The Importance of Eating Breakfast

“Eat Breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a pauper" - Adelle Davis (1954,1970)

Was this just a myth!!

This quote came from the early work of Davis in the USA and was connected to the relationship between healthy eating and keeping fit, this was in order to avoid gaining weight and becoming obese. The above quote seemed to gain popularity and credence, both in America and the rest of the English speaking world of that time.

Is Breakfast really so important?

In the fast paced modern world I hear clients all the time saying "I haven't got time for breakfast"

MAKE TIME REASONS 👊

• Gives you energy for the day

• Improves ability to concentrate

• Better for weight management

• Reduces risk of type 2 diabetes and heart disease

Science behind the myth?

If you eat the same amount of calories at breakfast they are considered to be less fattening than the exact amount of calories eaten at supper?

If you made 2 groups as shown with the research link below,

Group 1- (King - Prince - Pauper )

Group 2- (Pauper - Prince - King)

Then gave them both the same amount of calories per day (1400 kcal) but these calories were distributed as demonstrated below for Breakfast - Lunch - Dinner:

King - 700 - 500 - 200 kcal

Pauper - 200 - 500 - 700 kcal

After the 12 week study the King - Prince - Pauper group lost almost twice the amount of weight and an extra 2 inches per person off their waistlines, despite eating the same amount of calories as the other group? Therefore, It appears to back up the proverb above from Davis and indicates that there are indeed metabolic benefits to front load your calories earlier in the day. i.e Breakfast !!!!

Jakubowicz, et al (2013) High caloric intake at breakfast vs. dinner differentially influences weight loss of overweight and obese women

Importance of Breaking the fast (for most people after 8-12 hours)?

After such a fast when you wake up your body's glucose stores are very low. Glucose is a simple sugar that is our main source of energy for all cellular and bodily functions, when we wake up it is our optimum time for the body to utilise the carbs that we have stored in blood sugar, in the muscles and the liver as glycogen. If you consume adequate carbs for breakfast your body's performance for the whole day is affected positively, on the contrary if you don't take the carbs on board at breakfast, your brain that works at its best from glucose (blood sugar) will decrease concentration levels and lower your mood. Training is also effected negatively both during and after through hypoglycaemia if the most important meal of the day is missed.

To get through difficult mornings people take on caffeine to stimulate the central nervous system but this only gives a false sensation of having energy, in reality there is no change in blood glucose levels and the energy levels will be most affected late afternoon, early evening, at that point people usually crave junk food to provide much needed energy. Lack of willpower or lack of breakfast?

BEST ADVICE

Always eat Breakfast (without exception or excuse) and make sure the breakfast contains low Glycemic Index (GI) foods e.g. Oatmeal, Grapefruit, Apples, Berries and have some sort of protein such as zero fat Greek Yoghurt, Eggs, Nuts and try and have vegetables and salad produce within that mix too. If your breakfast is more like a dessert, then it probably tastes amazing but will be made up almost entirely of sugar and very little else. Simple sugars for breakfast will only sustain you for a temporary basis similar to caffeine and that is why a balanced breakfast with your most calories of the day is very important.

@Kinetics Gym and Personal Training we ensure that within our Nutritional Plans -BREAKFAST starts our nutrition intake for the day as we eat every 3 hours and always include protein and greens in each meal whilst tapering down our complex carbohydrates.

Kinetics Gym and Personal Training (kineticspersonaltraining.co.uk) come and join us by booking an appointment with me 'get started' and get healthy within the Kinetics family.