.png)
Should a woman over 40, in her 50s, 60s or beyond change the way she eats breakfast?
There are often so many things to be done each morning as soon as we jump out of bed... Whether you work or not, whether you have kids at home still or not, whether you live on your own or with a partner...
After pulling together everything we need physically and mentally once we are fully awake, clothed and ready for the day we are often already exhausted!
It’s no wonder so many busy women end up skipping breakfast and just grabbing a coffee which is often drunk in the car or on the way to the bus. Ive also been known to be having mine as I walk the dog before I head out for my day... Pooch needs walking !!! But there are many reasons why this habit is bad for our health.
Especially, as we age and head into the time of “The Change”. Learning how to treat and feed our bodies will lessen and prevent those nasty pre-menopausal, menopause and post menopause symptoms (this is the time in our lives as women that I call menoseason) that we seem to just accept as a part of growing older.
Not so! …and this is my mission to share the message!
You’ll be posting loads of engaging content, so be sure to keep your blog organized with Categories that also allow visitors to explore more of what interests them.
BREAKFAST PROVIDES MANY BENEFITS TO OUR HEALTH AND WELLBEING
When you wake up in the morning, your body has had no fuel since your evening meal the night before – possibly this has been anything from 8 - 12 hours – so your body has begun to slow down into or is already in starvation mode.
The Name itself of our first meal of the day is made up of , the words – break & fast.
This is literally the meal that breaks the fast you have been on during your later evening and while sleeping.
We all need the energy to kick-start our system and get our body ready for the day ahead.
According to nutritionists, a healthy breakfast should give you around 30% of your daily calorie requirements. It provides us with energy, protein, calcium, iron, fiber and B vitamins which are all needed to get you through the day. If your body doesn’t receive these nutrients and micro nutrients first thing at the beginning of your day, studies have shown your body is less effective at taking on what you need during the rest of the day.
HOW EATING BREAKFAST MAY HELP YOU LOOSE WEIGHT
If you miss breakfast you are not providing your body with what it needs for the energy it will need to have a productive and healthy day. You will soon get hungry and are more likely to then reach for high sugar, high-fat snacks, to compensate.
People who miss breakfast regularly tend to end up reaching for the snacks around 10 am which doesn’t help if you are trying to lose weight or keep your blood sugar level even.
We are all different in relation to when we actually like to eat in the morning (if you are like me the last thing you want is food as soon as your up!), others really feel hungry first thing.
Ideally research has shown, that breakfast really needs to be eaten between 45 minutes and two hours of waking up. This timing gives you the chance to put the needed fuel into your body to make sure your metabolism is balanced throughout the day. I personally struggle with this as I awake at 5.30 each morning and really do not feel like food till after I have done my Morning routine including my hours walk, shower, hydrate, reading, meditation and plan. This most often means I am not eating till around 8.30 - 9am (I start work at 10am). This is not ideal, however I've gone from someone who never ate before 11am to actually having breakfast everyday so I am working on it Just like you I am leaning new ways to live my life to ensure optimum health and wellness, it is a progress for us all. My issue is I'm just not hungry and there are so many fun things to fill my time rather than eating! I have implemented a alarm system to remind myself to eat. Crazy hey!! a basic human need and because of bad habits that I got into as a working mum I am having to retrain myself to do this.
It is also the premium time for your body to absorb any of the carbohydrates you consume, which helps balance out your insulin levels.
All of these aspects mean breakfast really sets your body up for the day and can help curb those mid-morning sugar cravings.
In a study, it was revealed that people who not only ate breakfast but made it their largest meal, lost almost 18 pounds over a three- month period. The other people, who took part in the study, eating the same calories during the day but most of these for their evening meal, lost only around seven pounds. This study was published in Obesity.
