Eating breakfast may help with weight maintenance and weight loss, and what you choose to drink in the morning may also impact your weight goals. Beverages can be a significant source of sugar and calories for some Americans, so making healthy choices with morning beverages can be important for many reasons.
In general, stick with what’s most natural. Avoid adding in extra sweeteners to beverages for the healthiest option.
Here are some healthy morning breakfast drinks and how they may help with weight loss.
Smoothie
Smoothies are an open canvas to get in fruits, vegetables, protein and fiber. There are endless, tasty possibilities for making smoothies, and you can be sure to find a smoothie recipe for any palate.
The difference between smoothies and juice is that smoothies keep the fiber from fruit and vegetables, juice does not.
Adding in vegetables like spinach, kale or other leafy greens is an easy way to up your vegetable intake.
Adding in natural protein sources like milk, yogurt, nut butter, chia seeds, hemp seeds or protein powders can increase satiety from smoothies and lower the desire to snack later in the day.
Fiber and protein are two keys for making you feel fuller longer, and a smoothie can deliver both. Plus, they give an easy platform for getting in servings of fruits and vegetables rich in antioxidants.
See also: How to make a healthy smoothie at home
Green Tea
Numerous studies suggest a relationship between tea intake and weight loss, specifically green tea. Green tea is a source of caffeine, which acts as a stimulant, and green tea contains compounds, catechins and epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG).
A 2009 review article suggests that the mixture of caffeine, catechins and ECGC may be responsible for the small positive effect on weight loss from green tea. Although the benefit of green tea on weight loss can vary and remains relatively small, drinking this in the morning may assist in weight loss efforts.
Use caution with drinking too much tea, as high levels of caffeine are not beneficial, and green tea can lower the absorption of certain minerals. Also, if you are on medication, check with your doctor before increasing your tea intake.
Coffee
Similar to the effects of caffeine from tea, drinking coffee may have a slight boost in weight loss efforts because of the caffeine intake. Caffeine can slightly lower appetite, boost fat breakdown and be a source of antioxidants.
Keep in mind just because you drink coffee you are not going to magically drop the pounds. It’s just that the caffeine may offer a small additional calorie burn. The small increase in calories burned from caffeine should not to be confused with exercise, which will have a much higher impact on metabolic rate.
Coffee drinks made with high calorie milks/dairy alternatives and extra sweeteners will not have the same positive impact on weight loss. In fact, coffee drinks can be a hidden source of extra calories!
Water
Drinking plain water in the morning could be what your body really needs. A boost of hydration in the morning could help stimulate bowel movements and may help curb appetite. Sometimes when we feel hungry it’s really just the body saying it needs more water.
Starting your day with water intake, whether cold or hot, can boost your hydration status and get you on the right track for adequate water intake through the day. Add a squeeze of lemon, lime, fresh herbs or slice of other fruits for a natural flavor boost.
Dairy
Some research studies suggest there could be a beneficial effect of dairy products on weight loss. For example, a 2004 study analyzed in obese subjects the effect of a standard diet, a high calcium diet and a high dairy diet on weight loss over 24 weeks.
Researchers found the high dairy group lost a significantly greater amount of fat compared to the standard diet and it was higher compared to the high calcium diet too.
This suggests that dairy products may have an additional benefit for weight loss, and may be a reason to start adding in extra dairy products if you do not have an allergy or lactose intolerance.
Breakfast drinks you should drink – Summary
Beverage choices can have a big impact on weight and other health parameters. Making healthy drink choices at any time of day is important, especially at breakfast.
Smoothies can be a healthy choice because they can be high in fiber and protein, which both help increase satiety. They also make an easy way to get extra servings of fruit and vegetables.
Tea and coffee are sources of caffeine, which may have a small impact on weight by slightly increasing calorie burn. Although this impact is no match when compared to exercise, it could help with weight loss.
Use caution with getting too much caffeine though because too much may not be beneficial. Also, certain coffee or tea drinks can be highly sweetened, which negate any benefit for weight loss.
Drinking plain water can replace other high calorie beverages and can help give you a hydration boost at the start of your day.
Drinking dairy products could have an additional benefit for weight loss according to some research studies, so adding a glass of milk or yogurt in the morning could be beneficial.
