Eat breakfast like a king: When is the right time to 'break your fast'?

You must have heard, read or been lectured numerous times about how breakfast is the most important meal of the day.

Skipping it means having an adverse effect on your weight.

Breakfast provides the body and brain with fuel after an overnight fast - that's where its name originates - breaking the fast.

It enhances memory, attention, reasoning, creativity, improves mood and lowers stress levels

With a busy and hectic schedule, it always feels very difficult to find time to have a proper sleep, eat balanced meals, and exercise. This is contributing to a non-healthy lifestyle, and although we know that what we are doing it wrong, we always find the excuse of 'I DON'T HAVE TIME'.

We tend to forget to eat our breakfast, or even be lazy to prepare it in the morning.

Thus we reach work, grab our cup of coffee and start feeling hungry around 10-11 a.m. This is not the right way to do it!

Dubai based dietician Reem Abdallah says, "Breakfast is the most important meal of our day, and I believe that this is not the first time that most of you hear this. So think about your health and take few minutes in the morning to have something quick that will help you later during the day."

Reasons to have breakfast in the morning:

1- It provides the body with fuel and energy in the morning after an overnight fast and that's why it is called BREAK-FAST! So running on an empty stomach, is like trying to move a car without petrol.

2- It enhances memory, attention, reasoning, creativity, improves mood and lowers stress levels.

3- It lowers the risk of diabetes as it helps you to avoid the fluctuating levels of blood glucose.

4- It helps you control your weight as it kick starts your metabolism, controls the hunger hormones and prevents you from over eating during the day.

5- It protects your heart as it helps in controlling weight related diseases such as diabetes, hypertension and cholesterol that can lead to heart problems.

The best time to have your breakfast is within one hour of waking up; this will ensure that your blood sugar levels will be stable.

If you wait too long, you would likely choose high fat and high calorie breakfast options to curb your hunger.

Always make sure to have 25 per cent of your daily calories for breakfast

Some quick healthy breakfast ideas:

1- Whole grain cereals/muesli with low fat milk

2- Low fat fruit yogurt with some nuts on top

3- Peanut butter sandwich on whole wheat toast

4- A quick smoothie of fruits or vegetables with low fat milk or yogurt

Few Tips:

#Eating whatever you want cannot help you escape from those extra calories.

#Have a glass of lukewarm water, first thing in the morning. It helps to keep you hydrated, aids digestion, cures gastric ailments and gives you a feeling of fullness.

#Try and eat a healthy breakfast like green tea with a lemon wedge, oats with half a banana/ an egg preparation with an orange and whole wheat toast.

#Eat a fist full of nuts, a bowl of cereal and a whole fruit.

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