OTHER HEALTH BENEFITS BEYOND WEIGHT LOSS
Brain Function
Studies have proven that children who eat breakfast do better at school as they are better able to concentrate and behave well. If it has this benefit for our children, then it will do the same for us. Breakfast helps to restore the levels of glucose which help with our brain function. This helps to improve memory, concentration and mood and also lowers stress levels – all symptoms that we see lessen as our hormones change as we enter menopause. We all know that feeling of anger that rises up through being hungry – aka hangry!
This is due to low blood sugar and breakfast can help us avoid this.
Energy Levels
Breakfast is the first supply of energy your body receives when you wake up, making it part of your daily required calorie intake. A good nutritious breakfast will give you all the energy you need to take you through to lunchtime and should be around 4 - 500 calories as a general rule. If you think about the energy you burn, you need the most in the morning and you need the least in the evening when you are more likely to be on the sofa relaxing. Make breakfast your energy priority.
Diabetes
In the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, a published study revealed that not eating breakfast could actually increase the risk of diabetes for women. The study showed that women who did eat breakfast between 0-6 times a week were at far higher risk of developing the disease than those who ate it daily.
Heart Disease: Eating breakfast was associated with a lower incidence of heart disease in men between ages 45 and 82, according to a July study in the journal Circulation. The study also found that skipping breakfast was associated with hypertension, insulin resistance and elevated blood sugar levels. So girls this new habit of having breakfast will help your men folk also, so while helping yourselves you will be supporting them.
Memory: A 2005 Journal of the American Dietetic Association review of 47 breakfast-related studies found that eating breakfast is likely to improve cognitive function related to memory and test grades. Translation: Eating breakfast is a smart move!
FAB IDEAS FOR QUICK AND NUTRITIOUS BREAKFASTS FOR WOMEN
So it’s all very well telling you as a busy woman, why you should eat breakfast, and why it’s good for you, but realistically you probably knew most of those things already and yet, you were still skipping? Knowing you need to eat breakfast, doesn’t mean you suddenly gain time in the morning to start preparing and making amazing morning meals does it? That’s why we have come up with some tips for tasty breakfasts that are super quick to make.
Boiled Egg and Fruit
Having some boiled eggs handy in the fridge to grab on your way to breakfast, they are jam-packed with protein, B-vitamins and energy. Pair boiled eggs with a handful of grapes , a few fresh spinach leaves, slice whole-wheat toast 1 sliced tomato, a banana, pear or apple and you’ve got a balanced breakfast.
A filling breakfast full of goodness and simple, and quick to prepare if the eggs are boiled the evening before and in fridge ready for you. Smash the egg onto the toast rather than slice and you will not feel the need to butter the toast first. A little seasoning to taste and Voila your tasty breakfast is ready.
If like me you are plant based replace the egg with 1/2 an avocado (161 cal for 1/2 a medium one)
There are no lack of healthy smoothie recipes out there. All you need is a blender, throw in some fruit, protein powder (or chia, nuts, seeds) add some dairy-free mylk or Greek yoghurt and you are set. Grab a straw and you’ve got breakfast ready to take with you instead of stopping to grab the coffee on your way to work. If you prefer a less creamy smoothie use water and mylk mix.
Need some super easy smoothie recipes? let me know and I'll send you some from my up and coming recipe book.
I'd love you to trial and review them for me, prior to publishing in March 2022
Overnight Oats
Before bed, grab a jar / large glass, place 1/2 cup oats ( if you cannot eat Oats, then Quinoa flakes go nicely in this dish also), 1/2 cup dairy-free milk, add in a few nuts, seeds, dried (be careful with these those as they can be high in sugar) or cut up fresh fruit, Berries are great here, Banana is best sliced and added in the morning as it tends to go brown if left, some cinnamon, ground ginger, pinch turmeric & black pepper, or pumpkin spice.
I often add Cacao nibs or ground 100% Cacao as I'm a bit of a chocolate fiend...
Are you a Porridge girl?
