Today we are very pleased to present a guest post by Melissa Melcombe, founder of healthy lifestyle website Mel’s Life (www.melslife.com), and Arena Fitness member since 2004.

I absolutely love breakfast and since it’s the most important meal of the day, I really try to pay attention to what I eat.  I’d love to eat pancakes every day, but as an active person who would like to remain relatively slim, I know that eventually all of those sugars and refined white flours would catch up with me eventually; the results would not be pretty!  So, I opt for foods that still have a little sweetness (I prefer sweet in the morning), but that also are good to consume before or after a long workout and that will keep me full for a long time–at least until lunch.  One of my favorites is oatmeal.  While I was training for the LA marathon a few years ago, I ate it every day and it seemed to do the trick.  Oatmeal is also great because you can add so many things to it; I love adding soy milk, agave syrup (has a low glycemic index and is sweeter than regular sugar), dried cranberries, raisins, and blueberries.  Occasionally I cook banana with my oatmeal on the stove and add a little bit of maple syrup–it tastes like banana pancakes and it’s delicious.

Another one of my breakfast favorites is soy or regular yogurt with some fruit and a little bit of muesli.  I try to find yogurts that are not too high in sugar and add fresh fruit from the farmer’s market.  Muesli is a good cereal because it’s usually low in sugar and contains a lot of delicious dried fruits.  It’s hard not to eat peanut butter by the spoonful and I actually probably would eat it this way if I thought I wouldn’t gain 1,000 pounds.  If I am on the go or want to get a little peanut butter fix, I usually spread about 1 tablespoon on a piece of sprouted or whole grain toast.  It tastes so great and actually keeps me full for a very long time.  I don’t eat eggs (though they are great for breakfast in terms of protein) so I prefer tofu scramble.  Let me just say, with the right seasoning, it tastes amazing!

The good news is that there are so many wonderful breakfast options and I feel like I find a new favorite every couple of weeks.  The main thing I have to remember when I am craving something really sweet, like muffins or scones, is that I’m just going to be hungry an hour later.  But I’m not perfect–occasionally I will eat a healthy muffin or even pancakes, but I make sure that everything is made with good flours (buckwheat for example) and that it’s all relatively low in sugar.  Hey, we all need a little treat once in a while!