Take a poll on whether it’s important to eat breakfast or not and you’ll get a convincing 95% answering YES! However, when it comes down to it, less than 50% of adults actually start their day with a meal of any kind. Whether it’s the morning rush or just not feeling up to it, there are more breakfast skippers than breakfast eaters. Here are 3 reasons why you don’t want to skip breakfast:
- Irritability & Fatigue. Research shows that children who’ve eaten breakfast behave better at school. We all, in fact, do better when we’re not subjected to low blood sugar levels which can cause irritability, tiredness or fogging thinking.
- Store Fat & Gain Weight. According to the Mayo Clinic, the extended fasting that occurs when we skip breakfast increases our body’s insulin output which in turn increases fat storage and weight gain. Breakfast gives our bodies the refueling we need after a good night’s sleep and prevents the insulin spike that comes from not eating for 8 or more hours.
- Regain the Weight You Lost. The National Weight Control Registry highlights eating breakfast as one of its key stratigies for keeping weight off long-term. Almost 80% of the registry’s members who have kept off 30 pounds or more for over a year report eating breakfast every day! Why fall into uncontrollable hunger mid-morning, when a morning meal can dampen your brain’s desire for high calorie foods and increase your sense of self-control.
If starting your day off with breakfast meant clearer thinking or greater chances of keeping off the weight you lost, wouldn’t it be worth putting in the effort to make it happen? Try these 3 steps.
- Decide the night before what you’re going to have for breakfast: hot cereal, omelette, bagel with peanut butter, even leftovers work.
- Set out what you need in to get breakfast going. Take out the toaster, set up the coffee pot, mix up your dry cereal with nuts, seeds and dry fruit in a bowl so all you have to do is add milk, have hard-boiled eggs ready to go. The effort will be worth it when the alarm rings at 6am!
- Include protein and whole grains in your morning meal. Protein is best for curbing the appetite and a complex carbohydrate will give your brain the glucose lift it needs to function fully.
What’s on your menu for tomorrow morning?
