We have been told time and time again that breakfast is the
most important meal of the day, yet nearly one-fifth of all
adults choose to pass on the Wheaties. What is the big deal
about breakfast? Can a solid breakfast really make or break
your fitness goals? Read on as I answer your most pressing
questions on this popular subject...
Why eat Breakfast?
Let's dissect the word 'breakfast'. When you take it apart
you find two words with an all-important hidden message.
Break - Fast. I can hear your wheels spinning on this one!
That's right, breakfast is the meal that breaks the fast
that your body goes into each and every night when you
sleep.
When breakfast is skipped, your body continues to fast
until you eat later in the day.
Two Reasons Why You Shouldn't Skip Breakfast:
Reason #1: Your brain needs fuel to function at its peak.
This fuel comes in the form of glucose derived from food
and is needed to walk, talk and perform all other
activities. When you skip breakfast your brain is forced to
work extra hard in breaking down stored carbohydrates or to
turn fats and proteins into usable forms of glucose. Eating
breakfast has been proven to improve concentration,
increase your problem solving capabilities, enhance overall
mental performance and even boosts your memory and mood.
Reason #2: Your metabolism will go into 'famine' mode.
Three to four hours after you eat, your metabolism shuts
down and acts as if it needs to store food. This is a great
function to have if a famine were to break out, leaving you
without food for days. Since this is likely not the case
for you, it is pretty annoying when your body starts
packing on the pounds in an attempt to protect you from
starvation! Eating breakfast communicates with your body
the fact that you are healthy, well fed and not in need of
extra fat storage.
What about the cut calories?
"Skipping breakfast is how I cut calories out of my diet."
I can't tell you how often I hear this response when I
encourage people to eat breakfast. What these "calorie
cutters" don't realize is that they are the ones who turn
to snacking later in the day in an attempt to ward off low
energy levels. Allowing your body to become over-hungry
leads to distorted satiety signals, and leaves the door
wide open for overeating later in the day.
Start your day with breakfast and then continue to eat
smaller meals and snacks throughout the day for optimal
calorie burning.
What's for Breakfast?
Now that you are convinced that breakfast is worth your
time, it's time to decide what to have! A recent study done
by FoodWatch, a Minnesota-based consulting firm that
watches food trends, revealed that most people are
basically eating dessert for breakfast, due to the high
quantities of on-the-go breakfast foods that are processed,
packaged and pumped full of refined carbohydrates. Another
study recently proved that high fiber, low fat breakfasts
promote healthy weight control much more effectively than
highly refined breakfast foods.
Try the following On-The-Go Breakfast Selections for a
blend of hearty carbohydrates, protein and fat and
experience optimal morning energy.
* Low Fat Yogurt with Fresh Fruit
* Low Fat Cottage Cheese and a Cherry Oatmeal Muffin
* Hard Boiled Egg and Whole Wheat Toast
* Scrambled Egg White on Half a Bagel
* Whole Wheat Tortilla rolled with Scrambled Egg Beaters
and Salsa
* Soy Milk with Whole Grain Cereal and Fresh Fruit
----------------------------------------------------
Machelle Lee owns and operates The Invisible Gym in Santa
Cruz, CA. Her mission is to inspire people to become
physically active and enjoy the benefits of a balanced,
healthy lifestyle. For more information and questions you
can visit her website.
No comments:
Post a Comment