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Why Breaking the Fast is your KEY losing Body Fat and Losing Weight

By Brad Linder

A healthy breakfast is an undeniable requirement for anyone in the process of beginning, achieving or maintaining an appropriate weight and get in shape and losing weight. Fueling your body with the nutrients first thing in the morning enhances your metabolism and sets the tone for your body for the rest of the day.

Eating breakfast helps you lose body fat because it gets your body going early in the day. Breakfast is just what the words sounds like. You actually break the fast in which your body has gone from eating last the night before until you eat again. Your body needs energy from breakfast to carry about in normal day to day activities. Breakfast also helps get your metabolism going so it is able to more quickly break down the foods you eat later in the day. Breakfast also helps curb your hunger, prevents binging and prevents grazing during the day.

Breakfast contributes 30% or more of essential and protective nutrients to the daily intake. By skipping this important meal, it is difficult to make up the lack of crucial nutrients that your body needs such as iron, calcium, B vitamins, and vitamin C. People who skip breakfast miss out on many vital nutrients, which they are unlikely to make up for during the rest of the day. As you can see, breakfast is key in losing weight as your body needs breakfast to keep the fuel burning machine going.

A study done at the University of Massachusetts concluded startling statistics. You are 150% more likely to be obese by eating breakfast away from home, and you are an astonishing 450% more likely to be obese by not eating breakfast at all.

Statistics also show that only 14% of the United States eat a complete breakfast every day.

Many studies have found a relationship between eating breakfast and learning ability, attention span, and general well-being. Children who skip breakfast can have trouble staying alert and concentrating during the first hours of the school day, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics' Guide to Your Child's Nutrition.

According to research conducted by Reading University in 2003… if a 12 year old skips breakfast he will have the reaction time of a 70 year old in the classroom.

Skipping breakfast also deprives the brain of the fuel it needs. Without fuel, it is hard to lose weight without eating breakfast. Without this energy you may feel moody, less alert and more impatient. Children who eat breakfast are more likely to participate in physical activities and tend to eat healthier overall. Instilling these types of healthy habits in children would greatly reduce the risk of obesity in our children and in our nation.

The main reason why many people do not eat breakfast is because they do not have time. Breakfast does not have to be a cooked, sit down family meal. If you are the type of individual who is not always hungry in the morning, start with something small and allow your body to adjust to this change. Whole-wheat bread with some low-fat cheese or peanut butter, low-fat, no-sugar added yogurt with a banana, oatmeal in a travel mug, these are all good healthy choices. Having variety like a hardboiled egg, a whole wheat toast with peanut butter, and some skim milk would be a great way to start out the day.

A study in the Journal of Nutrition found that meal replacements help in weight loss. So a meal replacement shake is a fast and easy way to fuel your body to start your allowing you to save some time in the morning. Meal replacement shakes jump start your day by providing your body with essential vitamins and minerals and a balance of proteins, carbohydrates, and fats. Meal replacement bars are also an alternative to cooking a well-balanced breakfast.

However, like all quick meal solutions, read the labels to make sure that sugars and fats are not the main nutrition sources. Eating unhealthy breakfast such as donuts, muffins, oversized plain bagels with cream cheese will result in a sugar high and a soon to follow sugar low. However, research shows that it is better to eat SOMETHING than to skip breakfast entirely. So be sure that if you do not have a healthy option, choose a small portion size.

Skipping breakfast is not the way to lose body fat and lose weight. If your last meal the night before was at 8pm and your skip breakfast, your body goes about 16 hours without anything. By this time you are probably starving and will eat anything that you can get your hands on. You also are more likely to eat a bigger portion because you are so hungry.

Your body's ability to break down the foods you just ate are going to be slow because it has not has anything to eat in 16 hours. Not eating breakfast also increases the chances of making unhealthy choices later in the day. When your body is in a fast for 15-20 hours, you are not producing the enzymes needed to metabolize fat and lose weight. It makes sense that the body wants to be fueled. Studies have shown that eating breakfast regularly is a factor in maintaining good health. It's a fact that people who regularly eat a healthy breakfast stay slimmer, are more mentally alert and may even live longer than those who don't eat breakfast on a regular basis.

According to research from the National Weight Control Registry, 78 percent of people who have lost weight have kept it off by eating breakfast every day. Despite all of these facts 35-40 percent of all Americans skip breakfast. The statistic for children is just as alarming, 48% of girls and 32% of boys go without eating breakfast every day.

Starting your day with a healthy breakfast is one of the best things you can do for yourself each and every day. Your body and your brain deserves to be given its morning dose of energy and nutrient because it is about to perform all of your grueling daily activities and thinking patterns for the next 16+ hours. Make the right choice and start looking into the best breakfast choices for your mornings. You will notice a tremendous difference in your energy levels, your cognitive abilities and your food choices later in the day.

About the Author:

Brad Linder is the President of Get You In Shape Fitness, a health and fitness company in the Dallas, TX area. His company provides fitness boot camps, personal training, the 40 Day Challenge, nutrition plans, more in the Dallas, TX area. His website is www.GetYouInShape.com