UPMC Nutrition Services, Bring Back Breakfast, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA

Bring Back Breakfast

Choose the best breakfast:

A.	leftover cold cheese pizza and orange juice
B.	peanut butter and banana sandwich and milk
C.	cold cereal with raisins and soy milk
D.	shake made with frozen fruit, milk, juice, and wheat germ
E.	Poptarts, a hard-boiled egg, and vegetable juice

If you chose A, B, C, D, or E, then you're correct! The best breakfast is the one that you'll eat regularly (and is relatively well balanced).

The neglected meal
Gone are the days when it was unthinkable to start the day without a good hearty breakfast. Now, people have more excuses than you can shake a spatula at for why they can't or don't eat a morning meal. Do any of these sound familiar?:

I don't have time.
I'm not hungry in the morning.
I'm trying to lose weight.
I don't like breakfast foods.
When I eat breakfast, I'm more hungry mid-morning.

The case for breakfast
We've all heard it—breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Here are some reasons why:

Breakfast is the time to refuel. After fasting for the eight to 12 hours after dinner and during sleep, your body needs to replenish its energy supply. The brain is especially in need of a fill-up, because it has no place to store its main energy source: glucose, which comes from the foods we eat. Muscles also rely on glucose for a portion of their energy.
Eating breakfast is associated with better attitudes about work and school. People who pass on a morning meal are often tired, irritable, or restless in the morning. And kids who skip breakfast tend to be tardy or absent from school more often than those who eat breakfast regularly.
Eating breakfast is associated with greater productivity in the late morning. Kids who eat a morning meal perform better in school than those who don't. This is because morning hunger interferes with concentration, problem solving, and muscle coordination.
Eating breakfast regularly is associated with maintaining a healthful weight. According to the American Dietetic Association, kids who eat breakfast are less likely to be overweight.
Breakfast can add to the healthfulness of your diet. For example, research has found that people who eat breakfast regularly have higher total intakes of the following:

vitamin C
calcium
thiamin
riboflavin
iron
fiber

No more excuses
Now it's time to let go of those excuses.

I don't have time.
	A little planning may help. Have quick foods on hand:
		dry cereal; have a variety of types for mixing single-serving containers of yogurt English muffins or whole-wheat bread or bagels fresh, canned, or dried fruit instant oatmeal
	Spend time on the weekend or a week night preparing easy-to-grab foods for the week:
		Make your own muffins, breads, or granola. Hard-boil several eggs. Make pancake batter and keep it in the fridge; in the morning, ladle some on the griddle and top with fresh fruit. The night before, whirl together a breakfast shake-milk/yogurt, fruit, ice, and wheat germ-and store in the fridge.
	Pack foods that you can eat on the commute or at your desk:
		a bag of dry cereal or trail mix cereal bar, granola bar, or low-fat Poptarts can of vegetable juice
I'm not hungry in the morning.
	Eat something small, such as toast, juice, or an egg, at breakfast time. Bring along a snack for when you are hungry mid-morning.
I'm trying to lose weight
	Several studies have found that people who eat breakfast tend to weigh less and be more successful at losing weight than those who do not eat breakfast. Skipping breakfast sets you up to be ravenously hungry later in the day, which can lead to overeating. Of course, you still need to make healthy choices. Be aware of portion sizes. For example, many bagel-shop bagels and muffins are much higher in calories than you think. Also, stay away from some of the traditional, fatty breakfast foods, including:
		bacon breakfast sausage hash browns biscuits with gravy doughnuts and pastries foods with lots of cheese
I don't like breakfast foods
	Anything can be a breakfast food:
		last night's leftovers and a piece of fruit grilled cheese and tomato sandwich English muffin with peanut butter and banana cheese, crackers, and fruit tomato soup and crackers pizza, hot or cold, with orange juice pita stuffed with low-fat cheese and salsa cottage cheese with fresh or canned fruit smoked salmon and cream cheese on a bagel baked potato with cottage cheese or salsa
When I eat breakfast, I'm more hungry mid-morning
	Hunger pangs are a healthy, normal signal from your body. Bring along a snack for these times or try eating a little more protein or fat with breakfast to keep you satiated longer.