4 Simple Breakfast Rules for Shedding Pounds
It’s all about timing and balance, according to Dr. Kathleen DesMaisons, author of Potatoes, Not Prozac.
One, Two, Three, Four . . .
Here are DesMaisons’s four simple rules for using breakfast to counterbalance the biochemical mechanisms behind sugar cravings, obesity, and depression.
1. Do it daily. Your goal is to make it a daily, automatic habit. The reward? You can kiss late-day low blood sugar and sugary snack cravings goodbye — permanently.
2. Do it sooner rather than later. For the best results, eat breakfast within an hour or so of waking up — even if you’re not hungry. Morning-time low blood sugar produces a brain chemical designed to mask hunger pangs — but can cause sugar cravings later in the day.
3. Make it complex. We’re talking complex carbohydrates here (whole-grain cereals, steel-cut oats, high-fiber fruits, etc.) The fiber keeps blood sugar on an even keel and helps you feel full longer.
4. Power it with protein. Protein slows digestion, helps prevent spikes and dips in blood sugar, and can even give you a dose of depression-fighting tryptophan. DesMaisons recommends that you get a third of your daily protein at breakfast.
It’s true: breakfast really is the most important meal of the day. A nutritious, well-balanced morning meal not only sustains your energy levels better than endless cups of coffee, but it also can help:
• Boost weight loss efforts. Research shows that breakfast eaters are more successful at losing weight and maintaining that weight loss compared to breakfast skippers.
• Sharpen your mind. People who consume a high-fiber breakfast stay more alert than those who start their day with a high-fat meal, according to research.
• Protect your cardiovascular system. A study revealed that people who consumed whole-grain cereals rather than refined cereals had a lower risk of heart disease.
• Strengthen your immune system. The right breakfast choices help you start your day with immune-boosting vitamins and minerals.
Browse Encouraging Health. 
August 11th, 2008 at 7:19 pm
[...] continues at Brick ONeil brought to you by diabetes.medtrials.info and [...]
August 14th, 2008 at 9:20 am
This is a great post and it is ageless. It works and once you get into the groove, you won’t feel like its work. It’s really easier than you think. I know I have been doing it along with an exercise program.
August 14th, 2008 at 9:39 am
Thx Nancy! Appreciate your readership and comment. I’m looking forward to trying these out as well.