The Best Breakfast for You
Give your body and brain the fuel they need, whether you work out, don’t have much appetite, or are running out the door in the a.m.
What you eat after rolling out of bed has the power to banish cravings, turbo-charge energy, and keep your waistline in check. Breakfast munchers eat 12 percent healthier throughout the day, according to data from the app Eatery (by Massive Health), which tracks users’ daily chow-down habits. “Skipping breakfast makes you more likely to overindulge at your next meal or eat mid-morning snacks that are high in calories and sugar to ward off hunger until lunch,” says Amari Cheffer, R.D., owner of Eat Chic Chicago.
And if the a.m. is your time to exercise, you especially need to nosh. When you wake up, blood sugar levels and carb stores are way down, explains sports dietitian Michele Macedonio, R.D. Breakfast provides what your brain needs to feel alert and what your muscles need to perform at their best—so you feel zippy on the treadmill instead of fatigued and, well, just blah.
Don’t reach for just any cereal or oatmeal, though. Different morning routines call for different morning meals. Whether you’re trying to drop 10 pounds or rip through an a.m. BodyPump class, one of these eight yummy, satisfying breakfasts will start your day on a high note.
Make muscle-building protein a priority, Macedonio says. Combine 1/4 cup each granola, rolled oats, chopped almonds, and raisins or dried cranberries with low-fat milk. (Feel free to eat half and save the rest for tomorrow, depending on your calorie needs.)
After you leave the gym, aim for another 20 grams of protein, as studies show this is ideal for kick-starting the muscle-repair process. Try 6 ounces of fat-free or low-fat ricotta cheese, a cup of fat-free or low-fat Greek yogurt, or 3 ounces of sliced roast beef or roasted chicken.
