Unhealthy Breakfast? Morning No-Go’s You Should Avoid

Bad start to the day? Not if we can help it!

3 min

junge frau sitzt im bett und fruehstueckt

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By Maren Baumgarten
May 9, 2022

Why trust us?

Jumping into your day feeling vitalized and full of energy sounds like a great idea, but the reality is different for many people. An unhealthy breakfast makes you weak, tired, and unfocused, but it also isn’t always so easy to recognize. We’ll show you hidden sugar loads, unhealthy habits, and more no-go’s in the morning.

Especially those who want to lose weight should pay attention to having a healthy breakfast. These 5 breakfast habits can help you do that.

#1 But first, coffee!

For so many of us, a cup of coffee is a must-have at breakfast. In principle, there’s nothing wrong with this, if we’re talking black coffee. Even a little milk or a plant-based alternative (1-2 tablespoons) in it isn’t such a big deal. However, if you prefer cappuccinos, latte macchiatos or any other coffee drink with plenty of milk, sugar, or syrup, you’re taking in a whole lot of calories, sugar, and fat. A latte macchiato without sugar alone comes to about 200 calories. A pre-mixed cappuccino powder can contain as much as six grams of sugar per 100 milliliters.

So, it’s possible for this hot drink to be part of a balanced diet in the morning. If, however, you want to avoid an unhealthy breakfast, you should prepare your coffee yourself and avoid large amounts of milk and sugar. By the way, the same applies to tea and tea drinks.

#2 Sausages and cured meats

It’s better not to have a salami roll for breakfast. Sausage not only contains a lot of unhealthy fatty acids but is also classified as carcinogenic by the WHO. Smoked, cured, and salted meat and sausage products in particular should only be eaten rarely. In addition, these foods often contain many additives such as preservatives and flavor enhancers.

Far better for you, and incidentally better for the climate, too, are plant-based spreads. For hearty breakfasters, hummus is perfect.

#3 Sugar trap cereals

Muesli is great because it can be prepared quickly, has a long shelf life, keeps you full, and is full of healthy ingredients. At least, that’s what the advertising industry would have us think. The fact is, most cereal and muesli contains a lot of sugar, especially cereal marketed especially for children.

#4 To-Go is often a No-Go

Nowadays, almost everything is available to take away and eat on the go. It may be practical, but you’d be better off if you took some time for breakfast. Because if you only eat while multitasking, you usually gorge yourself and don’t even notice how much you’ve eaten. You’re not really full afterwards either. In addition, to-go offerings are usually not very healthy. Typical examples are white flour sandwiches, pretzels, or sweet pastries. And if you add a latte drink, you’ve perfected the unhealthy breakfast.

#5 Sunday breakfast every day

A leisurely Sunday breakfast consists mostly of small delicacies such as croissants, sugary spreads, and French toast, which really shouldn’t be on the menu every day. Sugar, unhealthy fats, and empty carbohydrates are usually the main ingredients. Occasionally, however, you can treat yourself for breakfast, as long as it doesn’t become a daily habit.

#6 Sweet fruit

Fruit, juice, and smoothies sound at first like they’d be a big part of a healthy diet, and yet they’re often a part of an unhealthy breakfast, since they’re rarely consumed in moderation. An apple, a banana, or a handful of strawberries are healthy and delicious, but undiluted fruit juices contain a lot of sugar and hardly any fiber. Smoothies can also become a sugar trap, because they’re often prepared with an amount of fruit you’d otherwise never eat. Ready-to-eat products are also often fortified with fruit juice, too. Fructose is the problem; in large quantities it can damage the liver.

As a rule of thumb, two servings of fruit a day is ideal. If you make a smoothie at home, it should contain not only fruits but also vegetables, and try diluting your fruit juices with water.

#7 Just Carbs

Sometimes we unconsciously eat almost nothing but (empty) carbohydrates for breakfast. A pretzel from the bakery, toast with jam, or cornflakes provide us with quick energy, but they cause our blood sugar levels to fluctuate in the morning. Cravings and, in the long run, weight gain are almost a sure thing when our body becomes used to that blood sugar spike. Whole grain products in combination with protein and healthy fats are better.

#8 Unhealthy breakfast – our conclusion

Habits for an unhealthy breakfast can be changed into healthy routines. For example, replace your instant cappuccino with a freshly brewed filter coffee with a little milk, and substitute your toast with whole-grain bread, sausage with a plant-based alternative, and cereal with an unsweetened version. With such simple tricks, you’re already laying the foundation for a high-energy day and a healthy diet. And, of course, there’s nothing wrong with mindfully enjoying less healthy delicacies at the occasional brunch.

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