The First Step

We hear it everywhere. From doctors to trainers to talk shows. But an ABC News poll indicates that only 53% of people ages 18-34 eat breakfast on a regular basis. That number steadily goes up through the age groups with 83% of people over the age of 65 eating breakfast regularly. But why is it so important? Why do we have such a hard time eating breakfast? What if I am just not hungry in the morning?

The importance of breakfast can be summed up rather quickly; if you don’t put gas in the tank, it won’t run. Now granted, our entire body can be used as fuel. But I would rather eat food than have muscles, bones and other organs used as a fuel source. The general tradition of dinner is that it is eaten in the evening from 5 – 8:30. Assuming we wake up around 5 am (which may be too early for most), that is still 8.5 – 12 hours without eating.

And that is during the time when our body is supposed to be repairing itself and recharging itself. The food we eat in the evening is used primarily for those purposes. However, if dinner carries us through until 5 a.m., and we don’t eat again until noon, what exactly is our body using as fuel for those 7 morning hours? Other tissues that are lower on the hierarchy of importance.

At this point, a few things happen. 1) Your metabolism will slow down in order to conserve energy. Your body may use a higher percentage of fat, but at this point your body isn’t using much energy total. So the trade off is a wash. 2) Much of the muscle tissue you have worked so hard to get is not being maintained, and is thus being lost. You lose muscle if you don’t provide energy to maintain it!!

Consider the following research:

A 2003 study in the Journal of the American College of Nutrition found that those who had a breakfast of cereal, breads or fruit had significantly lower BMI’s than those who didn’t eat or had meat/eggs for breakfast.

A 2005 study in the journal Obesity Research found that over 8 and 13 year periods, men who ate breakfast cereals were 22% and 12% less likely to gain weight. Men who ate at least one serving per day of cereal saw the highest likelihood of keeping their BMI under 25.

A 2008 study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition stated that people with lower body fat had higher percentages of fat oxidation (higher fat use as fuel) over a 12 hour period following breakfast.

Eating breakfast gives your body fuel to run on. It is best to eat a small meal containing complex carbohydrates and protein 20-30 minutes before exercise, and then eat something similar soon after strenuous exercise. An example would be whole grain toast with natural peanut butter and a small glass of low fat milk prior to exercise and yogurt with raw fruit shortly after exercise to prevent muscle breakdown. This will ensure that your body gets the energy and nutrients that it needs without sacrificing your reduced calorie goals for fat loss.

If you want a step by step how to for losing weight, breakfast is that first step you must take. A lot of times we aren't hungry. This is only because we have conditioned ourselves to start the day without breakfast. But if we start eating breakfast, our metabolism will increase, our energy levels will go up and yes, you can lose weight by eating a bit more food through out the day.

Changing the way you look is simple, but it is not easy.