Ham & Eggs

If you think eating a muffin and strawberries makes for a “well-balanced” breakfast, you’re wrong. Most breakfast foods like cereal, fruit, and bread provide nothing but carbohydrates. If you’re looking to build muscle, you’ll need to add protein and even a little bit of fat into your first meal of the day.

High-quality proteins from fish, meat, eggs and dairy are essential in building muscle, and the fat from them also helps to slow the absorption of carbohydrates into your bloodstream. So instead of a quick sugar rush of energy from eating carbohydrates alone, you’ll have a steady supply of energy all day long.

Proteins and fats also keep you full longer, curbing your urge to binge eat, and shrinking your midsection in the process. A study between Saint Louis University and Wayne State University has shown that eating eggs as part of your breakfast will result in fewer calories consumed throughout your day.