It’s always a good idea to start your morning with a well-balanced, nutritious meal. Having a healthy breakfast will give you the energy you need for the day and boost your brain’s ability to function properly. If weight loss is a fitness goal you want to prioritize, then you definitely want to keep track of what your morning routine is like. Truth be told, there are certain practices you might be doing that can cause you to gain weight quickly. To learn more, we asked board-certified physician nutrition specialist Dr. Melina Jampolis, MD, about the breakfast habits you should avoid at all costs and how these affect your body.
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Eating Highly Processed Foods
Corn flakes, packaged baked goods, frozen breakfast sandwiches, and sugary cereals are all examples of ultra-processed foods you should refrain from eating. According to Dr. Jampolis, "These are foods that are produced from cheap industrial sources of energy (mainly corn, soy, and wheat) and stripped of most nutrients but combined with additives and emulsifiers to make them taste better and last longer."
She adds, "Many of these foods are also designed to increase appetite to promote overconsumption and they wreak havoc on your gut, an important regulator of metabolism." Every time you eat processed foods, you're basically loading your body with lots of sugar, salt, and saturated fat--all key elements that contribute to weight gain.
Drinking Excess Sugar In The Morning
"Whether it's the chai tea, the frappuccino, the store bought breakfast smoothie, or even that large glass of [orange juice], excess sugar in the morning (especially liquid sugar which is digested more quickly) can wreak havoc on your blood sugar all day and cause insulin resistance – a state in which your body does not respond to insulin correctly," says Dr. Jampolis. When insulin resistance happens, your body ends up producing way more insulin to lower your blood sugar level. She notes, "Excess insulin causes weight gain, especially the more dangerous belly fat around your midsection." Yikes!
Eating Processed Red Meat
Let's face it: when it comes to breakfast food, you can never go wrong with bacon, hot dogs, and sausages. These meats can definitely be delicious, but the sad reality is that they can affect your health in a negative way. Aside from increasing your risk of diabetes, heart disease, and certain cancers, Dr. Jampolis warns that eating processed red meat can "cause changes to the gut biome (the bacteria in your gut)" therefore preventing weight loss.
To conclude, Dr. Jampolis wants to clarify that "no food causes instant weight gain unless it is [extremely] high in salt and causes water retention." She explains, "Eating [a balanced breakfast daily] containing protein and/or healthy fat and fiber can help better control [your] appetite and blood sugar all day." (For those who are doing intermittent fasting, she recommends that the best schedule to follow for your eating window is from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.) Dr. Jampolis also advises that even if you don't really get hungry in the morning, it's still ideal to "have a small protein-based breakfast" so you don't end up starving later on and eventually eat more than necessary.
For more tips on nutrition, diet, and fitness from Dr. Jampolis, check out her podcast Practically Healthy by Dr. Melina and her book, Spice Up, Live Long.
