Ok... If you are reading this is because you do want to hear the "why breakfast is good for you" sermon.
Well, you may have read it in the paper, or maybe you've heard it on the radio on your way to work. It's almost a cliche! Almost everybody knows that "breakfast is the most important meal of the day".
If it's so good... how come many people skip breakfast?
People do. There are lots of excuses for not having breakfast, including (but not limited to):
Lack of time
not being a morning person
trying to lose weight
Not finding anything good for breakfast, and
having forgotten to have it
A while ago I used to skip breakfast too.
Later on I would have "whatever", and then a very heavy lunch (depending on how hungry I would be by lunch time).
But when I started paying attention to what I ate (and how and how much), I realised the damage I was causing to my body by skipping the most important meal of the day.
What happens to our bodies when we skip breakfast?
Understanding this question will help you realise "why breakfast is good for you", and hopefully, you'll reconsider making breakfast a must in your everyday life.
For starters, if you skip breakfast you're making it harder for your body to lose weight, and your energy levels will tend to be lower than those of a person who looks after herself.
Why?
Think about it. By the time breakfast is due, your body has not received any food for about 8 hours (a third of your day). Compare this with your "day" hours, when you have 3 (if not more) meals.
It is amazing how, if you are used to skipping breakfast, you condition yourself to feel "ok", but a close examination of your "fasting" mood would reveal that your levels of energy are low. What happens is that your body is rested at the end of a good sleep, but you still need the energy after you wake up.
Your body does not stop just because you go to sleep. It goes on breathing, digesting, pumping up blood everywhere in your body, and moving (amongst many other physiological processes).
It constantly needs fuel (ie food), and even if you're not hungry early in the morning, your body will still need the extra energy contained in a breakfast meal. It makes sense, doesn't it?
But breakfast is more than an energy source. Breakfast is good for you because it:
provides glucose to your brain, making you mentally efficient and alert. You get "the edge" by having breakie (Australian for "breakfast"); ;-) reduces your cholesterol levels (depending on what you eat for breakie, of course!);
gives you vital nutrients and vitamins;
makes you slimmer, by jump-starting your metabolism (how quickly your body burns energy), which is slow after relative inactivity at night. makes you "Mr or Ms Happy". An energized and balanced meal may alter your mode and make you feel better during the day.
What to have for breakfast?
The opposite of skipping breakfast is having the wrong things for breakfast (and possibly too much of it too!).
Every meal is capable of giving you energy. The question is "how long will that energy last for?". This is important to know because that will determine whether you still feel "charged up" till lunch time, or whether you're starving by 10 AM.
Avoid things like chocolate chip muffins and other high sugar meals. The energy levels are high (and they taste deliciuos, I know!) but short-lived, and the residual makes you bigger and heavier. So, these foods are a no-no.
Fresh fruits and cereals, are a healthier choice, but you have to be mindful of the sugar contained in cereals. Some of them can have enough sugar a whole family in one single serving!
But what if you're not "a breakfast person?"
There is no such a thing as a "breakfast person".
If you need to do something for your health, you do it, and you can condition yourself to make having breakfast part of your life and take pleasure on it.
But I've got a couple of tips that can help you in your transition to having breakfast:
Know "why" breakfast is important. Reading this article was a good start; ;-)
Buy fruits and cereal (but mind the amount of sugar that some cereals contain);
Check out my (ahem... )delicious low fat breakfast recipes and try some (you'll like them, I promise);
plan your meals. Planning ahead to have interesting and tasty meals for breakfast will help you enjoy it;
If you don't have the time to prepare breakie (you don't have 5 minutes for yourself!?), you may choose a good low fat fast food outlet and be good and have a low-fat-low-sugar-meal.
But whatever you do... do have breakfast!
... it's good for you! ;-)
Have a great day!
Jeff Rosales is "The Skinny Chef", the editor of delicious low fat breakfast recipes a growing collection of delicious low fat recipes, weight loss and healthy eating articles, interviews and product reviews. Jeff's recipes are so delicious... you won't believe they're good for you!
tidy up service Glenview ..Your brain has this really interesting system that is kind... Read More
We have such good weight loss intentions. We emotionally beat... Read More
Lousy Reasons to Lose Weight"I want to be a size... Read More
Let's face facts; obesity is ripe today in America and... Read More
For years we heard that a low-fat, low-cholesterol diet would... Read More
As of the writing of this article, May 16, 2005,... Read More
Liposuction works best with people who are a normal weight... Read More
How's the practicing going? Are you spending time each day... Read More
Once there were these two Nuns and they...just kidding! Do... Read More
These days more and more people are getting intellectual instead... Read More
Gastric bypass surgeries are temporary physical fixes to a long... Read More
Any doctor worth their salt will tell you diets don't... Read More
Over the last 30 years, research into food and blood... Read More
The Quest to Reach Your Ideal WeightIt was late in... Read More
Obesity still remains one of the commonest avoidable causes of... Read More
Have you ever dreaded the idea of pulling weeds, planting... Read More
How's this for a diet: Take in fewer calories than... Read More
How would you like Julia Roberts to coach you on... Read More
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, obesity... Read More
Fat does Not Make You Fat. One of the other... Read More
Are you one of the many people who feel frustrated... Read More
Now this is the real American Dream! I'm here to... Read More
If you are among the millions of people searching for... Read More
That's a pretty "in your face" statement, but really it's... Read More
All of us that have had a love-hate relationship with... Read More
full-service cleaning Mundelein ..As I explained in the first part of this article,... Read More
Recently, I won a family cruise on the Regis and... Read More
Cellulite is a condition for which cures are commonly sought.... Read More
How do we know what we know? Often, our knowledge... Read More
In recent years, carbohydrates have been labeled as the nutrition... Read More
Your brain has this really interesting system that is kind... Read More
If you're a low carb diet enthusiast, you've probably tried... Read More
One thing I really must say at the outset of... Read More
There's a two hundred year history of people prescribing both... Read More
There are many factors that cause us to increase body... Read More
Weight Loss ? Basic Lessons for Sustained SuccessWeight loss is... Read More
Lose Weight - Get A Break ---------------------------------------- The American Obesity... Read More
As I become acquainted with many of our LivingAfterWLS.com community... Read More
Ever wondered why some people manage to keep their weight... Read More
Have you ever wondered why diet books always seem to... Read More
Water is an essential component of the human body and... Read More
That's a pretty "in your face" statement, but really it's... Read More
With the growing epidemic of diabetes and obesity in our... Read More
The Secrets have been in our family recipes, some even... Read More
Diet Pills are the fastest growing segment of the dietary... Read More
How many of your New Year's resolution start out with... Read More
As parents who've had gastric bypass we face many challenges... Read More
I had some questions come in about Ephedra. So I... Read More
Obesity and overweight, weight reduction and weight management therapies, miracle... Read More
Sometime, during the phase of rapid weight loss after gastric... Read More
Weight Loss |