21 Oct Don’t Forget Your Breakfast

Are you someone that likes to skip breakfast in the morning?  Many people are so caught up in the hustle and bustle of the morning that they decide to skip their morning meal.  Or, they decide to sacrifice their breakfast in order to sleep in an extra half hour or so.  But, have you ever stopped to think about how skipping your breakfast may be affecting your health and your weight? 

Getting a Good Start

The unfortunate reality is that many people think they are doing themselves a favor when they choose to skip breakfast.  After all, that is less calories you are taking in, so it should help you with your diet, right?  The fact is that skipping your breakfast can actually lead to obesity.  In addition, eating your morning meal provides you with all of the following benefits:

· Helps stabilize your blood sugar levels, which makes you less likely to have blood sugar problems and helps to regulate your appetite and energy levels
· Helps make you less hungry throughout the day so you avoid overeating
· Gives a boost to your metabolism
· Improves your mental performance and concentration

Remember, “breakfast” gets its name from “break” and “fast.”  This is because you are going through a short fast when you sleep and, when you eat your breakfast, you are breaking this mini-fast.  Your body needs that food in order to provide it with the proper amount of fuel to get through the day.

Listen to Research

Interestingly, there is also research indicating that eating a big breakfast is better for long term health and weight loss than eating a low calorie, low carbohydrate diet.  In fact, according to the Big Breakfast Diet study, one group of overweight individuals was instructed to eat a low calorie, low carb diet of 290 calories each morning while the other group was instructed to eat a high carb breakfast of about 610 calories. 

After four months of following this diet, the group eating the low carb diet lost an average of 28 pounds while those eating the high carb breakfast lost 23 pounds.  Eight months into the plan, however, the low carb group had actually regained 18 pounds while the high carb group lost an additional 16.5 pounds.  When the study was over, those following the high carb breakfast had lost 21% of their body weight while those in the low carb group had lost a total of 4.5%.

So, don’t starve yourself in the morning!  Eat a healthy and balanced breakfast each day and your body will thank you!