The chances are you’re the busiest person in the world right now…

Who isn’t? Daily stressors such as work commitments and deadlines, hobbies and social engagements to attend there simply isn’t enough time to think about it, let alone actually plan in other things such as when you’re going to eat or train. Due to the fact of everyones life (I use the term everyone loosely) becoming busier and busier and busier, convenience is becoming bigger and bigger and bigger. Convenience is great in some cases but like anything else, too much of a good thing can be a bad thing. Too much convenience will make you lazy and unhealthy.

In this particular article I’m going to talk about breakfast biscuits. Firstly, are they going to nourish your body and provide the things your body needs to sustain its self? The simple answer is no, obviously. Despite all of the health tags and bumf about how good the (refined- processed) ingredients are supposed to be, at the end of the day it is just a biscuit. Just like a ‘Protein Mars Bar’ is still a Mars Bar. In a similar way it would be like bumping fish and chips up to ‘Protein Fish And Chips’, yes there is protein in it, but the addition of the rest of the stuff hardly makes it a suitable recovery meal!

So what is the deal with these biscuits? Why are they so good? Well the only reason they’re so good is because they’re so convenient but they’re not really much better than a normal ‘dipping biscuit’. They will offer you a very small amount of hunger satiety before you feel the need to rifle through your desk or the canteen at work. This is synonymous with any ‘snack’ that doesn’t have balanced protein, carbohydrates or fats. This obviously will lead to you consuming more calories overall, over a period of time.

So, why are they so bad? Well let us take a look at the numbers and you can see for yourself.

Oats have a well-balanced nutritional composition, and one serving (40 grams) of oats with 300ml of skimmed milk contains:

Calories 255
Fat 3.5g
Carbs 39g
Protein 14.6g

Nutrition Facts per packet 4 biscuits one serving for Belvita biscuit.
Calories 230
Fat 8g
Carbs 35g
Protein 4g


Nutrition Facts 4 biscuits for hob nob biscuit.
Calories 340
Fat 12g
Carbs 34g
Protein 4g

As you will have identified the ‘Dipping Biscuit’ and ‘Breakfast Biscuit’ are similar, maybe the breakfast breakfast is a little lighter on the calories and fat. But look at the oats we have used to make porridge, how much more filling and fuelling is it for similar calories? still not as good as Rolled Oats which can be used to make porridge, or overnight oats (a firm favourite amongst Body Planners). Other examples of a good breakfast, which is quick to prepare and consume would be 100g of smoked salmon and 3 scrambled eggs with spinach, or ‘Protein Pancakes’ with yogurt and mixed berries (see BP Recipes/ Site for more details). These options are better suited as breakfasts because they all have protein, carbohydrates and fats within, which help your body do what it needs to!

When it comes to breakfast (and we know you struggle to eat it, we hear it all the time) it is the most important meal of the day. A hearty breakfast will stoke your metabolism and bring it up to speed so it will burn energy and regulate your hormones, leaving you in a good mood, able to tackle the rest of your day with ease as opposed to that ‘Hangry Beast’ which subsides just after the elevenses run! My advice is to eat a proper breakfast and don’t take the biscuit!