Has skipping breakfast become a part of your daily routine? Some days those few extra minutes of sleep
seems essential, but in general, making a little extra effort to get to the
dining hall or prepare breakfast on your own is well worth it. A balanced morning meal can have a positive
effect not only on weight control and a healthy diet, but may also help with
academic performance.
Weight control:
It sounds kind of illogical that skipping a meal could actually lead to
weight gain, but there are several reasons
as to why this can happen. Overnight,
blood glucose (blood sugar) levels in the body decline. If these levels aren’t replenished, mid-day irritability
and extreme hunger can result. By the time you do get around to eating, it’s
possible you’ll be so hungry that you won’t consider making the best choices,
and will end up overeating or going for a “quick fix” item like candy, which
can ruin a healthy eating plan. By
eating in the morning, you’ll stave off that urge to overindulge with a less healthy
option later in the day. Studies have also
shown that regular breakfast eaters are more likely to exercise on a regular
basis, and that women who eat breakfast tend to eat few calories overall during
the day.
Memory and concentration:
A recent study found that fasting in the morning adversely affected the
ability of study participants to recall a word list or to recall a story read
aloud to them. Basically, not eating was
affecting their concentration and short-term memory. It’s harder to focus when you’re hungry and
you may not retain as well what you heard in that first class of the day. Will eating breakfast improve your GPA? There’s no guarantee, but overall a healthy
diet with regular meals can keep you feeling better and when you feel better, you do better.
The MyPlate campaign encourages us to fill half our plate with fruits
and veggies, make half our grains whole grains, choose low-fat dairy products,
and get a variety of protein. Breakfast
is a great opportunity to get in some of these healthy options and help you
meet your daily nutrient requirements:
try skim milk on some whole grain cereal, or fruit and nuts (nuts are a great
source of protein) mixed into oatmeal or on top of a waffle. Add diced tomato, peppers, and mushroom to an
omelet to increase vegetable consumption.
In a rush? Yogurt, packaged fruit
cups, and whole grain toast with some peanut butter are just a few quick and
easy ideas for a breakfast on-the-go.
Breakfast on campus:
There are a lot of great options here on campus for creating a variety
of healthy breakfasts every day of the week, whether you have time to sit and
eat, or need to grab a healthy bite on the run. These are just a few:
·
Au Bon Pain
Egg and cheese sandwiches, oatmeal with a variety of toppings, fresh
fruit cups, bagels and cream cheese. (Au
Bon Pain also has an easy-to-use kiosk with nutrition information so you can
look up calories, protein, carbs and other info for each item they sell).
·
Bert’s Food Court
Carries a wide selection of cereals with a variety of mix-ins. (Go for the unsweetened cereals and add
raisins, nuts, and fruit).
·
Ellicott Food Court
Yogurt, fruit cups, egg sandwiches are
available. Short on time? Get it to go.
Every dining hall offers fresh fruit, yogurts, bread for toasting (go
for the whole grain instead of white), assorted cereals, as well as hot items
like oatmeal, waffles and made-to-order omelets. So don’t miss out on great food that can kick
your day off to a healthy start!
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