Breakfast and Weight Loss

Why Eating Breakfast Equals Weight Loss

by Lisa Nelson RD LN

You’ve heard it before and you’ll hear it again – breakfast is the most important meal of the day. There’s just no way around it.

I frequently hear “I don’t have time for breakfast” and “I’m not hungry in the morning”, neither reason negates the importance of eating breakfast every morning. Maybe it’ll be easier to make breakfast a priority if you understand why it’s so important.

First, breakfast occurs after about an 8 hour fast (think how many hours are between your last meal of the day and breakfast). When you wake up in the morning, your blood sugar and glycogen stores (carbohydrates stored in your muscles and liver) are depleted and the body is searching for fuel. If you don’t feed your body it goes into conservation mode, drops your metabolism (the rate at which you burn calories throughout the day), preserves your fat stores (the body is thinking “starvation”), and will turn to muscle for the energy it seeks.

Second, when you skip breakfast you’ll frequently grab snacks mid-morning to tide you over until lunch. A mid-morning snack is good, but when you skip breakfast the snacks that tempt you tend to be high in fat, sugar, and calories. A breakfast that includes a balance of protein, carbohydrates, and fiber reduces these mid-morning cravings.


What’s Going on Physically

Your body is primed and ready to go in the morning. Your metabolism is boosted and your hormones cortisol, adrenaline, and serotonin are highest first thing in the morning.


Cortisol

This hormone promotes the breakdown of lipids (fancy name for fats) which is a good thing; however, it also promotes the breakdown of muscle. It blocks muscle from taking in more amino acids (muscle building blocks) and inhibits new muscle formation.


Adrenaline

Your “fight or flight” hormone increases your blood sugar to give your body immediate energy by breaking down glycogen in the liver and mobilizing amino acids stored in muscles. However, I’ve already stated that by the time morning rolls around, your glycogen levels are depleted. This means there’s not a reserve glycogen supply and muscle receives adrenalines full attention for the fuel it’s after.


Serotonin

Just to throw an extra hurdle into your morning routine, serotonin is at peak levels first thing in the morning. Serotonin reduces your appetite. There’s a reason you don’t feel hungry!


Research Support

A recent weight loss study reinforces the importance of breakfast. Two groups of women were compared. The first group followed a low calorie diet (1200 calories) that included a balanced protein/carbohydrate intake. This group ate 50% of their daily calories in the morning (600 calories). The second group followed a low calorie (1000 calories), low carbohydrate diet and ate 25% of their calories in the morning. The first group lost ~40 pounds over 6 months, while the second group lost ~10 pounds (28 pounds first 4 months, followed by 18 pound regain). These results support the fact that a substantial, well-balanced breakfast is essential for long-term weight loss success.


Quick and Easy Breakfast Ideas

What can you do if breakfast doesn’t appeal to you? If you’ve been skipping breakfast for years, changing your habits will be hard, but not impossible. Take it slow and add something small, working your way up to a good breakfast with a balance of carbohydrates and protein.

Here are some examples of quick and easy breakfast meals that include a balance of protein and carbohydrates.

Whole wheat toast with peanut butter
Low fat cottage cheese with canned peaches (light syrup)
Banana with handful of mixed nuts
Whole grain cereal with low fat milk
Apple with hard-boiled egg
Low fat yogurt with granola

By eating a well-balanced breakfast you provide your body the fuel it needs, protect your muscles, boost your metabolism, and reduce cravings throughout the day.

Ready to work one-on-one with Lisa to achieve your weight loss goals? Click here.


About the Author:

Lisa Nelson, RD, LN is a Registered Dietitian and owner of enutritionservices.com. She is a certified provider of Real Living Nutrition Services. To learn more visit Lisa at http://www.RealLivingNutrition.com/LisaNelson.aspx.

Eat Less, Train Less, Live Longer!

Did you see that article on MSNBC about living longer?

"While the quest for the proverbial Fountain of Youth is endless and typically fruitless, one method known to extend the human lifespan by up to five years has quietly become accepted among leading researchers. The formula is simple: Eat less. It could add years to your life, several experts now say. And done in moderation, it could at least help you live a more healthy life."

Really? Eat less. Live longer?

Who'd thunk?

But seriously, why is this the case? And more importantly, why do so many other health and fitness pros give the opposite advice, often asking you to eat 5-8 times a day? Is there some common ground?

Yes there is. But first let's look at why eating less can mean living longer.

That article went on to say:

"Calorie restriction, as it is called, is as close to a real Fountain of Youth as any known technique comes. Even scientists who are cautious about anti-aging hype say it works, both by cutting risks for some diseases and by allowing all body cells, somehow, to hang in there longer.

"This is just part of the story. As usual, the mainstream media doesn't always bother to give you the entire picture.

Eating less is a bit over-simplistic. Caloric restriction is based on "quantitative" reduction, not simply eating like a bird or starving yourself. That will never work. You won't stick to it and your body certainly won't bother to burn off its spare bodyfat when it thinks you're in a stone age famine.

The key is to avoid overtraining in the gym like the plague. Too much training and you'll be forced to eat more food -- usually not a good thing.

Jon Benson's new system "7 Minute Muscle" is perfect for someone who is wanting to not spend their lives in the kitchen or in the gym. This is REQUIRED READING if you really want to see how great you can look in the least amount of time possible. Sure, you work hard. There's no pills or gadgets involved. But it's worth every minute... all 7 of them!

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Losing Too Much Weight? Or Just Jealous Friends?

Way back in December 2005, during one of the positive phases in my weight lost cycle, I posted Afraid to be Thin. I think now I'm dealing with something similar.

I was encouraging a friend the other day who was exercising... while I am also getting back into my own exercise routine. She said to me that if I am going to start exercising again that I will have to increase my calorie intake because I am losing too much weight.

I've also had other people tell me that I have been losing too much weight.

In actuality, I have maintained my healthy weight of 137.5 on my 5'5" frame for six months now. I haven't been losing more weight! Maybe they just think so because sometimes I still have to wear my old clothes that are now baggy and it looks like I've lost more weight. Or maybe, just maybe, they are jealous. I don't know.

Are people just getting so used to an obese society that healthy people are now considered too skinny??? That's just not right!!

Don't get me wrong. I am pretty happy with my appearance now and am not one who is too thin but thinks they are fat. My upper body is lean now and I actually have some ribs that show when I stretch, but my lower body still needs help. But I can't seem to lose more in my thighs without looking too thin up top. (I'm already too small up top... lol)

I just needed to vent. I know I just need to ignore those people who are making me feel bad about being thinner.

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