The Breakfast Effect

Tags: diet breakfast health

October.08.2009

It is 7am. The alarm goes off. Another day is about to begin. Put the coffee on. Venture to the shower. Your normal morning routine. No matter how hard you try, time always seems to be an issue. It is a race against the clock in order to be out the door on time.

Time ticks away. The morning routine is complete. It is finally time to make your exit. You hurry through the door, on your way to face your day. Wait, something is missing. You are starting to feel a hunger pain. Your body is reminding you that you did not eat. No worries, there are plenty of donut shops on the way. And if all else fails, the vending machine at work will do.

It this sounds like you, you are probably not alone. Time and time again, far too many people follow this same pattern. If not this exact pattern, then some variation of it. Little do they know, skipping breakfast, for whatever reason, could be negatively impacting their lives in ways they may not even realize. It may be a to save time, it may be to loose weight, but the reality is, it is never a good idea to skip this important meal.

What Happens When You Skip Breakfast

If you think about what is happening in the morning, you will soon realize that you essentially just finished a 6 - 8 hour fasting period (depending on how long you slept and the last time you ate). Naturally your energy stores are low. While you may not recognize this at first, it will soon be clear once you are finished with your morning routine.

Blood sugar levels decrease. This leads to a feeling of fatigue. It becomes harder to concentrate. Your overall production is affected. Because of the increased feeling of hunger that arises from lack of food intake, many people compensate by making unhealthy snack choices and/or overeating at their next meal.

While coffee and donuts may give temporary relief, ultimately, this spike in sugar will lead to a "crash". Not only are you not getting the energy you need, you would not be getting the benefits of the nutrients in other healthier options.

Benefits of Eating Breakfast

The opposite of the above scenario is to take a few extra minutes in order to have a full and healthy breakfast. What you are doing now, is giving your body the necessary energy levels it will need not only for the morning, but for the whole day as well.. When you do this, you will notice an astounding amount of benefits. Some of these benefits include:

1. Jump start your metabolism. When you eat, your metabolism starts working. This will burn calories. If you do not eat, your metabolism has no reason to work. This will lead to your body storing food. Thus, weight gain. Over time, skipping breakfast will lead to weight gain.

2. Avoid unhealthy snacks and/or binge eating later on. Often times when people skip breakfast, they look for something that will just get them by. Something filling, so they may lose the feeling of hunger. More often than not these are unhealthy snacks such as candy bars or chips of some sort.

Another side effect is the lunch time binge. There are many studies that show those who skip breakfast often eat more at lunch. In fact, they eat far past the point of feeling full. This will have many negative effects including yet another late afternoon crash.

3. Getting your vitamins and nutrients. If you pay attention to most foods eaten at breakfast, you may notice that many of them are fairly healthy. Oatmeal, cereals, fruits juices, even tea and coffee. All of these options hold great nutritional value. Combine that with a supplement regimen, and you are well on your way to a healthy day.

4. Greater overall production. If you want to avoid the sluggish day that just seems to drag without much accomplished, you may want to eat a well balanced breakfast. You will avoid unnecessary mental "crashes" and your body and mind will pay you back by keeping your more attentive and focused.

Ways to ease the stress of preparing breakfast

1. Stay as simple as possible. Overcomplicating recipe solutions may lead to avoidance. Quick and easy solutions will help not make it seem like a daunting task.
2. Prepare ahead when possible. If there is less work to do in the morning, there are less excuses to be made for skipping breakfast.

Nutrients and foods you should work into your breakfast

1. Whole wheat grains - whole grain bread, rye bread, oatmeal, whole grain cereal
2. A source of protein - protein shake, egg whites, peanut butter
3. Complex carbohydrates in the form of fruit - apple, orange, banana, raisins
4. Some sort of pure juice and/or green tea (coffee also has health benefits)
5. Any vitamin supplements that are taken in either pill or liquid form (esp multivitamins)

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