Why You Shouldn't Skip Breakfast

We've all heard before that breakfast is the most important mean of the day. Even with that tidbit of information, many of us continue to skip breakfast on a regular basis. Some think they can make up for a skipped meal by eating a larger portion of another meal later on in the day. This is not so. Think of your intake of meals like you would a prescribed medication. If you are to take three pills a day at three specific times, you're likely to follow those instructions. Most medicine bottles will warn you about doubling up on prescribed doses.

Some may say skipping meal can't make you sick like skipping prescribed medication doses can. Perhaps you won't get sick, but skipping meals does have an effect on your body. We get nutrients and energy from the food that we eat. When we don't eat, we are depriving our body of essential nutrition. Why is breakfast considered the most important meal of the day? Think about it, the last meal for most of us is dinner which is usually eaten in the early evening between 6:00-7:00pm. Some of us may snack before going to bed but while our bodies are at rest as we sleep, we are burning calories and using up energy stored and consumed from previous meals. By the time we wake up in the morning, our bodies have been in a fasting state all night.

I am of the many who do not always like eating breakfast in the morning. Either I don't have time to cook it before I leave out or I tell myself I'll grab something once I'm out which I never end up doing. Below are five reasons which should already be well known as to why you shouldn't skip out on breakfast.

Eating breakfast improves your daily performance and concentration.

Studies have shown that children who eat breakfast regularly perform better in school and on standardized tests. Some of them also have fewer behavioral problems and are better able to concentrate during class. Adults also benefit from improved concentration after eating breakfast. It could be a simple as not worrying about if anyone else can hear your stomach rumbling from hunger or being able to focus on your work instead of wondering how long you have until lunch.

Eating breakfast can help to improve your mood.

For many of us, being hungry can make us more cranky and irritable. Or it may have the opposite effect and leave you feeling tired and fatigued. Mornings are usually when we need to be the most alert. Starting your day off by eating breakfast can put you in a better mood and reduce or eliminate feelings of fatigue (assuming you're getting enough rest at night).

There is such a large variety to choose from.

Ok so you're not a cereal and milk kind of person; that doesn't mean that there isn't something else you can't have for breakfast instead. There's eggs, toast, hash browns, sausage, biscuits, granola bars, waffles, fruit, yogurt, and a host of other things. And if like me you don't always feel like eating solid foods in the morning, you can have a smoothie or a nutritional drink such as Ensure or Boost. These nutritional drinks can also be substituted as meal replacements and they are convenient to carry if you have to eat on the go.

Eating breakfast may help you to control your weight.

A study done by the National Weight Control Registry discovered that eating breakfast everyday could help to control your weight. Participants in the study who consumed breakfast daily were shown to have loss weight and been in better shape than those who had not. While the participants who were in better shape also engaged in physical exercise, it is still believed that the fact that they consumed breakfast helped them with their weight loss. Many people who go on diets or are trying to lose weight make the mistake of skipping meals. That isn't the way to go; your body still needs three meals a day. The thing to pay attention to is the types of foods you eat. Instead of skipping meals, just cut back on nutrient dense foods if you're watching your weight. Nutrient dense foods have more calories and are usually high in fat. Breakfast has been shown to help people maintain a healthy body weight even for individuals who aren't seeking to lose any weight.

Eating breakfast can help to improve your overall health.

This ties in to helping to control your weight. Even if you're not watching your weight, skipping meals is not a good habit to have. Your body should be regulated and used to having three meals per day plus snacks in between. We all function better when we are not hungry and when our bodies aren't lacking in energy. It's like when you get sick and you don't feel like eating but you know that in order to get better you need to eat something and drink plenty of fluids in order to give your body the energy it needs to fight back and get better. Speaking of fluids, coffee does not count as breakfast. Coffee is a drink that is often drank with breakfast but it is not a substitute like a nutritional drink can be.

Starting your day off right can help you go through your day feeling and performing better. This is not to say that only breakfast will keep you feeling better because proper nutrition and exercise are key elements for us all feeling our best. For every goal we have to have a starting point, so we might as well start of on the right foot.

Sources:
http://www.jhsph.edu/Student_Affairs/Breakfast
National Weight Control Registry