Healthy Breakfast Tips

Good Morning, Friends!  I ended up talking to two fairly random people about food and dieting yesterday and thought maybe I should begin blogging about such things again.  :)

I've referenced MyFitnessPal and their blog several times before, but one article really sticks in my mind for breakfast tips.  I remember reading this article shortly before I began eating healthier and it shaped the way I planned my meals over the last year and a half.  I was surprised to read that I wasn't eating enough and needed to eat more for breakfast.  Instead of trying to stay between 100 and 200 calories, I now aim for 300-400.  It sounds strange, but you really won't lose weight well if you eat too little.  I find my weight loss is at it's best when I eat right at 1200 calories/day, not much more or much less. 

This is the number that works best for me, but is not necessarily the number that works for you, be sure to consult calorie calculators like this one or this one or this one to find appropriate, healthy calorie ranges.  I like to consult at least three different calculators and average the results to find a number to stick to.  Your weight loss will be the best when you're eating just the right amount for your body.  You have to consider your activity level, starting weight, and how much you want to lose weekly.  Please do it the healthy way.  :)

Here's what I ate for breakfast today, which is a fairly regular breakfast for me.  I was under the 25-30% mark, so not long after I finished I ate a couple mandarin oranges to get my breakfast calorie total up.  I wholeheartedly believe (from experience) that one of the keys to healthy, safe weight loss is not skipping meals.  Eat every few hours to keep your metabolism going throughout the day.  Long periods without actually slow your metabolism which isn't going to help you in the long or short term.  Once again, do it the healthy way.

Breakfast:
Egg x 2 - 140 cal
Toast - 45 cal
Butter - 30 cal
Coffee - 5 cal
Creamer - 30 cal
Stevia - 0 cal

Total - 250 cal
Again, I added a couple mandarin oranges to get up to 310 cal for breakfast.  Surprisingly, I feel stuffed!  That will help me make it to lunch and not snack between now and then (when I get in trouble and forget to make healthy choices).

What did you have for breakfast this morning?  Was it 25-30% of your daily caloric needs?  Take some time today to try the caloric calculators and determine exactly how many calories are going to help you optimize your weight loss.  Try hitting that number exactly for a week and see how your weight loss goes.  :)  Happy Wednesday!