eat right now
Cutline Box Cutline Box Cutline Box Cutline Box Cutline Box Cutline Box Cutline Box Cutline Box
Cutline Box Cutline Box
Y
Stacy Goldberg
Columnist
ou’ve worked so hard to get to the
gym, cut calories and get into your
skinny jeans! Yet, maybe you’ve hit
a plateau and can’t get the scale to budge.
Sound familiar?
Many people just like you experience
hitting a wall in their weight loss pro-
gram. This is a common occurrence and,
quite often, the culprit is the morning
routine. The way you start your day can
either help or hinder your weight loss
journey and, for many, this is the ultimate
roadblock.
Here are some tips to ensure that your
morning routine is setting you up for
weight loss success:
1. Make small changes and incorporate
them slowly. Extreme weight loss diets
work for a short period of time then tend
to fizzle out. While they absolutely will
work (though unhealthy), they get boring,
mundane and often backfire after you lose
weight initially. Be sure the weight loss
plan you are embarking on works for your
dietary lifestyle, not Khloe Kardashian’s.
Before you consider making drastic chang-
es, be sure you enjoy eating the foods on
your plan, the food preparation is
realistic given your daily life and
40
September 27 • 2018
jn
that it meets your budget.
2. Get up 30 minutes earlier to prepare
your breakfast or plan ahead the night
before. Stock up on high-protein, lower
sugar and lower carbohydrate breakfast
options on the weekend, and make sure
you are well stocked for the week ahead.
Stopping at Starbucks for a just a coffee
sounds good theoretically, but if you are
hangry and your blood sugar is tanking,
you may be tempted by the pound cake
rather than the egg white bites.
3. Consume most of your calories earlier
in the day rather than later. Many dieters
skip breakfast in efforts to save their calo-
ries and “bank” them for that 4 p.m. crash
or their evening meal.
If this is a tactic in your
daily schedule, reverse
your thinking. Eat within
30-60 minutes of wak-
ing up to jumpstart your
metabolism and wake
your body up. You need
to turn your body into
the most effective fuel-
burning machine you can
and eat a healthy breakfast.
4. Make sure your breakfast is balanced
with a healthy protein (animal- or plant-
based), complex carbohydrate and
nourishing healthy fat. For example,
try having a piece of sprouted grain
bread with 1 tablespoon almond butter,
an apple and a hard-boiled egg.
5. Don’t get into a food rut. We eat the
same foods out of habit and stick with
what we know. It’s time to surprise your
metabolism and discover new breakfast
ideas and recipes. Pinterest and Instagram
are excellent resources for culinary inspira-
tion.
6. Cap your coffee calories. Coffee can
wake you up and get your day started, but
your cup of joe could be packing on the
pounds. Be mindful of what you are adding
to your coffee in the morning. Eliminate
sugar, flavored creams, whipped toppings,
Frappuccinos and chai. If you are adding
artificial sweeteners such as Splenda, this
could be making you hungrier without
your noticing. Try nondairy beverage
creamers or try your coffee black and you
may be surprised.
7. Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate from the
minute you wake up until the
minute you go to sleep. Your
body needs water, especially
in the morning. Drink half
your body weight in ounces
of water each day as a goal
and carry a water bottle with
you all day.
8. Exercise is critical to
your weight loss journey.
Getting it done in the morning starts your
day with a motivating tone and leaves no
room for excuses as the day drags on, gets
busy and filled with work, after-school
activities and Netflix. •
Stacy Goldberg is a nationally recognized nutri-
tional consultant, registered nurse and the CEO of
Savorfull (savorfull.com), a Detroit-based company
that sources healthy, allergen-friendly foods and
provides nutrition-consulting. Savorfull is part of the
Quicken Loans Family of Companies.
NO INFORMATION PROVIDED THROUGH STACY GOLDBERG/SAVORFULL IS INTENDED TO DIAGNOSE, TREAT, CURE OR PREVENT ANY DISEASE. YOU SHOULD ALWAYS
SPEAK WITH YOUR PHYSICIAN OR OTHER HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONAL BEFORE TAKING ANY MEDICATION OR NUTRITIONAL, HERBAL OR HOMEOPATHIC SUPPLEMENT,
OR ADOPTING ANY TREATMENT OR IMPLEMENTING NUTRITIONAL ADVICE FOR A HEALTH PROBLEM.
Healthy Mornings