Breakfast!

If you are one of those who doesn't eat breakfast... listen up! (And even if you're not.. you can too.) I'm going to talk a little bit about why breakfast is so important in a healthy lifestyle and balanced diet.

How do our bodies produce energy?
From the food we eat of course! We convert food energy into ATP energy (Adenosine Triphosphate to be exact) and our cells use this energy to perform the tasks to keep us going. A simplified version of the main way we do this is through several cycles. The carbs we eat are converted into simple sugars. Glucose is then transformed through a series of chemical reactions and processes, until we end up with molecules of ATP.

How does this relate to breakfast?
Well when our body makes ATP, we either use it or store it as a chemical called glycogen in either our liver or our muscles. (eventually these glycogen stores would convert to fat if we don't use them... but normally we do use them as long as we're not consuming too many calories) It is optimal to use the glycogen stores from our muscle if we needed to use any because it is right there ready to use and more efficient. The process to reconvert the glycogen in our liver back to ATP is hard on the liver and requires extra energy and extra water.

Think about the last time you ate by the time you wake up. If you don't eat anything after dinner before you go to bed (most people), this could be as much as 12 or more hours without consuming any food by the time you wake up. The glycogen stores in your body's muscles will be depleated most likely, and your body's cells still need energy. This leaves your cells no choice but to ask the liver for it's glycogen stores. Let's say you continue about your day with these depleated glycogen stores and pulling it out from the liver. You eventually eat, but since there are no stores, you use that energy more rapidly and less is stored.
If you are exercising or doing tasks throughout the day, you don't have those glycogen stores ready to use when you are not eating since you used them in the morning instead, so you have a better chance of becoming sore, groggy, irritable and can also become dehydrated quicker.

By eating breakfast in the morning, you prevent starving your muscles of glycogen and give your body the fuel it needs to maintain itself throughout the day. It gives you a jump start to think more clearly, and tends to motivate better eating habits throughout the day as well.

Some ideas if...:
You don't "have time" for breakfast?
Grab something quick before you leave the house and eat it in the car. Wake up 5 minutes earlier and drink some orange juice or milk with some toast. Make up a little bag of cereal or chex mix and eat that on your way out the door. There are many solutions if you think ahead.

You don't like breakfast foods?
Eat something else then. Doesn't matter what it is, your body still will appreciate the fuel.

You don't feel like eating in the morning?
This is because you have trained your body to not eat in the morning. You can change that by slowly changing your habits. Eat a little bit in the morning at first, and then gradually increase it to where you can eat more.

You are "on a diet" and don't want the "extra calories"?
People who eat breakfast actually then to have healthier weights on average than those who don't. Why? You tend to eat smaller meals later on throughout the day, you tend to have better mental capacity throughout the day and therefore are better able to make good food choices rather than a rapid decision based of of hunger. It also helps boost your metabolism in the long run helping you maintain a healthy weight or lose weight if that is your goal.


Hopefully if you don't eat breakfast, you see that it is important to start changing that habit around or finding a way to improve or eat a little bit more earlier in your day so you can feel the best you can. And if you already do, keep it up! :-)


A breakfast tip of mine:
Instead of buying packages of frozen waffles or pancakes, buy a box of your favorite just add water pancake mix. Mix that up, make as many pancakes as you think you might want handy, or make it all at once if you have a large enough freezer. Allow them to cool, and then place in a zip bag in the freezer. (Be sure to write the date on the bag in case you can't remember later). You can heat them up in the microwave or in the toaster and they make great quick breakfasts for pancake lovers without the fuss of mixing up pancakes right then and it's cheaper than the frozen boxes. You can add peanutbutter or fruit for a little more holding value to the meal if you'd like too.