National Better Breakfast Month

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day – right? Perhaps not. Some people are ‘breakfast’ people, others cannot even think about eating at least until an hour or two after they have woken up. September is National Better Breakfast Month and we are examining what a ‘better breakfast’ really means.

There is a big debate within the medical community whether you should eat breakfast every morning or not. But why is there a debate? Because the science of it is confusing! Some studies say that eating breakfast aids with weight loss, others say that it is not related. There are two factors to consider: will it lead to weight gain or weight loss? Will it lead to loss of energy?

Benefits of eating breakfast every day for weight loss include helping curb cravings, it emphasizes portion control, keeps you satiated, maintains glucose levels, and improves exercise performance. The conventional guidelines say that breakfast helps ignite your metabolism. Keep in mind though, these are benefits of a healthy, modest breakfast with lean protein, whole grains, and fresh fruits and veggies. A healthy breakfast could be oatmeal with nuts and a banana, or whole grain toast with a scrambled egg and tomato with herbal tea.

There is a solid case for not eating breakfast though. Studies have found that those who do not eat breakfast tend to eat less calories overall during the day. Skipping breakfast also helps reserve your calories for later in the day, which is a version of intermittent fasting. Intermittent fasting is when you go longer without eating, your body starts the process of ketosis, which means it is burning your own fat by putting ketone bodies out through urine, which expels fat from your body. The data says that the longer you can go between dinner and brunch/lunch, the more weight you lose. In addition, because cortisol levels are higher in the morning, naturally your body should not require breakfast as fuel first thing when you wake up because that hormone provides energy.

Another benefit of skipping breakfast could be that oftentimes, traditional American breakfasts are simply not healthy. They tend to be carb-heavy and not nutritionally dense. A big bowl of highly sweetened cereal and a large glass of sugar-filled orange juice, or a greasy bacon, egg, and cheese sandwich is not a healthy choice, and will not not help you lose weight, rather it may make you gain weight. Eating too heavy of a breakfast will cause your blood sugar to spike, and you will crave high sugar or high fat foods to bounce back from that crash after the spike.

For the breakfast-eaters who made the switch, during the first few days your body may feel sluggish and very hungry during your normal breakfast hours. After a little while, your body adjusts.

At the end of the day, weight loss or weight gain is about the amount of calories in and out throughout a 24 hour period. If eating breakfast means you’re also eating less throughout the day, then you should eat it. If you start eating breakfast and still are overeating at other meals, then you should consider skipping it.

The answer as to whether you should eat breakfast or skip it depends on your lifestyle, preferences, and weight loss goals. You should only eat when you are hungry, and if you are not hungry within the first hour when you wake up, then do not eat breakfast. Instead, just wait a few hours until you are hungry (but not starving!). If you are pregnant or take medication in the morning that must be consumed with food, then of course eat breakfast. Sometimes your schedule can dictate when is best for you to eat breakfast. If you work out in the morning, some people prefer to have a little something before they work out, or right after. One thing is for certain though – drinking coffee with lots of cream and sugar is not going to help you lose weight. It could also depend on the needs of your particular body – some people are naturally lower energy in the morning than others and need breakfast to help wake up. Whatever is best for you, Private Home Care wishes you the best of health!