Don't Skip Breakfast! It Makes Us Crave Fat Later in the Day

When rushing out the door (or when trying to lose weight) skipping breakfast can sound like a good idea. But a new study is showing the unhealthy changes this can make to our brains—and our waistlines.

In the study, 21 normal-weight participants were given a large breakfast one day, and another day given no breakfast. On both days, they were then shown pictures of fatty, high-calorie foods, as well as low-calorie foods, while being scanned by an MRI. Those who had skipped breakfast showed more activity in the part of the brain thought to be involved in food appeal (the orbitofrontal cortex) when pictures of high calorie fatty foods—but not low-calorie foods—were shown.

Healthy (and delicious!) breakfast options
Tempting as it may be, hitting the drive-through for a sausage or bacon sandwich on the way to work doesn’t count as a healthy breakfast. Thankfully, alive has some delicious breakfast ideas that are worth getting up for.

• Cornmeal Crepes with Maple Blueberries
• Cremini Omelette
• Nutty Oatmeal Banana Pancakes
• Tempeh “Chorizo”

And for those of us who hit the snooze button a few too many times, these recipes can either be made ahead of time, or prepared in a flash.

• Quinoa Hemp Cereal
• Strawberry Banana Iced Green Tea Smoothie
• Mandarin Walnut Muffins
• Rose Fruit Parfait