Thankful for Breakfast
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Your Thanksgiving alarm clock goes off, you climb out of bed and begin the holiday by working to complete that first item on your mental checklist of things to do before company arrives. And faster than you can say "pumpkin squash," it's 3pm and you've yet to sit down and enjoy a meal for yourself. Does this sound familiar? If it does, you've probably skipped breakfast and instead, randomly "snacked" throughout the day, only to feel like you've overeaten and underperformed. I too, used to be guilty of skipping breakfast, but that is no longer an option for this #Fitby40 mom, especially on a holiday. Why you ask? I'll tell you why:
In short, there is a difference between overeating and indulging (more on that in a future post). Thanksgiving used to be the day that I would intentionally skip breakfast only to have consumed an unhealthy aggregate of daily calories by midnight. The combination of zero breakfast fuel and a somewhat high level of activity (don't tell me running around the kitchen isn't exercise) left me famished as the day went on, which led to snacking and overeating, which didn't really seem to end until we would ring in the New Year. The cure? A simple high protein breakfast.
Not only is breakfast the most important meal of the year but it's exponentially more important on a holiday! A balanced breakfast regulates hunger, stabilizes blood sugar and boosts metabolism. It will prevent you from heavily grazing throughout the day or simply losing control when the main course is served. Instead, you can indulge, meaning you can really enjoy each course, savor each flavor, have dessert, not overeat and not feel guilty on Black Friday.
Breakfast is now an integral part of my routine and a prerequisite for holiday entertaining - right up there with getting that turkey in the oven (wink wink). I now look forward to truly enjoying the day and food (but mostly food) instead of outright fear of accidentally eating an entire turkey by myself (slight exaggeration). I even go as far setting a reminder on my phone for me to eat breakfast on Thanksgiving. It may be extreme or silly, but I am visual person who needs to see it front of me. So NJAPP is challenging you to see if you notice a difference in your eating habits on Thanksgiving if you make breakfast a priority.
Be thankful and grateful that you woke up today! Have a Happy Thanksgiving and make sure you eat a balanced breakfast. If you need an idea, try my PSL recipe to achieve ultimate hostess performance status!
