Welcome to Week 6 of 52 Weeks to a Healthier You! Last week, we took a look at our eating habits by using a food diary. This week, we’re going to start improving our diets by…drumroll…eating a healthy breakfast!

A lot of adults don’t eat breakfast at all. Personally, if I have a cup of coffee first thing in the morning, I pretty much lose my appetite. So it’s very easy for me to have a cup of coffee early on and then nothing until nearly noon. Turns out that’s terrible for our health. (Shocker.)

Let’s take a look at why we need to eat breakfast and get a few healthy breakfast ideas for the most important meal of the day!

Disclaimer: I am not a health or fitness expert. Please consult a medical professional before starting any new health or fitness regimen.

Image: Mara Zemgaliete / Dollar Photo Club

Why We Should Eat Breakfast

According to WebMD, eating breakfast sets the tone for the rest of our day. Think about it: How often have you been out running errands and realized suddenly that you were STARVING? What did you do? I’ll tell you what I did. I made a beeline for the nearest drive-thru, where I proceeded to order something extremely unhealthy. And that’s what happens when we skip breakfast or go too long without eating in general. We end up ravenous and we make bad food choices later.

Sometimes we think that skipping a meal will lower our caloric intake and help us drop pounds faster. However, the meal we skip should NOT be breakfast. Eating breakfast can actually reduce our risk of serious health conditions, including heart disease and obesity. Time.com suggests eating something that will stabilize our blood sugar levels, which means skipping the sweet rolls. *sob*

Healthy Breakfast Ideas

If you’re at a loss as to what to eat first thing in the morning, try these suggestions!

• Whole grain English muffin with scrambled egg white and spinach
• Scrambled egg, one strip turkey bacon, roasted asparagus
• Oatmeal with fresh fruit
• Green smoothie (We’ll be talking more about these in an upcoming week!)
• Whole grain cereal with skim milk, soy milk, or almond milk and fresh fruit
• Low-sugar yogurt with granola, honey, and fruit
• Baked sweet potato with cinnamon and honey (That one’s from the Time.com article. Sounds great!)

Do you eat breakfast on a regular basis? If so, do you have any healthy breakfast ideas to share? Let them loose in the comments! For even more support, join our 52 Weeks to a Healthier You Facebook group!

We’re on to Week 5 of 52 Weeks to a Healthier You! We’ve already talked about making an honest self-assessment, drinking more water, finding fitness motivation, and improving our sleep habits. Now, we’re finally ready to start talking about what we eat.

If you’re fearing a brand new diet plan, you can breathe easy. 🙂 We’re just going to start by taking a look at what we’re currently eating by using a free printable food diary. Rather than making any drastic changes right away, it’s a great idea to see what you’re already consuming on a weekly basis, so you can make gradual adjustments that are more likely to stick.

Here’s a primer on why and how we can keep a food diary!

Disclaimer: I am not a health or fitness expert. Please consult a medical professional before starting any new health or fitness regimen.

Image: Minerva Studio / Dollar Photo Club

 Why Keeping a Food Diary is Important

You might be wondering: Why is it necessary to keep a food diary in the first place? Well, it’s not actually necessary, but it can be extremely helpful. WebMD explains that writing down what you eat has the instant effect of making you aware of your food choices. (I can tell you that I’ve often refrained from eating a certain junk food just because I didn’t want to have to write it down.)

It’s also helpful because you can take a look at your eating habits over time, so if you’re consistently eating a certain food, especially if it’s unhealthy, then you can take note of the time of day you choose it and what potentially triggers your cravings.

How to Keep a Food Diary

Okay, so what’s involved in keeping a food diary? It’s simple. You just write down everything you eat. Every. Single. Thing. (Yes, this includes gum and mints and those individual M&Ms that you sneak during the day.)

Along with the food you eat, Real Simple explains that it’s also helpful to write down your emotions at the time you eat. Are you sad, happy, bored, frustrated, or distracted? Keeping track of these feelings can help you spot any tendencies toward binge or emotional eating.

Free Printable Food Diary

Now, for the really awesome news! We’re giving away a free printable food diary for the week to all of our email subscribers! In this printable pack, you’ll find diary tracking sheets for Monday through Sunday, complete with spaces for meal journaling and reflective questions to help you make better choices in the future.

To get your free printable food diary, subscribe to our newsletter using the sign up form below! If you’re already subscribed to our newsletter, you’ll get your free copy in the next newsletter (which will go out on Sunday night).

This post is part of the Free Printable Day linkup from iHomeschool Network! Click over to get even more great free printables from our fellow bloggers!