Breakfast is NOT the Most Important Meal of the Day

Why Breakfast is Not the Most Important Meal of the Day

THIS ARTICLE WILL GO AGAINST EVERYTHING YOUR PARENTS HAVE TOLD YOU ABOUT BREAKFAST:

I know this may sound crazy to some of you, but it’s true. Especially since all of our lives we’ve been taught this, but did we ever take time to research the facts? Or did we just believe what advertisements and mainstream media was spoon feeding us? The myths behind breakfast being the most important meal of the day obviously delve into bigger problems, but I’m just focusing on the breakfast aspect.  Companies have pounded into everyone’s head that breakfast is a necessity, through personal experiences and science, this has been proven false. I’m aware how hard of a concept this may be to understand, because it goes against everything humans have been taught.  I’ll do my best to attempt to prove why breakfast is not an important meal and my experiences with not eating breakfast. This all connects with a way of eating called Intermittent Fasting, which I will write a rather large article on eventually. If anyone wants tips on IF just email me and I’ll be sure to help, before I get that article out.  Not eating breakfast is especially a good tip for anyone looking to lose weight and who doesn’t want to drop at least a couple pounds? This article is great for everyone, in my opinion of course.

MY PERSONAL EXPERIENCE WITH SKIPPING BREAKFAST:

                I began skipping breakfast when I started Intermittent Fasting, which was a little over a month ago. I know, it seems like a crazy concept, I thought the same thing. But you really shouldn’t knock something until you try it. It’s not skipping breakfast entirely, but changing the time period. I can still eat breakfast foods, but it’s just at a later time and not as soon as I wake up (read science below so it makes sense). I have an 8 hour eating period (usually consume two meals, first 2-4 hours after waking up, around 6 hours apart) and a 16 hour fasting period. Mentally and physically I feel stronger not eating breakfast, I feel stronger not eating food. I’ve gone 24 hours without eating more than once, I’ve worked out in a fasted state plenty of time, and must say I have some of the best mental clarity during these times (more fat is burned in this state also). My energy levels are higher, my thinking is clearer, my body and mind just feel 100 times better not eating breakfast. The human body is adaptive; at first it was a little difficult because I had been eating breakfast for 20 years. After about a week my body was use to not eating as soon as I woke and it became easier. I don’t wake up with hunger pains or anything, my body knows when it’s going to eat and it certainly won’t be when I wake up. My body is not dependent on food; I am not a victim to breakfast or my diet. There’s science to this stuff so it makes sense, which we will discuss next. Who doesn’t love a little science?

THE SCIENCE:

First of all, just because you don’t eat breakfast doesn’t mean that your body will start eating itself (starvation mode is a MYTH people) because you’ve gone 12+ hours without food (depending the last time you ate). This is a huge common misconception; I wish people would actually fact check things they hear! I’m going to try to not get too scientific, but some of this stuff has to be broken down that way to make sense.

Now, the human body only enters the fat burning state (fasted state) around 12 hours after the last meal is consumed. The body is in a fed state for about 3-4 hours after eating (body digests and absorbs food) and it’s hard to burn fat in this state because insulin levels (insulin is important in muscle growth, but also responsible for fat storage) are spiked. So, 8-12 hours after a meal is the post-absorptive state (body isn’t processing any food). Then your body enters the fasted state where it is a lot easier to burn fat because insulin levels are now low.  The body remains in the fasted state as long as anything consumed is less than 50 calories total (water, black coffee, diet sodas). Eating breakfast (especially a high carb breakfast) will cause a spike in insulin levels, making it harder to burn fat and taking your body out of its fat burning state before the day is even started. So, eating breakfast every day will make it harder to lose any type of weight.

This study took two groups of people (one group that ate breakfast and one that didn’t) and compared their cognition (ability to think), activity, and sleep. This study is definitely interesting and worth looking at because students are told that if they don’t eat breakfast, their performance will suffer. So, if they do eat breakfast, they will be more alert in class and get better grades pretty much. Unfortunately, people tend to believe generally accepted knowledge without doing research on it to see if it’s right or wrong. This is one of those cases, but this study goes against that generally accepted knowledge. Back to the study, the results found that a calorie restricted diet (skipping breakfast) produced NO decreases in cognitive performance, activity, and sleep. All of the moods that were assessed, including fatigue, were not affected by skipping breakfast. Even from my experience, I agree with this study. Not eating breakfast, I just feel better, definitely more alert and aware of everything going on. This study should help anyone with concerns about skipping breakfast in class or anything, the facts are right there.

THE OTHER STUFF:

For people who want to lose weight, skipping breakfast makes mind-blowing sense. In order to lose weight, one must create a calorie deficit, right? Taking a meal out of your day creates this deficit, while saving you money in the food store since you won’t be eating as much.  This also means freeing up time in the morning since you won’t be eating, who doesn’t pray for five more minutes every morning? You won’t be a victim to food, it has no control over you. The greatest thing I got out of skipping breakfast is just realizing how much more control I have of myself and temptations to eat.

A common misconception is that skipping breakfast is really unhealthy. This is because the people who aren’t eating breakfast most likely lead sedentary lifestyles (little to no exercise) and grab donuts on the way to work as a meal. These people aren’t active and eat like crap, so they will look like crap, to put it lightly. Any healthy individual that eats whole and healthy foods and exercises can benefit from skipping breakfast. Just because you eat breakfast, does not make you healthy; and just because you don’t eat breakfast, does not mean you are an unhealthy person. You don't just skip breakfast and lose weight, you have to be implementing the right tactics into your diet. Nothing in life works if you don't also work with it. Breakfast is a pretty unnatural thing if you think about it in an evolutionary mindset. Our ancestors probably never ate a huge breakfast, like a lot of people now are known or told to do. They had to go out and hunt their meal before they ate it, it wasn’t there for them in the morning, they had to go get it and prepare it. Think about all the work they had to do before consuming any calories (fight and take down animals, walk for miles, drag the animals back). I think you can get through your 830 class or whatever you have to do in the morning without breakfast if they did 10x that. If you consider yourself a healthy eater or individual in general, try this out.

SHOULD YOU SKIP BREAKFAST?

  

            Honestly, it’s completely up to you. Every single human body is different and some things that work for some people, won’t work for others. At most, I believe this is worth trying for a week or two, wait until you get used to it, don’t quit after a day. Like I said earlier, this is a great option for people looking to drop a couple pounds. I wouldn't  necessarily recommend it if you are trying to gain weight or something. If you chose to still eat breakfast, just remember the science behind the madness and try to make it healthy. Just because its breakfast doesn’t mean it has to be manufactured crap in a box. You can have a SALAD and CHICKEN for breakfast, or a bunch of fruit with some eggs. Try to keep the carbs to a minimum, because they will really raise insulin levels, making it harder to burn fat throughout the day. You do what works for YOUR body, not what other people tell you to do. This is merely my opinion, but it’s something I believe very strongly in, because it has worked for me. The bottom line is that we’re all trying to be healthy; I don’t believe anyone ever goes out with intentions to be unhealthy. Personal experiences and my own research lead me to believe that skipping breakfast works, try it out, and let me know if it appears to be working for you! 

Everyone have a great week and a happy 4th! Any questions/opinions feel free to email me. Next article will be on Saturday.

dcorrigan50@gmail.com

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