The Breakfast Club

You’ve all heard the saying before, “breakfast is the most important meal of day,” maybe you’ve bought into it – or maybe you haven’t… The truth of the matter is that breakfast plays a fundamental role in setting the stage for your day both physically & metabolically – and what you eat for breakfast can be just as important as if you eat breakfast at all.

First things first though…

Obviously before we can talk about what to eat for breakfast you’ve got to know why you should even bother eating breakfast in the first place.  Here’s a snapshot of some of the effects that skipping breakfast can have on your body…

You Lose Energy 

Calories are a measure of energy -- the more calories you take in, the more energy your body is able to produce. When you skip breakfast, your body may not have enough energy to perform its daily functions. The body may start taking energy stored as glucose from your tissues, which can cause you to feel tired and lethargic. If you skip breakfast, you are more likely to experience a mid-morning slump that can leave your thinking cloudy.

 Your Hunger Increases 

One of the reasons why those who eat breakfast are better able to maintain their weight is because they stave off hunger by eating a healthy breakfast. When you skip breakfast, your stomach sends signals to your brain that it is empty, and you begin to experience hunger pangs. The longer you wait, the more your hunger grows. If you’ve skipped breakfast, you are more likely to reach for unhealthy snack options, such as convenience foods high in fat and sugar -- like a candy bar from a vending machine, a doughnut or a large bagel. Over time, this can contribute to weight gain.

 Your Metabolism Drops 

Your body’s metabolism is the rate at which you burn calories for daily life functions. The faster your metabolism, the faster you burn off foods you eat, which helps you maintain a healthy weight. Think of your metabolism like stoking a fire. If you constantly stoke the fire, you will be consistently warm. If you let the fire run out and re-light it, you will experience temperature fluctuations. The same is true for your metabolism. If you keep it burning by eating breakfast, you will burn more calories all day instead of experiencing fluctuations in metabolism that reduce your body’s ability to burn calories.

You Gain Weight 

Weight gain is ultimately the body’s result of skipped breakfast meals. Because skipping breakfast slows your metabolism and increases your hunger, this can add up to extra calories over time. Also, because you feel fatigued, you may not be able to engage in as much physical activity, which also can contribute to weight gain.

Source: Livestrong – The Effects of Skipping Breakfast 

So now that we've hopefully convinced you that eating breakfast is indeed a good idea, it’s important to know that what you eat for breakfast can be just as important as if you eat breakfast at all… 

Ditch those refined boxed cereals, sugary pastries, and unluved carbohydrates (like bagels and croissants!). When you eat these sugary/refined cereals, pastries and unluved carbs for breakfast, you’re sending your body on a blood-sugar roller coaster ride. All of those unluved carbs are going to spike your insulin levels and leave you feeling lethargic and hungry again once they drop – making you more likely to reach for another unhealthy snack-a-roo at the office or on-the-go fix to address that mid morning slump.  This can be an unending cycle as you reach for snack after snack as your blood sugar keeps on spiking and dipping… you get the picture.

So many of the traditional breakfast foods that have been marketed to us for years as the healthy, whole grain option are nothing more than sugary garbage, packaged and presented so nicely by the food industry...these foods are no good for your energy levels and even worse for fat burning! Break the cycle and start your day off right!

Instead, focus on having a larger, more satisfying breakfast each day with a higher protein content that will help keep you full and satisfied throughout the day – and won’t send your blood sugar on that crazy roller coaster ride we talked about earlier.  A protein shake with berries & even spinach (trust me you won’t even taste it) is a staple for my mornings! Or you could try an omelette with fresh veggies and free-range eggs, or if that takes too much time, make it a scramble – you can whip it together in less than 10 minutes!

These higher protein breakfasts will help to regulate your blood sugar, while at the same time providing your body with the energy it needs to function, and as an added bonus it will kick-start your metabolism to help you burn fat more effectively throughout the day, and I mean...who doesn’t like that?

Happy Breakfast-ing!

P.S. Stay tuned this week as I share my favourite shake recipe with you all!