Breakfast is the most important meal of the day for a reason. Since you fast for a long duration of the night, your body may be begging for good nutrition first thing in the morning. Without the right fuel, you may be feeling low on energy, have a bad mood, experience strange cravings, and have a wider waistline. Well, that seems like a classic recipe for disaster.

If you are feeding your body with things like waffles and pop tarts, things are only going to go worse in the long run. Some of these breakfast staples do not look so bad at first glance, however, if you delve deep, you’ll find that they are not so nutritionally balanced as you thought them to be. Here are the foods that can mess up your metabolism and seem like breakfast harakiri.

Sugary Cereal

Let’s get this straight, frosted cereals do not make a good breakfast. They may remind you of childhood memories but may have little else to offer in terms of nutrition. The sugar rush these foods lend to your body may set you up to make more dietary mistakes in the latter part of the day. Packaged sugary stuff is high in sugar, low in the good kind of fat and protein. Even the foods that seem healthy at first glance like granolas can have hidden sugars, so it is important to read the nutrition label and find out exactly how much sugar you are feeding your body first thing in the morning.

Waffles

Waffles with your favorite toppings may sound like an incredibly delicious breakfast idea, but it is also high on simple carbs. These kinds of carbs are low on satiety value and may even seem like a dessert option depending on the kind of toppings you choose. Some toaster varieties may have some amount of fiber, but most of them have a very low amount of fiber. Hence, waffles may not qualify to be on the list of a balanced breakfast meal.

Instead of choosing one macronutrient over the other, you can instead choose a combination of all three macronutrients – protein, fat, and carbs. Scrambled eggs with fruit and toast seem to be like the perfect combination.

Orange Juice

A glass of orange juice may seem like a healthy option to you, right? But it is full of sugar! Although it is natural sugar, it is still a lot of it to begin your day with. Pasteurized fruit juice first thing in the morning can serve you a lot of sugar and calories. Also, most fruit juice is highly processed and you may end up losing most of the nutrients. Instead, you can opt for a vegetable juice that has very little sugar and retains all the nutrients, especially if it is freshly squeezed.

Bagel and Cream Cheese

Bagels are love and nothing looks more delicious than having it with your favorite cream cheese. However, bagels are calorie bombs and one piece of a bagel may be equivalent to four slices of bread, and they are also low on nutrition.

Most of the bagels aren’t whole wheat, so they are pretty low on satiety value too. Also, cream cheese is high in fat, so not the right kind of food to stuff yourself with first thing in the morning. If you would rather choose a healthier option, then choose something like an avocado or nut butter to go with your bagel. This way you’ll be able to combine the right amount of carbs, protein, and fat.

Pre-Mixed Oatmeal

Although oatmeal is high on fiber and has plenty of nutrients in it, instant oatmeal does not cut out to be a healthy meal. Steel-cut oatmeal or the unprocessed version of oatmeal is actually the best kind to begin your day with. The pre-mixed packets are the worst kinds of breakfast staples that you can opt for. There is nothing whole about the grain in the oatmeal and they are low on fiber too. You can still have your bowl of steel-cut oats, with fruits and nut butter to make it a potent carb, protein, and fat combination which is far more satiating than any other food you may think of having.

Eat right to fuel your body, especially in the morning to stop yourself from eating the wrong kind of foods in the latter part of the day.