Which of these 10 WORST breakfast items are you eating?

Breakfast, the most important meal of the day can often get ignored due to lack of time and a hurry to get to office or school. If you are on a weight loss diet, you need to be careful of what you eat especially during the first meal as it gives you the most amounts of energy and nutrition. What we may think as healthy could be harming us unknowingly. In order to avoid this, Ekta Tandon, a senior nutritionist counsellor with Fitness First chain of gyms, lists out 10 worst breakfast choices for someone on a weight loss diet.

Fruit loops or chocolate flakes or cornflakes with milk – Many think this is a safe breakfast option as it contains milk but the truth is that the chocolate flakes you eat only add more sugar to your diet and not much nutrition. Having it on a regular basis will only add more weight to your body. Instead of this, you can switch to an all bran cereal or muesli with skimmed milk and a handful of nuts sprinkled on the top. This will give you fibre and provide you with nutrients like vitamin B12, zinc and nuts which will add essential fatty acids apart from other benefits. (Read: Ten food items that hurt your sex life)

Coffee or tea – Having a mug full of these beverages in the morning is good to give you the kick you need to start your day but not for your body especially if you are on a weight loss regimen. Tea and coffee add caffeine and sugar which if had in excess can lead to various medical ailments later on. Instead, make a fruit smoothie with fresh, seasonal fruits which are not only a rich source of vitamins and minerals but are good for your skin as well. The curd in the smoothie is the richest source of lactobacillus which is good bacteria for your gut. If you just cannot do without your morning cuppa, switch to green tea and instead of sugar, add honey in it. 

Salami/sausage/bacon – Sounds yummy? Unfortunately, not all yummy things are good for health. They are processed foods which are high in salt which is bad for your heart as well. Moreover, they contain nitrates which can cause cancer. Stick to having an egg or egg white with multigrain toast. Egg being a rich source of protein is good for muscle building. It also provides various other nutrients like selenium, phosphorus, etc. The toast provides fibre to your body.

Instant oats – Anything which is instant is possibly not that good for your weight loss regimen. These ready-to-eat oats also have refined cornflakes which have little nutritional value and high levels of pesticide residue. But oats otherwise are good for health. Stick to white oats or oatmeal with milk. They may take more time to make but won’t do any harm to your body. Oats are high in fibre, zinc, vitamins and give satiety for a longer period of time. The soluble fibre in oatmeal and oat bran reduces LDL cholesterol levels. (Read: 5 reasons to start eating oats today)

Fried foods – Any fried food is not good for your health but having them first thing in the morning is worse. Foods like bread pakoda, bread roll, puris with aloo simply add extra calories letting your weight loss diet go into a tizzy. Instead, have a stuffed vegetable roti with curd. This is a wholesome breakfast meal which will fuel up your body the right way. (Read: Healthy Indian breakfast ideas)

Doughnuts/muffins/cupcakes – These sweet treats are full of refined, white flour and sugar and are the worst choice to start your day with. It will also result in a rapid rise of blood sugar levels. Chuck these and have a whole wheat sandwich with marmalade or jam. It will keep your blood sugar levels stable with a slow release of energy.

Granola or protein bars – These so-called nutrition bars give you 400 calories per serving. Being high in sugar, they do give you instant energy but not for a long time. It is best to stay away from these. If you crave carbs, have a sweet potato chat which is a better choice. (Read: Can energy bars replace breakfast?)

Preserved fruit juices – They may be touted as good for health but they simply add more sugar to your system. Unlike fresh juices, these lack fibre and do not have much nutrition in them giving you a flavour of your favourite fruit minus the benefits. Instead, have fresh fruits like grapes, apples, berries, etc which are associated with lowering the risk of type 2 diabetes. The skin and pulp of the fruits contain flavonoids and vitamin C.

Instant noodles – How we love them! They hardly take any time to cook and taste good but all you are adding to your body is refined flour. The wax present in them forms a layer in our intestine which takes at least three days to flush out from our system and the noodles too don’t have much health benefits. You can swap this with a vegetable vermicelli or poha. It will provide you with good carbs and the veggies will add fibre making it a complete meal.

Reheated leftovers from last night – Ordered pizza last night and could not finish it? Most of us will have it for breakfast. The problem with this is, they become soggy and the reheating will take out any nutrition left in them. Eating them in the morning is only going to fill your stomach but not give you much energy. Eat anything fresh instead of this. Fruits, sandwich, a roll with a glass of milk will be a better option. (Read: Are you harming your health with reheated food?)

Photo source: Wikimedia Commons

Ekta Tandon is a senior nutritionist counsellor with Fitness First chain of gyms. She has over eight years of experience in consultation and planning nutritional programmes for various age groups and requirements. She holds a post graduate diploma in Dietetics and Public Health & Nutrition. She specialises in providing nutritional guidance for athletes, therapeutic diets for various diseases and has conducted workshops in schools and corporate offices.

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