Breakfast is often said to be the most important meal of the day. That’s why you should avoid these breakfast mistakes to get your day off to a good start at betamo.com.
Opinions differ when it comes to breakfast: while some people like to eat a hearty and leisurely breakfast, others prefer to eat nothing at all in the morning. On closer inspection, some habits turn out to be unhealthy mistakes.
Our List
1. Breakfast Mistake: Sweet Muesli, Cornflakes & Cereals
Many conventional types of muesli and cereals from the supermarket contain added sugar and are preserved, colored, or flavored with additives. You should avoid these products at breakfast because they cause your blood sugar levels to skyrocket and don’t keep you full for very long.
Better are mueslis without sugar – but with satiating fiber and complex carbohydrates – made from whole grain cereals combined with nuts, seeds, and fresh fruit.
2. Breakfast Mistake: Fruit Yogurt With Sugar
The next mistake that is easy to avoid is not far removed from sweet muesli: fruit yogurt with added sugar. Even if “fruit yogurt” sounds like a natural and healthy product, it often contains a whole lot of sugar, and sometimes the fruit flavor does not come from fruit at all but is in the yogurt thanks to flavoring. The better alternative is homemade fruit yogurt made from natural yogurt with fresh fruit.
3. Breakfast Mistake: Not Taking Enough Time
For many people, everyday life is stressful, and time is generally in short supply. Instead of taking the time to prepare a healthy muesli in the evening, we grab a snack on the way to work in the morning and then eat it at our desk on the side.
Even if you find it difficult and have little time, try to take time to plan and prepare your breakfast and also to eat it. After all, a healthy breakfast is the basis for a healthy day and let’s be honest: what to-do is more important than your own health?
4. Breakfast Mistake: Drinking Juices And Smoothies Every Day
Juices and smoothies are often considered healthy drinks. But you shouldn’t drink juices and smoothies for breakfast every day. This is because they are not the same as fresh fruit and vegetables.
Although smoothies consist of pureed fruit and vegetables, they contain fewer nutrients than the original product. Due to the smaller volume, smoothies are less filling than fresh fruit and vegetables but also have a higher energy density. And the “chewing experience” is missing. As a result, you tend to consume more calories than you think.
Juices also contain a lot of calories: A liter of juice can contain about as many calories as a liter of cola, on average between 400 and 500 kilocalories. The Federal Center for Nutrition, therefore, even classifies juice as a plant-based food rather than a drink. And not all juices are the same: when buying juice, you should make sure you buy real fruit juice. Sugar may have been added to so-called fruit nectar.
Drinking a smoothie or juice for breakfast every now and then is not a problem. However, you should reach for fresh fruit or vegetables more often: This will provide you with the full spectrum of valuable nutrients and fiber.
5. Breakfast Mistake: Croissants, French Rolls & Co
For some people, fresh croissants are simply a must for breakfast at the weekend. Or maybe you’re one of those people who quickly grab a French roll, a pain au chocolat, or a donut from the bakery in the morning?
If it remains an exception, that’s not a big problem. However, you shouldn’t eat these highly processed products for breakfast every day. This is because croissants, French rolls, and donuts often contain unhealthy trans fats and sugar.
We recommend a tasty wholemeal bread with a spread and slices of cucumber – this will keep you full for longer, contains much less unhealthy fats and sugar, and provides you with fiber, complex carbohydrates, proteins, minerals, and vitamins.
6. Breakfast Mistake: Skipping Breakfast
There are experts who advocate skipping breakfast as a method of losing weight. At the same time, there is evidence that skipping breakfast could promote diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and obesity. The German Nutrition Society (DGE) does not currently give a clear recommendation as the study situation is not clear.
A summary of the current study situation from 2021 assumes that there are fundamentally different “chronotypes” and that you should adapt your diet to your internal clock. So, if you’re hungry in the morning, you should definitely have breakfast.