Can breakfast meats really be healthy?
Finding healthy breakfast meats is an important part of creating healthy, high-protein breakfast. Breakfast, after all, is one of the most important meals of the day and meats are great sources of protein and other vital nutrients. But is it okay to have meat for breakfast? Aren’t breakfast meats bad for you, especially when trying to lose weight?
Let’s face it, just thinking about what to eat for breakfast while staying on track with your weightloss journey is already hard enough. Coming up with healthy breakfast meals can be intimidating! It’s easy to assume that losing weight means going on a strict diet and cutting out a huge chunk of your typical breakfast foods like meat.
But hold it right there! Contrary to popular belief, meat actually can be a healthy breakfast option and eating meat for breakfast can even help with weight loss!
As we said earlier, meat is a great source of protein, which promotes muscle growth and maintains your body’s metabolism. And muscles burn more calories than body fat. This is why healthy breakfast meats are great for fat loss!
So enough about food and fitness myths that say meat is bad for you or your weight loss journey. Instead, read on to find out more about this food staple as part of your healthy breakfast meal.
How to pick the right meat for breakfast?
Now that you know you can still enjoy clean eating even with breakfast meats in your diet, the next question is how to pick the right one? Like good and bad cholesterol, we also have good and bad meat but we call them processed and unprocessed meat. Let’s dig in!
Processed Meat
Bacon, sausages, lox, and ham are your typical breakfast meats, but they’re highly processed and loaded with preservatives, saturated fat, sodium, and nitrates. Excessive consumption of these chemicals increases your risk of heart issues and cancer, so it is best to avoid processed meats as much as possible.
But what if you just can’t give up some of these processed meats?
Have you ever wondered which is healthier – bacon or sausage? While neither is actually a healthy breakfast meat, sausage beats bacon by a small margin in terms of fat and calories! Plus, you can have a healthy breakfast sausage if you look for a reduced fat turkey version that contains no added nitrates or preservatives.
Unprocessed Meat
Unprocessed meat is much less risky to consume since it has no preservatives and nitrates. It also has lower sodium and fat content. But while unprocessed meat is a healthier breakfast idea than processed meat, it’s still best to consume it in moderation.
If you are looking for unprocessed meat for breakfast, choose lean cuts of beef, chicken, pork, veal, and lamb because these have lower fat content and are packed with more protein. Yes, this means you can enjoy a lean cut of steak for breakfast!
Don’t forget about fish! Salmon, tuna, mackerel, and sardines are also great for breakfast and are loaded with vitamins and minerals. Plus, fish has lower cholesterol and saturated fat content, what more can you ask for? Many of my clients love smoked salmon with some sprouted grain toast in the morning!
Finding healthier kinds of meat for breakfast
What if I tell you that you can also have healthier kinds of ham, bacon and sausages for breakfast? Don’t believe me? It really is possible! That is if you swap to versions of these breakfast meats that are not made of pork.
Several breakfast meats that we know of are made with pork, which tends to be fattier than other kinds of meat. Turkey is a great alternative to pork because it is much leaner with a lower fat content. Chicken is also a healthier option!
With the growing market for healthy food, you will be surprised that more and more of your favorite breakfast meats now have healthier versions! You can always look up healthy breakfast meats on Reddit to see new products in the market or even healthy alternatives that you can make on your own!
What NOT to do when having meat for breakfast
Like everything in life, you need to find the right balance in eating meat. It is important to not overload your plate with meat even if it’s lean.
To give you some ideas for your next breakfast, try to add different kinds of fruits, veggies, low-fat dairy and whole grains to pair with slices of meat. This ensures that you are getting a good mix of nutrients. Your breakfast should not only be filling but also healthy and balanced.
As your online weight loss coach, I want to help you lose weight and love the process. This includes having healthy breakfast meats, filling and hearty lunches, and even desserts from time to time!! I do not believe in going on fad diets or starving yourself to lose weight. You shouldn’t either!
Need more advice?
At the end of the day, it is important to remind yourself that you don’t need to go on extreme, restrictive diets to shed those extra pounds. Eating healthy and losing weight is not about limiting the food you eat, it’s about eating the right foods at the right times.
You can eat meat for breakfast and losing weight does not have to be a terrible experience!
I’m Corey, your down-to-Earth, real-life, donut-loving, “lose weight while getting away with as much as you can” weight-loss coach and fitness expert.
If you need more advice on weight loss, check out my “Real Life Weight Loss” podcast. Tune in to Episode #34 – Lose Weight & Love The Process to learn more about two vital aspects of the weight loss process that must be balanced to be successful! So grab your healthy breakfast meats, pop in your earbuds, and open your eyes to a new method for losing weight.