By The SHAPE Team

SIX GOOD BREAKFASTS

1. Kellogg's All-Bran Buds cereal with skim milk, a pear & orange juice:
   This cereal has the most fibre per serving of any on the market - and believe me, I've checked around! Add a pear to this breakfast and you have 16 grams of fibre; this is already more than half your requirement and the day is just getting started.
2. Instant Quaker oatmeal (add 4 tablespoons of wheat bran & 2 tablespoons oat bran) with skim milk to drink:
   Buying a box wheat bran and oat bran is a good idea because you can throw them into all kinds of things to boost their fibre content. By following this suggestion, you turn a modest 3 gram of fibre cereal into an 11 gram of fibre all-star! It's also important to add both types of bran in the suggested ratio. Wheat bran is good for the digestive process while oat bran has been shown to have protective effects for the heart.
3. Whole wheat English muffin egg white sandwich with tea:
   Poach the egg and remove the yolk. The remainder fits deliciously inside an English muffin. Eggs are widely acknowledged as the world's highest quality protein source.
4. Two slices of whole wheat toast with unsweetened jam &skim milk:
This breakfast provides a good mix of complex carbohydrates (whole wheat bread) and high quality protein (skim milk). And by choosing a spread like unsweetened jam instead of butter, you are saving yourself around 80 Calories (per tablespoon).
5. Egg white omelette with low fat cheese:
   Use Pam instead of butter to moisten the pan. Pour a 250 gram container of egg whites into the pan (approximately 25 grams of protein, 0 fat). Place one slice of cheese in the omelette (5 grams of protein) once cooked, can also add fresh vegetables if desired.
6. Low fat chocolate chip or blueberry pancakes:
   Use Pam instead of butter to moisten the pan. Stir one 1 cup whole wheat pancake mix with ¾ of skim milk or water and a 250 gram container of egg whites in a bowl. Add 1/2 cup of fat free chocolate chips or fresh blueberries.

FIVE BAD BREAKFASTS

1. Coffee & a muffin:
   Consider most muffins nothing more than sugar, fat and empty Calories. For example, a chocolate chip muffin from a typical coffee shop has over 400 Calories. This number quickly gets higher if you do things like add cream and sugar to the coffee or butter to the muffin.
2. Two slices of buttered white toast with orange juice:
   Although less obvious, this breakfast, like the muffin, offers little more than sugar, fat and empty Calories. Butter is one of the easiest ways to pack on fat and Calories - every tablespoon you use has an artery-clogging 12 grams of fat! And the carbohydrates from the white bread and orange juice are among those that are absorbed the fastest, leading to rapid peaks and valleys in blood sugar.
3. Sesame seed bagel with tea:
   Would you believe many bagels have almost as many Calories as muffins? And that's just the bagel alone! Most people add butter or cream cheese to their bagel which can easily add another 100 Calories or more. Bagels like sesame seed and other non-whole grain varieties are the worst of all because they are lower in fibre and have less vitamins and minerals than their whole grain counter parts.
4. Fruit Loops cereal with 2% milk & a cup of apple juice:
   Do you think it's a good idea to sit down and eat 60 grams of sugar? That's basically what you're doing if you eat this breakfast! Additionally, it provides very few important vitamins and minerals and less than one gram of fibre. And using 2% milk when you could use skim means you're getting an extra 5 grams of fat (per cup) that you probably don't need.
5. NO BREAKFAST!
   This is NO myth! Scientific studies have shown that people who eat a proper breakfast generally have higher alertness, less stress, better memory, more balanced Calorie intake throughout the day (leading to better weight management) and more complete daily vitamin and mineral consumption than people who skip breakfast. Aren't those good enough reasons to wake-up 15 minutes earlier?!

DISCLAIMER
The information on www.shapehealthandwellness.com is for educational purposes only. It is not medical advice and is not intended to replace the advice or attention of health-care professionals. Please consult your physician or book a consultation with SHAPE before changing your diet or exercise program, for diagnosis and treatment of illnesses and/or injuries, for advice regarding medications, and prior to making use of any of the information within our website, articles or newsletters.