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New You University

I'm just going to say this right now:
Don't Skip Breakfast!

Skipping breakfast is like saying, "I'm not really serious in changing my health." If that's you, then anything I write won't help you at all. Whatever plan you develop in changing to a healthy life style must ultimately YOUR plan. You have to own it, mold it, tweak it. You must accept responsibility for it. However, don't skip breakfast. Remember, you have to eat to do stuff, including a workout. (For that matter, don't skip lunch and dinner, either).

What should you eat for breakfast? For me, breakfast is when I consume much of my carbs, fiber, and whole grains for the day. My initial protein intake of the day comes at breakfast. Calcium and vitamin D are part of this as well. A couple of eggs for breakfast is a good choice, just don't overdo eggs. Add some whole grain toast to it. Certain cereals can be used.

Concerning cereal...cereal can be a decent part of breakfast. Pay attention to the nutrition facts panel on the side of the box. Of course, this is something to pay attention to for all the foods you eat. This will help you pick out cereal (and all food) that will meet your nutritional needs.

Pay attention to what the manufacturer sets as a serving size. I like to use grams instead of cup size. Measuring cups measure volume while grams measure the mass (weight) of your cereal. Grams will give you a more accurate amount.

Consider how many calories are in one serving size.



Look at the fat content. This particular cereal contains very little fat.






Check out the sodium content. Sodium doesn't necessarily add weight, but too much sodium a day can stress out your blood pressure and your kidneys. Any sodium comes from milk. Fiber is pretty decent. Make sure when you up your fiber, you up your water intake. Fiber works best in conjunction with water.

No added sugar to this cereal. I add three-quarters of a teaspoon of sugar. That gives me 6 grams of added sugar. (I always measure out my sugar, if and when I do use it. There are 8 grams of sugar per teaspoon of granulated sugar. In that teaspoon is 45 calories, so watch it!)
Notice the protein is 6 grams. This is a good cereal, unless you have issues with gluten.

Take a look at the other vitamin and minerals. Look at the ingredients. I don't use skim milk, but  Lowfat 1%.  I use a half-cup of milk. So, the milk plus the three-quarter teaspoon of sugar will add to the calorie count.






Remember, don't be afraid to measure and weigh your food. I know it seems un-American. But, you're building a new you, so measure. Once in the habit you'll see it's not a silly notion. Measure your milk, measure your added sugar and salt. Measure out a serving size of cereal. Use a food scale. It's not hard.

 This one is electronic. I wake up/turn on the scale and select grams using the unit button. I place an empty bowl. On this scale if I press the on/off button it will set the weight of the bowl to zero. Then, I add my cereal until I get close to the recommended serving size.







A scale like this is very easy to use. The following link is a similar food scale. You can use this link and look at it or go on to peruse other scales. Here's also a link to Post Shredded Wheat (spoon size). I highly recommend it.


 

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