Don’t Skip Breakfast

Are you one of the many people who skip breakfast in the morning? Do these excuses sound familiar? I don’t have enough time, am not hungry, too tired to eat, I’ll drink coffee instead. 

Does this sound like you? If so, read on. You’ll see the effects of these excuses on your body, and I’ll tell you they’re not good. 

If you skip breakfast, you are depriving your body of nutrients it needs to get up and go—specifically, blood sugar to power your muscles and brain. Also, your metabolism moves faster at the beginning of the day than at the end. You need a certain amount of nutrients each day to keep your body running in peak form. By skipping breakfast, you risk denying yourself nourishment, which can cause a whole host of problems.

HIGHER LEVELS OF DANGEROUS INFLAMMATION. 

It contributes to higher levels of inflammation. The University of Hohenheim did a study testing 17 healthy adults through various eating patterns on different days—one of which included skipping breakfast. The calorie and nutrient content remained the same on all three days, and they found that the subjects burned more calories if they skipped lunch or dinner. They saw higher glucose levels and higher insulin resistance on the days the test subjects skipped breakfast.

BREAKFAST EATERS HAVE LOWER RATES OF DISEASE.

Still don’t believe me? How about when- The American Heart Association reported that people who eat breakfast benefit from lower rates of heart disease, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol. They conducted a panel with Marie-Pierre St-Onge and an associate professor of nutritional medicine at Columbia University. They compared studies of breakfast eaters vs. skippers. They benefit from fewer diseases, but they are also less likely to have diabetes. 

YOUR BRAIN AND BODY FUNCTION BETTER.

Let me ask you this. Have you ever tried to do a presentation when you have not eaten breakfast? Speak up at a meeting? Even get your day off on the right foot? But you kind of feel like a foggy mess, right? Well, there’s a reason. Your brain needs fuel to work too. People who eat breakfast do better on cognitive and memory tests, and this is why you feel sluggish on a day when you skip breakfast. Your body needs fuel to go! Before you break a sweat, eating breakfast helps you metabolize carbs better during and after your workout. It also aids with recovery.  

ENERGY LEVELS IN THE BOTTOM OF THE DUMPSTER?

An afternoon crash can indeed happen on even the healthiest of days. But it’s also true that skipping breakfast can increase your chances of energy crashes, and it may even move it up to earlier in the day. Remember, your body needs certain nutrients to impact your day when you wake up. Skip out on breakfast, and you’re denying yourself that energy boost to start your day, which means your 3 p.m. crash might hit you like a Mack truck at 11 a.m. instead. 

OVER-EATING? WHICH CAN AFFECT WEIGHT LOSS GOALS.

Skipping breakfast might seem like a good idea when trying to lose weight, but your body has other ideas. Diabetes.org found that individuals who eat breakfast take in fewer calories throughout the day; why? Your body is satiated; you tend not to overeat later when you give yourself the chance to fuel up. You become less likely to over-eat junk food. And don’t forget if you kick your body into prolonged fasting mode, it stores survival food.