Myth #7 – If You Want to Lose Weight, Don’t Eat Breakfast

It is amazing how many people in the quest to lose weight, will skip breakfast.  Its pure madness – breakfast actually ‘wakes your body up’ and kick starts your metabolism for the day!  Not only that, by eating a substantial meal in the morning, you are helping to ‘stave off’ hunger cravings from occurring later in the day.  

You see, if you miss breakfast regularly, your body will go into ‘starvation’ mode:  that means your body will ‘slow down’ the rate at which it burns calories because it is not certain when the next meal is coming.  As a result, when you eat lunch, your body will store rather than burn off the excess calories, simply due to not being ‘fed’ enough during the morning.  So the take home message is that breakfast is crucial for your weight management and good health. 

Some breakfasts are healthier than others

Some experts have raised concerns about the contents of the breakfasts that people were given in clinical trials – so be careful about your food choices!

For example, choosing unhealthy processed cereals, such as Kellogg’s Frosties Breakfast Cereal (41.3% sugar); Kellogg’s Fruit Loops (38% sugar); Kellogg’s Coco Pops (36.5% sugar)

 If you like white bread with strawberry jam (or Nutella), your choice is just as bad! These foods (sugar loaded cereals) and refined (white) bread are high in refined carbohydrates and low in fibre and protein.

These options would add weight gain, because if you have a really high-carbohydrate breakfast, especially without fibre or protein, that makes people hungry again sooner. It makes your blood sugar go up fast, and your body secretes a lot of insulin to pull it back down, and then you may get hungry again more quickly.

 It’s not the breakfast; it’s what we’re eating for breakfast, that’s important.

Breakfasts rich in fibre, protein, and healthy fats can help you feel full for longer, compared to meals high in refined carbohydrates.

That’s why it’s not enough to count calories, but make smart choices!

Instead, you should pay attention to the macronutrient contents of your meals and choose foods rich in nutrients.