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Does Breakfast Really Matter For Weight Loss?

By Shondelle Solomon-Miles

Mom wasn’t just trying to get you to eat your oatmeal-breakfast truly is the most important meal of the day, and it has a HUGE impact on effective weight loss.

In fact, studies consistently show that people, who regularly eat breakfast, eat fewer calories throughout the day, have better nutritional habits, and weigh less than an individual who chooses to skip breakfast. The National Weight Control Registry, which is a database of individuals who’ve lost at least 30 pounds and kept it off for at least a year, reported that 78% of participants regularly eat breakfast every day of the week. Only 4% reported never eating breakfast.

Here's why breakfast is CRUCIAL for weight loss.

When you go to sleep at night, your body’s metabolism significantly slows because you’re not active and don’t need a lot of energy.

If you eat dinner at 6 p.m. and wake up the next morning at 7 a.m., 13 hours will have passed without you consuming any calories (assuming there were no late evening eating binges).

Prolonged hours without food slows metabolism. Therefore, it doesn’t seem hard to believe that after 13 hours of fasting, your body NEEDS a meal to get your metabolism going again. When you wake up, your metabolism is operating in slow motion. Breakfast stimulates the thermic effect discussed earlier, and gives your metabolism a jumpstart.

If you wake up at 7 a.m., skip breakfast and don’t eat your first meal until 1 p.m., you’re spending the first five to six hours of your day with a sluggish metabolism, and you’re not taking advantage of your calorie burning potential.

Another reason to eat breakfast is to avoid overeating later in the day, particularly at lunch. Skipping breakfast causes your metabolism to slow down and your blood sugar to drop. Consequently, you become hungry and have less energy. This sets you up to impulsively snack throughout the day, often on high fat, high sugar foods. You may even feel justified in having a big lunch since you skipped breakfast. Unfortunately, your body doesn’t feel this way. If you eat too many calories in one sitting, your body will use what it needs and store the rest as fat for later use.

Ideally, the largest meal of your day should be breakfast because you have a smaller chance of storing breakfast calories as fat since you’ve fasted all night and your body needs food. If like most people, you’re more active during the day, the calories you consume during breakfast will be used for energy throughout your day. On the other hand, if you skip breakfast and eat larger meals later in the day as you become less active, your body has a greater chance of storing those calories as fat. Nancy Clark, registered dietician and author of Sports Nutrition recommends eating 1/3 of your daily calories for breakfast. Clarke says, “If you’re going to skip any meal, skip dinner but not breakfast. Your goal should be to fuel by day and eat a little less at night.”

Breakfast is also important because it provides you with the energy you need to get through your day. Many studies indicate that children who go to school without eating breakfast have more trouble concentrating, are less alert, perform worse on tests and have less energy and motivation compared to children who eat breakfast regularly.

Is there any reason to believe that this is any different for adults?

Food is energy, and after fasting all night, it’s essential to begin your day with a meal so that you can have the energy to complete your day. Eating breakfast stabilizes blood sugar and stable blood sugar results in more energy.

What does lack of energy, alertness and concentration have to do with weight loss you ask? Well, I don’t know about you, but when I’m feeling weak, lethargic and lackluster, I have no desire to move, much less exercise.

Here’s the point: The more energy you have, the more active you’ll be and the more active you are, the more calories you burn. Consequently, the more calories you burn, the more weight you’re capable of losing.

About the Author:

Shondelle Solomon-Miles is the owner of Synergize Training Studios in Hollywood, FL. She is also the author of The Ultimate Fat Loss Guide. Her website is www.Synergizeweightloss.com