Midterms are beginning to roll around and everyone’s stress levels are higher than normal. It’s that time of the semester when everyone is tired, cranky, and looking for quickly-prepared meals and snacks to hold them over while they study. One easy trick to your daily nutritional intake is sure to take care of this issue.

There are an innumerable amount of benefits to eating a well-balanced meal first thing in the morning. According to nutrition.about.com, breakfast is the single most important meal of the day and is guaranteed to get you going on the right track for the rest of the day.

Eating a healthy breakfast will jumpstart your metabolism which will help you focus more intently on what the professor is saying, and your brain will respond better and retain more information. Coffee is great if you need to be alert for an early class, but if you don’t have any substance in your stomach to go along with that cup o’ joe, you’ll be doomed in class when you’re too jittery to focus on what the professor is saying. Drink a full glass of orange juice instead with your quick morning meal and take a daily vitamin. The orange juice will help absorb all those nutrients more efficiently. You will be more likely to eat healthily the rest of the day and will be less tempted to get the munchies or eat sugary and fatty snacks in between classes. 

When it comes to working out and trying to lose weight, the last thing you want to do is skip breakfast or eat something unhealthy when you first wake up.  If you want to get in an workout before a busy day, eat something small but substantial beforehand, like a banana or fiber-filled granola bar, that way you don’t pass out and the energy you gain from working out won’t go to waste. Your body expects to be refueled throughout the day, and does not function properly without it. Depriving your body will only make losing weight more difficult and slow down the process of reaching your goal. Statistics even prove that those who eat breakfast are more likely to maintain a healthy weight.

So then what should you eat for breakfast?  As explained by nutrition.about.com, a healthy breakfast should include 2 key elements: protein and fiber. Perfect healthy breakfast foods include fruits, vegetables, eggs, yogurt with whole grain granola, whole grain cereal, oatmeal, and even peanut butter spread on whole grain toast. If you get bored with the taste of fiber-rich whole grain foods like cereal or oatmeal, simply cut up strawberries, banana, kiwi, or any other kind of tasty fruit to add some colorful flavor to your breakfast.

Both the body and the brain need fuel to get you through the day, so feed it right from the beginning and you’ll be guaranteed to get through your daily routine with ease.

Resources:
1. Nutrition.about.com-Breakfast
2.Orange Juice Picture
3.Oatmeal Picture

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