| Mom was Right! | |
You know how your mother used to say that breakfast is the most important meal? Well, guess what? She was right! Mom knows best when it comes to appreciating the fact that breakfast is the fuel that keeps us running throughout the day.
It Works for Weight Loss
First off, let's consider how breakfast relates to weight loss: You've just been asleep for 7 or 8 hours. Your body needs to recover from this brief period of starvation. Skipping breakfast keeps your body in "starvation" mode, while eating a good meal will give your metabolism a boost. This is because being inactive (and not eating for this extended period of time) causes your metabolism to plummet. If you're trying to lose weight, the last thing you want to do is keep your metabolism at this lowered state. Partaking of a morning meal will rev up your fat burning ability.
Running on Empty
It's a great song, but not such a great habit. If you don't eat something in the morning, you are literally forcing yourself to "run on empty". Did you skip breakfast today? Let's estimate that the last time you ate anything was at 8 p.m. last night. If you didn't eat lunch until noon today, that's sixteen hours of no refueling! Maybe you've already had a wave of nausea? Felt a little light-headed when standing up too quickly? Your body is screaming out, "Hey, give me some help here!".
Breakfast Beats Binges
Eating a good breakfast will keep you from getting too hungry, which will help prevent you from over-eating. It is also helpful to those of us who tend to eat when we're not hungry. By keeping your appetite at an even keel, it may in turn help you control your impulse to eat when stress or emotions start to get the best of you. Studies have shown that people -- women in particular -- tend to eat less compulsively, less often when they have eaten breakfast.
One More Reason to Remember
Eating breakfast improves your thinking ability. It's not just children who need breakfast so they'll be at top mental performance; we need to refuel to get that edge, too. Want one more reason to eat in the a.m.? How about a memory boost? A study published in the November 2001 issue of The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition* showed that eating breakfast improved participants' performance on memory tests.
Time to Refuel!
Still not convinced? Here's the bottom line: The fuel that keeps our motors running is glucose. Your brain and your nervous system need glucose to work: that means walking, speaking, stretching, typing -- any activity requires this fuel. If you don't supply it, your system resorts to finding stored carbohydrates or it tries to turn fat into glucose. Not good. So why put your body through all this? Instead, do what mom told you and eat that breakfast!
* American Journal of Clinical Nutrition November 2001; 75: 567-568
Before You Go!
Check out our Breakfast Excuse Busters
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