Breakfast Of Champions
For a good, long time, one meal has been touted as the most important one of the day, making lunch and dinner feel like step children in the scheme of nutritional provisions.
What makes breakfast so gosh darn special? Is it the prizes in the cereal boxes? T.V. dinners never had prizes in ‘em, did they?
Very rarely is a lunch given any accolade, except that you shouldn’t skip it. Isn’t any meal as important as the next?
Considering what a healthy breakfast can do for you, maybe it deserves the kudos…
Kick start
The very name, —“break” and “fast”—, tells you what the meal is all about. In the eightish or so hours before you have it, you have had nothing because you’ve been sleeping. So, your stomach should be pretty much empty. As with any machine, your body won’t run very well without fuel. It gets the metabolism going, literally!
Can you really expect to get that far without it? Usually, those who skip breakfast will just be hungry until lunch, and that feeling will preoccupy their every thought. Now, there are two problems from one: no fuel to function right, and the persistent distraction as a nice, unpleasant side effect.
Tactical savvy
So, let’s say you’re trying to lose weight. Everyone needs a certain amount of calories to get through their day. Now, where’s the best place to take in those calories, so that they can be best utilized? You could eat a lot of them later in the day, when you have less time to actively burn them, or you could stack a big, bunch at the start of the day.
If you have a good, healthy, hearty breakfast, you are more likely to feel energized throughout the day. It’s a nice trickle down that makes you less hungry as the day goes by, so you won’t mind smaller meals after it.
Timing is Everything
Studies have shown that breakfast eaters tend to live longer, have less chronic health issues, and, surprise, weigh less than those who skip it. According to WedMD, in a study by the National Weight Control Registry, 80% of successful weight losers eat breakfast on a regular basis, and those people have maintained their weight after a 30lb. drop.
So, next time you think you don’t have time for it, think again. Breakfast is only as important as your health.