Skipping Breakfast

Let me start by saying that I am in no way a registered dietitian (R.D.) by any means. Rather, I am a personal trainer who’s been in the fitness industry for a few years now. However, you don’t need a R.D. to tell you that eating breakfast is by far the most important meal of the day! Speaking from my personal experience, as well as working with my clients for 3+ years, I can tell you that if you are skipping breakfast or having something as little as a yogurt and a coffee for breakfast, you are more likely to gain weight than a person that eats a bigger breakfast on a regular basis.

"People skip breakfast thinking they're cutting calories, but by mid-morning and lunch, that person is starved," says Milton Stokes, RD, MPH, chief dietitian for St. Barnabas Hospital in New York City. "Breakfast skippers replace calories during the day with mindless nibbling, binge eating at lunch and dinner. They set themselves up for failure."

“But, how is that possible if I am consuming less calories a day?!” News flash, you’re NAHT! When you skip breakfast, you are more likely to A) eat more at lunch and dinner and, B) think it’s okay to have a few nibbles of fattening foods. I can’t say I blame you, because without breakfast you have practically starved yourself for 12+ hours before eating your lunch. Let’s face it, when you’re starving you’ll find yourself trying to shake snacks out of the vending machine, or eating out somewhere around your workplace. That makes it very hard to drop those LBS you’re trying to lose.

Now, I have a question for you! How do you get through your work day without eating breakfast? Breakfast fuels your body for a long day at the office. It increases your energy levels, helps you focus, increases your mood, increases productivity at work or school, kick-starts your metabolism (so that your are burning calories earlier in the day), and not to mention, it’s food! We all love food, right?! The idea is to eat a big breakfast in the morning, followed by a mid-morning snack, then comes lunch, another snack, here is when you workout, and then you have a small-ish dinner focusing on fresh veggies and whole grains (in an ideal world anyway- one that you can live in).

I can’t even begin to tell you how many times I’ve heard people tell me their fitness goal is to “lose weight”. The first question I ask is “What do you normally eat for breakfast?”. Usually, I get the same answer or something like it. “I don’t have time for breakfast” or “I can’t eat breakfast. It makes me nauseous.” Really?! Cut that out, princess! So what if you have to wake up a little bit (like 15 minutes) earlier in the morning to fix yourself a healthy breakfast. Losing weight is not easy and takes some commitment. So do yourself and your body a favor....EAT BREAKFAST EVERY DAY!

It makes sense: Eating early in the day keeps us from "starvation eating" later on. But it also jump-starts your metabolism, says Elisabetta Politi, RD, MPH, nutrition manager for the Duke Diet & Fitness Center at Duke University Medical School. "When you don't eat breakfast, you're actually fasting for 15 to 20 hours, so you're not producing the enzymes needed to metabolize fat to lose weight."

TOP 10 REASONS TO EAT BREAKFAST EVERY DAY
1 A better attention span, focus and better productivity at work, school or at home. More strength and endurance. Studies conducted on those who work in labor-type jobs have shown that those who do not eat breakfast are unable to work as hard until lunchtime, and studies on children reveal that they are unable to complete school work.
2 Maintaining a healthy weight. People who skip breakfast are shown to choose less nutritious and/or convenience foods to curb their appetite. Poor eating habits lead to eating throughout the evening. Calories are stored during the evening hours as the metabolism slows down. Calories stored = fat.
3 Setting an example for your children and helping them develop healthy eating habits at an early age that they can carry on throughout their lifetime. If they see you eat breakfast, they are more likely to as well. SO LEAD BY EXAMPLE!
4 Essential nutrients. Many of us do not meet the essential nutrients such as vitamins and minerals needed daily (i.e. - calcium, iron, fiber and Vitamin B1). Skipping breakfast guarantees we will not get these essential nutrients.
5 Eating breakfast can reverse the effects of fasting: irritability and fatigue. That tone can last up to 16 hours. We’ve all had our crabby moments. I know I have! Ask some of my clients! They can tell if I have eaten recently or if I need to eat.
6 Lower cholesterol, which reduces the risk of heart disease. Research has shown that people who eat breakfast consume less dietary cholesterol then people who don’t eat breakfast.
7 Eating a healthy breakfast has been linked to better learning ability and memory functions.
8 Increase your metabolic rate. People who skip breakfast have a metabolic rate four to five percent below normal, which may lead to an expected weight gain of eight pounds per year (one pound every seven weeks).
9 Eating breakfast can have long term effects and prevent Obesity, High Blood Pressure and Diabetes.
10 Breakfast foods are delicious! Avoid the processed, fatty foods. Skip the breakfast sandwiches from Dunkin’ Donuts and you will prevent yourself from consuming 560 calories and a whopping 32 grams of fat! Folks, that’s not even including a coffee and a hash brown that teams up with the artery-clogger of a fast food breakfast sandwich. Ultimately, you will be able to restrict the calories you are consuming so why not eat something healthy and nutritious? Try oatmeal, fruit, eggs or a smoothie.

ALWAYS ON THE GO?
NO EXCUSES! Here are some healthy options that you can take with you on the way to the office.

1 apple (80 cal)
1 cup of greek yogurt (160 cal)
1 TBSP of slivered almonds (37 cal)
1 cup of coffee (10 oz w/skim milk 20 cal)
TOTAL: approx. 320 calories

1 whole grain bagel (220 cal)
1 TBSP  of peanut butter (150 cal)
8 oz of orange juice (110 cal)
TOTAL: approx. 480 calories

2 hard boiled eggs (120 cal)
1 stick of string cheese (80 cal)
1 medium banana (105 cal)
1 cup of coffee (10 oz w/skim milk 20 cal)
TOTAL: approx. 325 calories

½ cup of oatmeal (150 cal)
½ of a medium apple chopped (30 cal)
1 slice of whole wheat toast (100 cal)
1 cup of 1% milk (110 cal)
TOTAL: approx. 390 calories