demonstrate to yourself how important you are. Also, achieving a great body starts first thing in the morning!