How many times did your mother employ you with the following, “You re not leaving this house without eating your breakfast Mr.” Well, she was right about that also. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day if you are interested in not only losing weight but keeping it off.
From the 1960s to present, the number of people that skip breakfast has almost doubled from 14% to over 25%. Consider what happens when you don t eat breakfast however. First, your metabolic rate drops along with your blood sugar. What results is hormone-driven hunger, which leads to craving for high-fat-sweets and/or overeating. When hunger is driven by hormones, not even the man-of-steel can resist making a dash for the vending machine or some other horrible choice.
The research is clear. Perhaps the most definitive study ever conducted on what really works for losing weight involves a group of weight loss superstars who have lost an average of 73 pounds and have kept it off for 6 years to date.
In the study, researchers found that 8 in 10 reported eating breakfast 7 days a week. Approximately, 9 in 10 stated they ate breakfast on most days of the week. It is revealing that only 4% reported never eating breakfast. The study was not a prospective study therefore, researchers were not able to make the connection between eating breakfast and the total weight loss success experienced by the study participants.
Consider the common sense test. When you wake, you have gone without food or liquid for several hours. In effect, you are in a fasted state when you rise. When you skip breakfast, you turn your body into a fat-storing machine. This is because your body does not recognize the fact that food is readily available. In other words, your body continues to function much as it did in prehistoric times. If you don t eat breakfast, the body goes into survival mode by storing fat to protect against starvation.
One of the things that I stress with my clients is the need to jump-start their metabolism by simply eating breakfast within a half-hour of beginning the day. It may be useful to define breakfast here. It can be anything from cold cereal, a bowl of oatmeal, to a piece of fruit. We do know that people who eat breakfast eat fewer calories during the remainder of the day and consume less saturated fat and cholesterol.
A Harvard study found that those who consume whole-grain cereals daily were 17% less likely to die over the next several years from any cause, and were 20% less likely to die from cardiovascular disease versus those who regularly ate whole-grain cereals. Another study found that women who ate cereal on a regular basis weighed nine pounds less than those who ate breakfast rarely or not at all. In men, this figure was six pounds.
Here s is a bit of advice. The few moments you invest in eating breakfast virtually everyday may be one of the best investments you can make in promoting your weight loss. And, you should always listen to your mother anyway - even now. As my mom said, “Michael, I will never tell you anything that is going to hurt you.” Thanks Mom, and you are correct as usual.
Michael Imani, Ph.D. is a diet expert who works with clients to find solutions for weight and life issues. He is the author of The Diet Code: 4 Steps to Permanent Weight Loss.
www.michaelimanicoaching.com
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