Breakfast has become another one of those clichés- I am always hearing things like ‘you won’t be healthy if you don’t eat breakfast’, ‘you need to have a big breakfast to lose weight’, ‘eat more in the morning and less at night’. But what do we really know?
I'll admit I’m a big breakfast fan. In fact, it’s probably my favourite meal of the day (but don’t tell lunch and dinner that) and although it’s certainly not the most important meal of the day, the benefits are up there for eating it and truthfully, who wouldn’t want to?
Why? Because you are breaking your fast (break-fast)! This will wake up your metabolism and stimulate it to start ticking over- which it will then continue to do for the rest of the day (with a steady stream of food).
Having breakfast can help:
• Provide you with energy for your day!
• Reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease
• Reduce the risk of diabetes
• Maintain a healthy weight
• Improve alertness, concentration, mental performance and memory
• Stimulate metabolism
• Assist in weight loss
• Improve your mood
Not having breakfast? What’s the harm? Well, it has been linked in studies to an increased risk of obesity and a lowered IQ. It is important, especially when trying to lose weight, to eat breakfast within 45 minutes of waking or the body will start to store all available fat as it goes into famine mode.
Can’t stomach it? We have a little more work to do then, but that’s ok. If you feel nauseous after eating breakfast, or fill quickly, or have any uncomfortableness with breakfast we need to find out why. Are you eating late and going to bed on a full stomach? Are you not breaking down the foods from the previous night/day effectively (which also means you won’t be utilising any nutrients from those foods)? Have you switched your metabolism off due to past fad or crash diets? Or is it switched off due to a lack of food or reduced calorie intake?
Quick tip- avoid the breakfast aisle in the supermarket when looking for any appropriate Mel-Approved breakfast choices ;)
IN SAYING ALL THAT: if breakfast is absolutely-fricken-not for you, all I ask is that you eat before 11am.
** Need some breakfast recipes or a bit of inspo? Check out Mel's book Simply Balanced, which includes 4 breakfast recipes PLUS 3 smoothies for those rushed on-the-go mornings! **