Ask an Obesity Doctor: “What do you recommend for breakfast?”

By Womaness Editors   1-Minute Read

Welcome to ASK AN EXPERT, a series where we pose your real questions to our menopause experts for the answers you need. Have a question? Post it on The After Party, our private Facebook Group.

Your Question:

“Do you have a favorite breakfast? What do you recommend to your patients?”

The Answer:

From Dr. Katherine Saunders, Executive Vice President and Senior Medical Officer of Intellihealth and a leading expert in Obesity Medicine: 

“Great question. Breakfast is a good area of focus. There are some people who just don't eat breakfast and that's fine with me, as long as they aren't eating the majority of their calories later in the day.

For breakfast, I would focus on protein. There are studies that show that if you start your day with carbs, you'll likely to be hungrier, think about food more, and eat more all day long. So I talk to my patients a lot about eating protein in the morning, like Greek yogurt, cottage cheese, eggs—anything that's protein.

"I talk to my patients a lot about eating protein in the morning, like Greek yogurt, cottage cheese, eggs..."

It doesn't have to be typical breakfast food, but try to avoid what most people eat, like highly packaged, processed, refined breakfast cereal—that's not as good of a choice. Bagels, waffles, pancakes, or anything like that that's just really carb-y…even oatmeal—if you have insulin resistance, your body might be so sensitive to carbs that even something like oatmeal can spike blood sugar and spike appetite for the day.”

BONUS QUESTION 

“What about coffee? Please don't make me give up my coffee…”

“I love coffee. The data on coffee is great. Coffee has shown to be beneficial for our health in many different ways. It looks like it protects the liver.

You can always overdo anything. If you're having palpitations and you're anxious and having medical problems because of too much coffee, then that's not a good idea. But in the absence of that, I think the more coffee, the better…as long as you're not adding sugar or anything sweet to it.”

Ready to change up breakfast? Find our favorite protein-packed smoothie here.