How you choose to start your morning can impact your entire day. This is true not only when it comes to your mental and emotional state, but also your physical health. What you put into your body each morning plays a major role in all areas of your wellbeing, including your ability to lose weight. That being said, there are a few major dietary pitfalls you should avoid if you want to start your day off on the right foot health-wise.
To learn more about the worst morning mistakes you should avoid at all cost if you want to shed some pounds, we spoke to health experts Amy Lippert, NTP; nutritionist Isla Zyair; nutritional therapist Varsha Khatri of Illuminated Health; and dietitian Dana Ellis Hunnes, PhD, MPH, RD and author of Recipe for Survival. Collectively, they warn against three habits to steer clear of: overloading your coffee with sweet ingredients, filling up on sugary, high-carb foods, and sipping on unhealthy fruit juices.
1. Loading your coffee with sugar and creamers
If you like to start your day with an energy boost from a cup of coffee like many people do, be careful about the ingredients you load it with. Lippert says adding sugar, creamer, and flavored syrups can lead to inflammation and hold you back from reaching your weight loss goals.
Sure, sugar may make your coffee taste better than it does black, but adding too much can lead to serious health consequences. "When added to coffee and consumed first thing on an empty stomach, this ingredient causes a spike in blood sugars," Lippert explains. "The body responds by producing insulin, a hormone that is the key to storing excess glucose in the adipose (fat) cells." Long story short, this can lead to weight gain.
Additionally, creamers often contain inflammatory thickeners, stabilizers, and ingredients that can hinder you on your weight loss journey. "Large amounts of inflammation compounds in the body can lead to water retention, making it harder to lose weight as well," Lippert notes.
While artificial sweeteners may seem like a healthier option, they come with their fair share of issues. Lippert says they are "ultra-refined, full of chemicals, and highly inflammatory and toxic to the body," adding that consuming artificial sweeteners regularly can cause gut health issues, inflammation, and weight gain. So it may just be best to take your coffee black!
2. Eating sugary, processed breakfasts
You know what they say about breakfast: it's the most important meal of the day. That's why it's so important to fuel your body with a nutritious meal every morning in order to promote weight loss. Nutritionists say you should avoid sugary, highly processed, high-carb breakfasts at all costs. Sugary cereal and high-carb pastries, such as donuts and muffins, are two particular examples.
"Your body has to do little work to digest and absorb these types of foods," Hunnes explains. "It barely burns any calories to utilize these foods." In turn, your metabolism can be negatively affected, making it difficult to lose weight.
Khatri warns about the spike in blood sugar and insulin levels that sugary breakfast foods can lead to. "When you start your day with anything that is high in sugar/sweetener, you are more likely to crave sugar or other sweet foods throughout the day. Which means you are more likely to snack just to maintain blood sugar levels," she says. So, if you want to avoid overloading on snacks later in the day, the best call is always to pack in protein and fiber with healthy, filling, energy-boosting breakfasts instead.
3. Drinking sugary fruit juice
In addition to eating healthy foods and avoiding highly processed breakfasts, you should apply the same rules to the beverages you drink each morning. While sugar-loaded fruit juices are one popular option, experts say you should limit your consumption of these drinks as much as possible if you want to lose weight.
Just as with sugary breakfasts, packaged fruit juices may cause weight gain due to the fact that they can lead to a spike in your glucose levels each morning—in fact, according to Zyair, they often load in just as much sugar as soda does. Yikes!
"You need to be especially wary of products labeled as 'juice cocktail,' 'juice-flavored beverage,' or 'juice drink,'" Zyair says. "These contain very little fruit juice, with the rest of the formulation composed of water and high-fructose corn syrup or artificial sweeteners."
Instead of reaching for these high-calorie, artificially sweetened drinks, Lippert suggests choosing green juices made with kale, spinach, celery, and cucumbers. "If they are made with lower glycemic produce and very limited fruits, it can be a very nutritious and beneficial option over fruit juice," she notes. Sounds great!
At the end of the day (or, more accurately, the beginning of the day!) it seems it's best to keep one key rule in mind: avoid processed sugar as much as possible each morning if you want to stay on track with your weight loss journey.
