During the workweek, I find it’s easy to eat healthy portions since I’m not comfortable going overboard in front of my coworkers. But weekends are a different story: I treat my family to a Saturday breakfast of scrambled eggs with cheese, home fries and sausage. You’d think I’d feel satisfied because it’s the biggest meal of my week, but instead it gets me snacking on chips and cookies for the rest of the weekend. Why?
Sharing a big family breakfast every Saturday morning is a lovely ritual, but you may want to reconsider your menu. Foods like sausage, cheese, corn oil and margarine that are high in unhealthy saturated fat can prompt overindulging and make it harder to stop, according to a report in The Journal of Nutrition. That’s because excess “bad” fat reduces sensitivity to cholecystokinin, a hormone that triggers the feeling of fullness, preventing your body from getting the “stop eating” signal. Fortunately, reactivating your feel-full signaling system is as easy as switching to healthier versions of your favorite breakfast foods. Opt for low-fat varieties of cheese, like Jarlsberg Lite, and breakfast meats such as Healthy Choice Breakfast Sausage Links, which have up to 60 percent less saturated fat than other brands. And try cooking with coconut or peanut oil—both contain healthy monounsaturated fat.
