Eat breakfast, lose weight

Healthy breakfast foods
Avoid refined flours and sugars in the early morning. These foods rank high on the glycemic index and make your blood sugar and insulin levels bounce around. Examples of high glycemic index breakfast items include white bagels, instant oatmeal, breakfast bars and muffins.

As a general rule, try to incorporate some protein and healthy fat into your breakfast to keep yourself satiated and blood sugar levels stable. Examples of healthy breakfast choices include:

- Protein smoothie
- Scrambled eggs (or egg substitute) with cheese
- A poached egg on whole grain bread
- Yogurt with fruit and nuts
- Protein powder mixed into slow-cooking oatmeal
- Toast with natural peanut butter

Healthy breakfast recipes
Below, you'll find my top five quick and easy breakfast choices to fill you up and trim your waistline. Bon appetite!

1. Blueberry yogurt crunch Calories = 290
• 1/2 cup of low fat yogurt
• 1/2 cup of mixed berries
• 2 tsp of walnuts sprinkled over top for extra crunch and omega 3 fats

2. Frozen strawberry banana smoothie Calories = 300
• 5 ounces of soy milk or 1% cow's milk
• 1/2 frozen banana and 1/2 cup of frozen strawberries
• 1 scoop of vanilla protein powder
• 1 tsp of flaxseed oil (to be kept in fridge)

3. Cottage cheese and fruit crunch Calories = 280
• 1/2 cup of 1% cottage cheese
• 1/2 cup of blueberries + 1 small banana sliced over top
• 1/2 cup of bran cereal

4. Cheesy eggs Calories = 290
• 1/2 cup of egg whites
• 1 large omega 3 egg
• 2 ounces of grated low-fat cheddar or Swiss cheese
• 1 slice of whole grain bread

5. Open-faced peanut butter & banana sandwich Calories = 249
• 1 slice of omega 3 whole grain bread
• 2 tsp. of natural peanut, almond or cashew butter
• Slices of bananas over top

Dr. Joey Shulman, DC, and registered nutritionist, is author of the national best seller The Last 15 -- A Weight Loss Breakthrough and president of Shulman Weight Loss Clinic. For more information or to book a free weight-loss assessment, visit www.drjoey.com.

Looking for more morning meal ideas? Check out 10 breakfast recipes to get your day off to a great start.

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