3 Breakfast Mistakes, Finally Start Losing Weight'
Despite eating (what I thought was) a wholesome breakfast every morning, I still wasn't losing any weight. Since many experts say breakfast is key to boosting metabolism, I couldn't understand why I wasn't dropping pounds.
I didn't realize I was actually making three huge breakfast mistakes. And once I changed them, I could see the difference in how my body looked. Here's what I learned:
1. I Stopped Eating Cereal
Cereal was my go-to breakfast from elementary school through college. Although sweet, delicious, and easy, it was the worst breakfast for me. It's full of sugary carbs and not much fiber or protein. And even though I went for the healthier stuff, like Kashi's GoLean Crunch, granola, and Raisin Bran, cereal is still cereal. It's not the most nutritious choice on the menu.
Instead of pouring a bowl every morning, I started focusing on getting 13 to 20 grams of protein, at least six grams of fiber, and 10 to 15 grams of healthy fat at breakfast. That meant ditching the boxes for a blender and sipping on smoothies. I also started making overnight oats because it reminds me of cereal. My favorites are these brownie batter and banana cashew recipes.
2. I Started Listening to My Body
I'm not sure where I heard that you're supposed to eat first thing in the morning and to never skip breakfast, but I followed that advice diligently. I ate within a half-hour of waking up, around 7:30 a.m., even if I wasn't hungry. And 99 percent of the time, I wasn't. I'm convinced that it actually made me hungrier because by 9 a.m., I was starving. That translated to eating two breakfasts and twice the calories. No wonder I wasn't slimming down! Now I wake up, get in a workout, and don't eat until I feel hungry, usually at 9 a.m. or 10 a.m.. Listening to my body's hunger cues has carried through to other parts of my day. I eat when I'm hungry, not when the clock tells me to.
3. I Stopped Eyeballing Portion Sizes
Another huge mistake was that I never measured anything. When I was eating cereal, I grabbed a huge bowl—way bigger than your typical soup or salad bowl — and poured with abandon. I usually mixed three different cereals; added raisins, nuts, and blueberries or a banana. Then I topped it off with Very Vanilla soy milk. Holy calories! My bowl was easily pushing 600—no joke. Same went for oatmeal, yogurt with fruit and granola, toast, or smoothies. When I got out my cups and spoons and measured everything, I ensured that my breakfast stayed around 400 calories. To this day, I still measure everything to avoid accidentally eyeballing higher amounts.