Importance Of Breakfast To A Fitness Plan by Dr. Saman Bakhtiar

Breakfast. Think about that word, sound it out slowly. Break… fast. There’s a reason the first meal of the day is called breaking your fast, and the simple fact is, your body does not like to go more than ten hours or so without a meal. In fact, it can get downright disagreeable. Studies have shown over and over again that people who eat breakfast in the morning routinely think more quickly before lunch, have lower stress levels throughout the day, and actually eat less over the course of the day than those who skipped breakfast. That means that if you are considering skipping meals as a way to cut calories, think again.

Breakfast actually is what turns your metabolism on for the day, letting your body know that there is food available now and it is ok to come out of standby mode. While you sleep, your body burns fewer calories because it knows it has to save what energy it has in the system already as there will not be any new food coming in for a while. This system works very well as long as you give it what it needs, and what your body needs most of all to start the day off right is breakfast.

All this sounds like what your mother told you every day before school growing up, and while she may have been right, you are probably wondering where the science in all this is. That is perfectly fair- what good is a weight loss article without a biology lesson? It all comes down to glucose, which is how your body stores your energy. Food is converted into glucose through your digestive system and other processes and stored until it is ready to be used. Think of it as your fuel tank. Every system of your body needs this glucose in order to function, from your muscles to your nervous system. When your body tries to use energy and does not have a ready supply of glucose available because, say, it just used it all up sleeping last night, it starts turning to other potential energy stores, like fat and eventually protein and breaking them down into glucose as well. While it might seem like burning off some fat first thing in the morning might be a good thing, remember that your calorie burn rate for the day is determined by your metabolic rate, which is determined by how well the body thinks it is doing at finding food. If you do not tell your body that food will be plentiful today, it goes into ration mode and lowers your metabolic rate, causing you to actually burn fewer calories that you might otherwise had you eaten breakfast.

Some great breakfast options include yogurt, any type of cereal or eggs, which are packed with protein and omega 3 fatty acids. Contrary to popular belief, eggs do not actually add a significant amount of cholesterol to your daily diet, and their benefits far outweigh their downsides. They are certainly better than bacon, at any rate. In the end, unless it’s something terrible like a candy bar, it really is better to eat anything at all than to skip breakfast.

Copyright 2009 Dr. Saman Bakhtiar is a personal fitness trainer and weight loss specialist. Visit his website at http://www.fitconcepts.com/claremont-weight-loss.html | Source: www.isnare.com