“It’s the most important meal of the day!”
How many of us have heard this adage about breakfast? Generations have hailed a morning meal as a great way to start your day, ensuring that you face whatever life throws at you with plenty of sustained energy.
But how much science is there to actually support this notion? As it turns out, there are good reasons to eat breakfast—and you should make a point of doing it. But if you’re still adamant about waiting a few hours to eat, it likely won’t be the end of the world.
Why You Need Breakfast
Think of the word breakfast: It refers to the fact that you’re breaking the fast you’ve been sustaining since the night before, whether the last thing you ate was dinner or a late-evening snack. It’s likely been anywhere from eight to 12 hours since you ate, and during that time of fasting, you’ve depleted the glucose your body has made from digested carbohydrates and prefers to use for energy. Your liver has likely broken down any glucose stored in the form of glycogen. You need to replenish your stores if you’re going to have energy—especially mental energy, as your brain relies exclusively on glucose to power itself. Lack of glucose affects your ability to focus, concentrate, and even remember simple facts. This explains why children and adolescents who eat a healthy breakfast tend to do better in school.
Breakfast for Weight Management
If you’re trying to lose weight, you might see cutting out breakfast as an easy way to cut back on your energy intake. After all, if your body isn’t able to fuel itself with glucose, it will start burning fat stores, you think.
But studies show this isn’t a successful method for weight management. Instead, skipping breakfast could have the opposite effect. Large fluctuations in your glucose levels actually inhibit your appetite control, so even though you take in fewer calories in the morning, you could overcompensate later in the day. Additionally, breakfast eaters might consume more calories early in the morning, but they also tend to burn more calories overall because they have the energy to be active.
Making Breakfast an Easier Option
The Cleveland Clinic reports that about one-fourth of Americans skip breakfast. For some, it’s because they aren’t hungry first thing in the morning. In this case, listening to your hunger cues will serve you better than trying to force food on yourself when you don’t want it. Breakfast might still be the ideal option, but not everyone is the same—it’s more important to eat well over the course of the day.
However, many people skip breakfast not because of their appetite but because they’re lacking time. In this case, choose something small and dense in nutrients that you can eat on the go. Skip the breakfast pastries and other sugary convenience foods. Instead, you want a balance of carbohydrates, protein, and healthy fat that will keep you sustained.
Need some suggestions? Dietitians recommend a piece of whole-grain toast, a cup of low-fat yogurt, a handful of nuts, or a piece of fruit as great on-the-go options that will put some fuel in your body until you can find a more substantial meal.