I have to admit I'm not, but I know many who are and the idea of having to turn on the stove top and stand stirring so it doesn't burn does not bode well with a woman wanting to just get on with her day. So easier to skip breakfast and grab and go a coffee and Croissant right! No! not right, so if you love a porridge, come on try this instead....
An Energy Bar and Chia Pot will have you wanting more!
The combination of a little Chia Pot (made the night before) and energy bar creates a balanced breakfast, providing fiber, protein, calcium and vitamins.
What can be quicker than just grabbing a pot and a bar and eating them straight away? Just doing this could make a big difference to your health.
for the Chia pot - in a glass / Jar put 1/2 cup plant based (coconut is lovely here) or Greek yoghurt and a heaped tablespoon of Chia seeds, mix well. add sliced fruit, berries, ground linseeds, spices if you fancy and a drizzle of maple if you like it sweet.
Place in the fridge (will last up to 3 days in fridge, so make a few days worth at a
time to save time)
for the energy bar - The 5-Ingredient (No-Bake) breakfast energy bar - 1 bowl, no bake....
The base for these bars is dates – the natural sweetener with super power. High Fibre,
sweet without sugar.
Place Dates in a food processor / blender and blend till a paste like consistency.
Dates contain a small amount of vitamin C, vitamins B(1) thiamine, B(2) riboflavin, nicotinic acid (niacin) and vitamin A. The dietary fibre of 14 varieties of dates has been shown to be as high as 6.4-11.5% depending on variety and degree of ripeness.
2. Warm the maple and nut butter and mix together
3. Then mix the oats and almonds and chop
4. Add almonds & oats, peanut butter & maple syrup (or honey or agave) and mix
it all together!
5. Turn the mixture out into a bar tray / cake pan and spread evenly over the base to
form a thickness of approx. 1cm thick at least.
6. Place a sheet of greaseproof paper over the top of the mix and press down tightly to
bind all ingredients together to form a large block.
7. Freeze till hard
8. remove from freezer and using a sharp knife cut block into small bars.
9. eat fresh or keep in freezer and take out 5 minutes before eating to allow to soften
just a little.
ENJOY!
Quantities are personal to how you like the balance and the number of bars your making.
That’s it. Just 5 ingredients, no baking involved (unless you want to toast the oats and almonds) and they’ll keep in the freezer for-ever (that is, if you can resist them for that long).
Sometimes I do make it 6 ingredients by adding 100% raw Cacao chips or nibs to satisfy my Chocolate monster fix!..
Substitutions
If you don't like peanut butter simply swap in almond, sunflower or another nut/seed butter.
To keep these vegan, I stick with maple syrup or agave instead of honey, but my hubby loves the honey ones.
To keep them gluten-free, use GF oats. Add dried cranberries if you fancy for a tart twist.
Simple, customisable, delicious!
Simple flavors, wholesome ingredients, salty-sweet and lots of crunch. I made a batch last week and am already down to one-quarter of ONE bar. How I exercised the self control to save one quarter of a bar is beyond me. But by tomorrow it likely won’t be there, if I know myself at all.
These really are the perfect bar for a hearty snack also because they keep you full for hours and don’t provide a sugar overload.
Plus, they pack in plenty of healthy fats from the almonds and peanut butter, and lots of fiber from the oats and dates. Breakfast, afternoon and mid-morning snack, solved.
For many women, a busy lifestyle means rushing in the morning and skipping breakfast is a common but bad habit to get into. Breakfast can make a big difference to our health and weight, reaping the benefits for us and there are many options which are quick and easy to make, from smoothies to energy bars, from cereal to scrambled eggs, so no more excuses ladies! Lets do this together and enjoy this our Empty Nest season.
Join my 30 day Selfcare Challenge this December for FREE and lets get 2022 of to a fantastic start together
Jump on this link to sign up and I'll send you everything you need via email, I hope to meet you very soon.
References:
http://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/most-important-meal#1 http://www.livescience.com/39598-reasons-never-skip-breakfast.html
Yorumlar