Is Breakfast Still the Most Important Meal of the Day?
We’ve been told since we were kids that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. It was once considered the foundation of any healthy diet, but the morning meal may now be negotiable. Skipping breakfast at least a few times each week will kick-start your metabolism and boost your energy.
The belief that we won’t have any energy unless we have a bowl of oatmeal in the morning may be untrue. Original research on whether breakfast made an impact on health did find that healthier people ate breakfast. But as we know, data alone doesn’t always tell the whole story.
“Lots of people who skip breakfast or practice intermittent fasting are healthy, too,” says Dr. John Berardi, co-founder of Precision Nutrition. “About 85 of the clients we work with eat breakfast and tend to follow a guideline of eating small, frequent meals throughout the day, but that’s largely to help them learn to practice healthier eating habits. If you’re a person who regularly makes good nutritional choices, then eating breakfast is more negotiable.”
In fact, skipping that first meal may lead to some real benefits. You could possibly lose a few pounds, or increase your level of anti-aging growth hormone. And don’t worry, your metabolism won’t suffer. Eating small meals throughout the day, starting with breakfast, isn’t necessary to stimulate metabolism, says Berardi, who co-authored an extensive study review on meal frequency for the International Society of Sports Nutrition.
Here are Berardi’s five reasons to skip breakfast:
1. It’s not required to boost metabolism
The idea that metabolism slows radically in response to you not eating certain meals in a single day just isn’t accurate. The number of calories you’re taking in and the composition of those calories—proteins, carbs, and fats—are really what affect metabolism.
2. It may lead to eating less overall
If you skip breakfast, you can eat fewer, larger meals beginning later in the day, rather than six smaller meals throughout the day, which may be less satisfying. This can lower your total caloric intake for the day and may lead to weight loss.
3.There’s a payoff even if you’re only an occasional skipper
Intermittent fasting reduces insulin levels, so you can actually increase your insulin sensitivity for better blood-sugar management. At the same time, your body will release more growth hormone, which helps to preserve lean tissue and burn fat tissue.
4.It can help lower your total carb intake for the day
Most of us are over-carbed. We eat too many refined carbs, too little protein, and too much fat. Skipping breakfast can steer you away from the typical high-carb breakfast foods (toast, oatmeal, cereal, pancakes) that may trigger an insulin response that kicks you out of fat-burning mode.
5. It can help you tune into your body
You just might feel better sipping water with lemon or a green juice instead of forcing down food first thing every day. If you’re one of many people who feel nauseous early in the day, you’re better off listening to your body’s cues. Sure, your co-workers come into the office, bagels with cream cheese in hand, but at the end of the day (and the beginning), you want to figure out what works best for you.If you’re not a morning person, there’s no harm in skipping the first meal of the day.
If you’re not a morning person, there’s no harm in skipping the first meal of the day.
If you have any questions, please leave them in the comments section below.
