Nutritionist recommends 4 breakfast meals to fight off sleep

Do you often feel more tired and sleepy after eating breakfast before work or school? According to nutritionist Lam Sai-hong, choosing the wrong breakfast foods can not only lead to weight gain but also cause drowsiness. So what can you quickly eat that's both healthy and energizing? He recommends four breakfast combinations that are even available at convenience stores, all under 450 calories.

Why Does Breakfast Make You Sleepy?

Lam explained on the "Good Food Class" Facebook page that if you don't want to feel drowsy all morning, the most important thing is to avoid eating too much or consuming only carbohydrates. For example, if you only eat a plain steamed bun or jam toast in the morning without any protein-rich drinks, it can easily cause blood sugar fluctuations that make you feel sleepy.

3 Key Principles for Choosing an Energizing Breakfast:

1. Keep calories under 400kcal: If you're not very active in the morning, don't eat too much. Control breakfast to around 400 calories, then consume 600-800 calories each for lunch and dinner to meet your daily needs.
2. Eat more protein: Protein has less impact on blood sugar. When consuming adequate carbohydrates, pairing them with 13-30g of protein can increase satiety and prevent post-breakfast drowsiness.
3. Avoid fried foods: Eating greasy foods in the morning when your digestive system isn't fully active places a heavy burden on your stomach and intestines, slowing digestion. High-fat, high-calorie foods also easily lead to weight gain.

4 Energizing Breakfast Combinations Available at Convenience Stores:

Lam provided these four convenience store breakfast examples with their nutritional information:

1. Cheese and Egg Burger + Sugar-free Yogurt Drink
   • Calories: 360kcal
   • Carbs: 44g
   • Protein: 22g
   • Fat: 11g
2. Grilled Chicken Sandwich + Sugar-free High-fiber Soy Milk
   • Calories: 365kcal
   • Carbs: 37g
   • Protein: 23g
   • Fat: 14g
3. Chicken/Tuna Rice Ball + High-protein Milk
   • Calories: 422kcal
   • Carbs: 67g
   • Protein: 25g
   • Fat: 6g
4. Cabbage Bun + Low-fat Fresh Milk + Tea Egg
   • Calories: 335kcal
   • Carbs: 35g
   • Protein: 22g
   • Fat: 12g

Additional Tips

The nutritionist pointed out that if your main breakfast item is low in protein, you can choose high-protein milk or add extra items like tea eggs or chicken breast to increase your protein intake. For example, a chicken/tuna rice ball contains only about 5g of protein, so pairing it with high-protein milk (about 20g protein) makes a complete meal. You can also choose fiber-rich options like cabbage buns, salads, or bananas, and complement them with tea eggs and milk for added protein.