Congratulations! I knew you would know better ;) You've just overcome the first hurdle!
First off, anyone who currently does not eat breakfast is in a great position. This means this simple change to your lifestyle can make a huge difference in your energy levels, satiety throughout the day, and, of course, weight loss! For those of you who are already on the breakfast bandwagon.. this info will just be affirmation and a big ol' pat on the back ;)
Think about this for a moment. Lets say you ate dinner around 7pm. Go to bed, wake up the next morning around 6 or 7am (that's already been 12 hours) and decide not to eat breakfast, for whatever reason at all. You head to work, errands, the gym, where ever your schedule calls you and don't realize you are actually hungry until it's about noon. By this point it's been 17 hours since your last meal, and now your body is saying you need to eat. So you do. I'll give you the benefit of the doubt and say you eat something nutritious (Mhmm... righhht) but also decide snacking on the bread offered at the restaurant to make the rumbling go away in your stomach sounds like a good idea. By the time you get home, you start looking in the cupboards for anything you can open and indulge in. Then dinner comes, around 7pm again, and you decide to eat a big, hearty meal since you hadn't really eaten much all day. Go to bed, wake up at 6 am and the cycle continues.
Okay, let me break this down a bit.
Right away, you can see that a lot of time passes from dinnertime to even breakfast time. If you decide to 'wait' until lunch, it's best compared to going into a small fast. You do not want your body to get used to this. Going without food for such a long period of time increases the production of insulin in your body which can cause you to store more fat. Don't blame your body though, it just is storing up because it isn't sure when it will be fed again, it's adapting to your lifestyle...
By lunchtime, how many people can say they would choose something nutritious? A lot of times you won't even be able to wait until lunch without snacking on something you have on hand.. candy, chips, donut holes. By waiting so long to fuel your body for your day, you put yourself at risk of making bad decisions and overeating at lunch. That packed lunch may not sound as good as the smell of jack-in-the-box across the street, if you catch my drift..
I don't have to explain much about what happens when you get home for the day.. because if you are like me and haven't eaten much all day, you "deserve" whatever you can get your hands on. Not only do you "deserve" a good meal for dinner, but for some reason you also "deserve" dessert! Its not the cookie monster.. it's the deserve monster in all of us that stole that cookie from the cookie jar, lets just be honest..
Okay Okay, all joking aside, what can we do to get you to start your day off right then? Maybe you ask, what would be a few good options to eat if you fall under those categories I mentioned earlier..
If you are the 'not usually hungry in the morning', and perhaps the thought of eating something right when you wake up doesn't sounds so appealing, here's a few options. It's still important to make sure you have something to start kick start your metabolism for the day.. maybe something like a protein shake, smoothie, or who doesn't love a piece of toast with some peanut butter? Even a bit of a protein bar will do! These will also work for the 'I'm too busy in the morning to eat'. Something quick and simple is better than nothing. Just please don't take from this that I'm saying it's okay to grab some pop-tarts.. don't do it.. I will come smack it out of your hand! As for the 'just not breakfast' people, the hard fact is, you have to learn to be. You may not love breakfast, but if you are serious about your fitness goals, then you need to be serious about how you start your day. If your fitness goal is to lose body fat or weight, you need your body to start burning calories from the point you wake up, rather than using those hours of "fasting" for storing fat. Right? Has a lightbulb gone off for anyone yet?
If you love breakfast, like I do, or are learning to love breakfast, heres a fun fact. In a study found in Nutrition for Health, Fitness & Sport, Vander Wal and others found that eating eggs (or any other lean protein) for breakfast can curb appetite at lunch and for the remainder of the day, reducing the total daily intake by about 250 fewer Calories (Williams, 466) Funny, you would think cutting out a meal would reduce calories.. but that is just not the case! Good news for us breakfast feens!
Here is my ritual every morning and a few pictures of my breakfast today!
If you know me, you know I love my egg white omelets. My favorite pan we have is my omelet specific one! All you do is pour in the egg whites, spinach, jalapenos (as shown), tomatoes, peppers, mushrooms, whatever you want! It has a grill on both sides so you can flip it half way! I also make a few pieces of low sodium, low-fat turkey bacon, which makes the house smell nice and bacony ;)
I do my breakfast right, adding a slice of Fat-free American cheese and always have to have either salsa, or Taco Bell Sauce! NOTE: I only use pepper on my eggs, because you get enough sodium from the cheese & turkey bacon. Accompanying my omelet is a nice side of fruit (cantaloupe, peaches, strawberries & grapes) and of course my cup of coffee with Stevia & Coffee Mate Natural Bliss creamer (with all natural ingredients)!
All of this for only about 325 Calories (egg whites + toppings = 80, cheese = 25, turkey bacon = 70 (35 each), Salsa/TB Sauce = 0, coffee + creamer = 30, bowl of fruit = approx. 120) Yummy!
Side Note: Just so you know, at the beginning of the week I cut up all my fruit so I can easily and quickly add it to the side of a meal. The omelet and turkey bacon only take about 5 minutes to make! (6 if you like your bacon crispy!!)
Okay, no more excuses! Start you day off right from now on, or you shall be cursed with the guilt of knowledge ;)
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