"The right meal improves memory, focus, and nourishes our bodies with the nutrients and energy needed to tackle life’s many challenges."
Most of us have heard the adage that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. But, is there any truth to this age-old axiom?
News flash, this article, and this author, doesn’t care.
Arguing for or against which meal is most important seems futile when most of us don’t analyze what we are putting into our bodies at all. The secret sauce to dietary success is the start itself.
Common sense tells us that how we start anything, especially our day, is indicative of how we finish. What better way to assure optimization of output than by evaluating the food itself used to fuel our bodies at sunrise?
It All Starts with Breakfast
Starting your day with the right breakfast does many things for our health.
The right meal improves memory, focus, and nourishes our bodies with the nutrients and energy needed to tackle life’s many challenges. In fact, what we eat works for us (or against us) even into the nighttime hours by leveling glucose levels and helping with weight fluctuation.
One study examined the differences between breakfast-skippers and breakfast eaters and found that those that consume breakfast had better cardiometabolic levels. This means better cholesterol, LDL, HDL, blood pressure, and a reduction in abdominal obesity2.
Additionally, when you eat breakfast you are less likely to grab whatever is in sight as you go about your morning, leaving you less likely to become hungry within a few hours of waking.
In today’s go, go, go, society many people don’t have enough time for breakfast, so here are some ideas for on–the-go meals or recipes that can be prepared ahead of time.
Break Fast: Five Quick Meals to Start the Day Right
1. Hard-boiled eggs made the night before with some fruit
2. Overnight oats with berries and chia seeds (https://wholefully.com/8-classic-overnight-oats-recipes-you-should-try/)
3. Energy balls (https://www.gimmesomeoven.com/no-bake-energy-bites/#tasty-recipes-66977)3
4. Egg muffins made in a big batch over the weekend (https://showmetheyummy.com/healthy-egg-muffin-cups/#recipe) 4
5. A fruit smoothie made the night before and kept in the fridge overnight
Start with the End in Mind
Like many things in life, it is hard to go from 0 to 100, so for those who don’t eat breakfast, I suggest starting gradually. Begin by eating something as little as one egg and then gradually add more food as your body begins to adjust and crave that early morning sustenance.
Practice does make perfect here, and you can and will train your body to want breakfast over time.
Once you are used to eating in the mornings, you will likely notice differences in your focus and attention and gradually will feel more motivated to do add more things to your plate. You may even find your newly found healthy start leads to a healthier lifestyle overall.
Hope to see you soon in the gym for an early morning class. Happy breakfasting!
Claire Garbsch is a registered dietitian and meal prep expert. For more info on diet and exercise, subscribe to our blog @ www.myfitnesssuites.com/blog or better yet come visit me at the gym when it opens in September and we will work out a macros diet plan personalized to your needs and wants!
Resources
1. Services D of H& H. Breakfast. Accessed August 17, 2020. https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au:443/health/healthyliving/breakfast
2. Deshmukh-Taskar P, Nicklas TA, Radcliffe JD, O’Neil CE, Liu Y. The relationship of breakfast skipping and type of breakfast consumed with overweight/obesity, abdominal obesity, other cardiometabolic risk factors and the metabolic syndrome in young adults. The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES): 1999–2006. Public Health Nutr. 2013;16(11):2073-2082. doi:10.1017/S1368980012004296
3. No Bake Energy Bites | Gimme Some Oven. Accessed August 17, 2020. https://www.gimmesomeoven.com/no-bake-energy-bites/#tasty-recipes-66977
4. Healthy Egg Muffin Cups - Only 50 Calories, Loaded w/ Veggies & Protein. Show Me the Yummy. Published January 2, 2017. Accessed August 17, 2020. https://showmetheyummy.com/healthy-egg-muffin-cups/