Weight Loss: The Importance of Breakfast
If you are searching for an easy way to long term weight loss, or striving to maintain lean muscle mass, it is paramount to eat regularly. Do not scrimp on calories with breakfast, but eat a healthy meal containing a minimum 500 calories. Breakfast could include fruit, cereal with yoghurt or milk, a muffin or a full English breakfast.
Ideally, breakfast should always include protein, as it burns more calories during digestion. Many cuts of bacon are lean. Link bacon with eggs, and you have a breakfast that supplies the body with all nine essential amino acids. Sugary muffins contain only empty calories and saturated fat. These should be eaten in moderation, as they supply no nutritional goodness. Too much sugar can wreck havoc with your blood sugar levels. This can lead to fatigue, unhealthy food cravings and even mood swings.
Why is Breakfast Important?
During sleep, the body is in starvation mode, and the most effective way to kick start the metabolism is with breakfast. There is no evidence to suggest that missing breakfast aids weight loss, but studies have proven that individuals who eat breakfast are slimmer. The body burns more calories in the morning, so it makes sense to consume no fewer than 500 calories for breakfast.
Celebrity nutritionist, Gillian McKeith, researched the calorie count of three popular breakfast dishes. Included in this investigation was a full fat latte and muffin, full English breakfast or a bowl of granola. Many of the individuals believed that the cereal was the lowest in calories, but it was actually the second highest in calories at over 500. In first place, with the lowest calories, was the full English breakfast containing fewer than 500 calories. The muffin and latte contained over 700 calories. Contrary to popular belief, a full English breakfast is not fattening, especially if eggs are poached, and sausages and bacon are grilled. Mushrooms can be fried in water, and tomatoes can be grilled.
Missing Breakfast Encourages Weight Gain
If you believe that missing breakfast saves calories and aids weight loss, you are very wrong! Trying to lose weight in this way can lead to a sluggish metabolism and encourage weight gain. Men and women who eat breakfast are often slimmer. The body burns approximately ten percent of calories through dietary thermogenesis. You can take advantage of this by eating breakfast every day, then consuming a small meal or snack every three or four hours to keep the metabolism high
Starving the body by missing breakfast is one of the easiest ways to encourage weight gain. The metabolism slows as the body feels under attack. In some extreme cases of weight loss, the body could turn to lean muscle mass to use as energy. This further reduces the metabolism. Lean muscle tissue is important, and the more you have the higher your basal metabolic rate.
The Benefits of Eating Breakfast
If you eat breakfast on a consistent basis, your body will soon grow used to the change. Listen to the body and it will tell you when it is hungry. Breakfast is a great way to encourage this natural process. The earlier you eat breakfast the earlier you may find the hunger pangs return several hours later. The average daily calorie intake is 2000 for women and 2500 for men.
To Summarize
Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, as it increases the metabolism and prevents overeating. The healthiest way to lose weight over the long term is to include breakfast. Try to consume protein with your breakfast, as it burns more calories during digestion.