If you find yourself searching for the snack cupboard before lunchtime, your breakfast may be to blame. Most popular breakfasts are packed full of carbohydrates but tend to lack the other nutrients needed to keep you feeling satisfied until your next meal.
Why you're hungry before lunch
Constantly craving biscuits, crisps, cereal bars and chocolates just a couple of hours after eating could be a sign that your morning meal is missing key components. Rather than skipping meals, simple tweaks to your plate can make a difference.
Oliver Goble, nutritionist at Supply Life, recommends carrying out a 30-second 'breakfast check' before tucking in. This involves asking three simple questions: 'Where's my protein?', 'Where's my fibre?' and 'Will this realistically keep me full until lunch?'
The three questions to ask
Protein is often missed out in a breakfast bowl and shouldn't be overlooked. It aids slow digestion and is closely linked to the feeling of fullness after a meal.
Fibre is a crucial addition to any breakfast and possibly the easiest to indulge in. This can include oats, berries, wholegrain bread, fruit, seeds and high-fibre cereals, which work to bulk up the meal. Fibre can also support steadier energy levels throughout the morning, so you don't experience that sudden drop-off before lunch.
Simple swaps to try
The big question, and where many people are going wrong, is whether breakfast will realistically keep you full until lunch. Breakfast shouldn't be a quick snack but a big meal that gives you fuel for the day. If the food you're eating in the morning is just sugary or refined carbohydrates, you may find yourself hungry again much sooner than expected.
Goble explains: "You don't need a perfect breakfast and you certainly don't need expensive healthy foods. The aim is simply to include a balance of protein, fibre and healthy fats wherever possible, as these nutrients work together to help keep you satisfied."
Instead of eating a plain bowl of cereal, adding Greek yoghurt and berries can help to bulk it up while getting those extra nutrients. Another quick way is by adding nuts and seeds to your usual bowl of porridge, or swapping white bread for whole grain on your toast. Eggs are a simple but easy addition to any breakfast, whether that be on toast or scrambled as an extra side.
Goble added: "When breakfast keeps you satisfied for longer, you're naturally less likely to spend the rest of the morning thinking about food. It's a small daily habit, but one that can have a surprisingly big impact over time."
