Why You Really Need Breakfast If You Want to Keep Weight Off

Eating breakfast energizes the body and mind but also helps with weight.

How many times have you heard that breakfast is the most important meal of the day? After all, it is the fuel your body needs to get going as well as carry you through all you do until lunch. Yet, some of us may tend to skip it either for lack of appetite or just because of time.

If this sounds like you, then you aren’t doing your body or health a favor.  Research has shown those that skip breakfast usually eat more calories through the day than breakfast eaters.  In fact, close to half of those that don’t normally eat breakfast have a significant weight problem.  

Perhaps, you wake up and feel too full to even consider a bowl of oatmeal, cereal, eggs, yogurt, fruits, smoothie, or the like.  If so, the cause could be from eating too late at night whether your dinner or due to bad snacking habits.  

Hunger does kick in even if it is an hour or two later and when it does, we do satisfy it with foods that are available like visiting vending machines for empty nutritional calories from candy bars, chips, etc.  Instead, you might want to start retraining your eating habits to get yourself back on track.  How does this happen you might wonder?  

Don’t think that you have to give up your dinner or nightly snacks, but you should try curbing some of the calories that you consume late in the day.  Maybe eat a smaller piece of dessert or reward yourself with dessert every other night or just on the weekends and substitute that cake, pie, cookie or ice cream with a piece of fruit, topped with Greek yogurt.  Salty lovers that plop on the sofa with a big bag of chips might want to try air popcorn or even popping some kernels over a microwave bag of popcorn.  

All I’m saying is cutting a few hundred calories off what you normally eat before bedtime can help you wake up with a bigger appetite.  You won’t notice a big difference immediately, but in time the body does adjust to the new routine.  

Once you do start the new eating pattern, you will be surprised at how much extra energy you will gain eating that breakfast.  You really won’t be as hungry, gain better willpower because you’ll feel satisfied and able to resist that pit stop to the vending machine or doughnut box, and discover that your mind and energy levels will increase.  You'll probably lose some weight and even save money that can go toward new clothes just by cutting out vending machine visits!