This is an archived article and the information in the story may be outdated. Please check the time stamp on the story to see when it was updated last.
Starting out your morning with a well-balanced and nutrient dense meal is one of the best ways to ensure healthy weight loss while feeling great in your body. Choosing a breakfast that incorporates some form of protein, healthy carbs and fat can help to increase satiety and even speed up your metabolism so you’re burning more fat at rest, making it easier to maintain a calorie deficit. However, opting for a breakfast that offers little to no nutritional value can have the opposite effect, dragging down your metabolism and leaving you hungry and energy deficient shortly after eating.
While it’s important to note that most foods can comfortably fit into any diet even if you are trying to lose weight, it’s when those foods become mainstays in your routine that things can take a turn for the worse and you may notice weight gain instead. This spring if you’re hoping to improve your eating habits so you can feel your best, there’s one breakfast foods that registered dietitians warn should be left on the shelf in order to ensure your metabolism runs smoothly for effortless weight loss.
If you often find yourself in a hurry in the mornings then you may be tempted to simply grab a muffin and run out the door. While this could provide you with a temporary boost of energy as well as being undeniably delicious, muffins do very little to satiate your appetite, making you instead more likely to overeat throughout the day.“Not all muffins are created equal and most are just chock full of refined carbohydrates, sugar, and fat. While there are some versions of muffins that can help you in your health goals this is unfortunately not the case for the most popular,” warns registered dietitian Trista Best.
Although there are some variations that may be good for you such as a bran or oat muffin, the really tasty ones are likely loaded with refined carbs and sugar, making it difficult for them to actually nourish your body or provide any real benefit to your health.“The ingredients list for a muffin typically includes flour, water, eggs, butter, and sugar along with chocolate chips and maybe blueberries. Eggs and blueberries are the two healthiest ingredients, but when paired with the other calorie dense foods on the list their nutrient quality is essentially negated,” explains Best.
Carbohydrates are actually a necessary addition to your diet, but much like other food groups, there are good and bad options. Carbs in their most basic forms are going to provide you with the most nutritional benefits, but unfortunately muffins are much more processed. “Refined carbs, also known as simple or processed carbs, are grains that have been stripped of their beneficial nutrients like fiber, B vitamins, and iron making them empty calories. They are quickly processed by the body which raises blood glucose and insulin rapidly after meals,” says Best.
With this, the refined carbs that muffins provide you with are devoid of all nutrients, leaving your metabolism at risk and putting you in a position to overeat throughout the day to compensate for your breakfast. “These characteristics all lead to a slow metabolism and weight gain. As the body is not obtaining beneficial nutrients from the refined carb muffins, but rather inflammatory and gut damaging nutrients,” explains Best.
Instead of turning to muffins for a quick breakfast each morning, you’ll be far better served cooking up a bowl of oatmeal to provide your body with a simple carb which will offer you plenty of energy throughout the day. You can still flavor your oatmeal with natural sweeteners to satisfy your sweet tooth, and topping your breakfast with fresh fruit is a great way to infuse your morning with more vitamins and minerals so you can feel your best from the inside out. While there is a place for muffins in your diet occasionally, it’s generally best to leave refined carbs out of your staple meals if you’re hoping to lose weight and improve your health.
