The importance of breakfast to your metabolism
Are you like me and you hop out of bed each morning ravenous and ready for breakfast? Or do you get through the morning with just a hot cup of coffee and absolutely no interest in that first meal of the day? It always surprises me when I hear from clients who skip breakfast in an effort to cut calories and lose weight, or because they’re convinced that they are not hungry and “couldn’t possibly eat anything in the morning.” The way I see it, breakfast is another opportunity in the day to eat delicious food!, and it’s also a meal where you can fill up on necessary nutrients. But one point that always seems to appeal to people is breakfast’s ability to get your metabolism moving – that’s your body’s calorie-burning mechanism.
But how does breakfast boost metabolism?
Think back to last night’s dinner. Maybe you ate around 7pm, and then your body digested and metabolized the food. Overnight while you were sleeping, your metabolism slowed down to an even hum, constantly working but at a more resting pace. Your metabolism won’t kick into high gear again – burning fuel (calories) at a faster rate – until you wake up and feed it in the morning. Think of it like fueling a car by putting gasoline into an empty tank or throwing a log on a dying fire for an added spark to get it burning again. However, if you skip breakfast and hold off eating until lunch, that’s an extra five or so hours of your morning when you’re letting your metabolism cruise along at a sluggish pace. Why not use it at its peak calorie burning capacity!? Breakfast is the jump start your body needs and the energy boost to power your day.
You don’t need to have a huge sit down breakfast buffet. Even a half of a granola bar, handful of nuts, a few bites of leftovers from dinner, or snack bag of fresh fruit on the go will do the trick if you eat within an hour or so of waking up. You may find eating in the AM actually makes you hungrier. This is a good thing! It’s your body’s way of telling you it’s rearing to go, and that your metabolism is revving. Keep listening to your body by feeding it with healthful foods when it’s hungry, and stopping when it’s full. But always remember the benefits of breakfast.
Be well!
Janel
Check out my latest posts here
Jul 11, 2011 @ 10:29:32
will a power smoothie work? I just drink smoothies for breakfast but am not sure if I should be consuming solids as well.
Jul 11, 2011 @ 10:59:49
Smoothies can make a great breakfast! A good way to ensure you’re getting a well-rounded meal in your smoothie cup is to include a source of protein and fat with some fiber from fruits and/or veggies. One of my favorites is banana + chocolate soymilk + peanut butter, or soy yogurt + berries + dried unsweetened coconut. That combo will keep you satisfied and jump start your morning!
Jul 11, 2011 @ 17:36:15
I fully support eating breakfast, but I do wonder about propagation of this metabolic rate info. Can you send me the link to the studies measuring metabolic rate in the am and throughout the day, with and without ingestion of food? Metabolic rates slows in starvation mode, but after an 8 hour fast we still have a processes to generate fuel, glucose (gluconeogenesis). Would love to see the evidence. Thanks
Jul 12, 2011 @ 03:42:18
I love smoothies, too. My favorite is banana, spinach (!), and low fat or skim milk! Such a delicious combination.
Jul 13, 2011 @ 12:55:35
Lori – thank you for your comment. My thoughts were based on the fact that irregular meal consumption, including skipping meals, has been shown to cause a lower thermic effect of food. Regular meal frequency includes not only eating consistently throughout the day, but also not skipping or delaying meals, to include breakfast. Because this post was focused on the importance of eating breakfast, skipping it (like skipping any meal) could result in lower TEF and lower metabolic response. In turn, eating breakfast would result in an increased TEF and increased metabolic response.
I should have clarified the fact that it is our metabolic response to food that is increased when we eat regularly (as seen by increased TEF) and not our metabolic rate that is boosted and your comment helped me realize that. Our metabolism revs up slightly each time we eat, as our bodies process what we’ve consumed. So by eating breakfast and not skipping meals, we move our metabolism into a higher gear more often and burn more calories as a result.
Additionally, there is anecdotal evidence that points to breakfast eaters having a healthier BMI than non breakfast eaters, and there is a correlation between overweight status and breakfast skipping. While I realize this was not the focus of my post, I think it is important to point out.
Decreased thermic effect of food after an irregular compared with a regular meal pattern in healthy lean women. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15085170
Highlighting the positive impact of increasing feeding frequency on metabolism and weight management. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15806828
Long-term weight loss and breakfast in subjects in the National Weight Control Registry. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11836452
Skipping breakfast: longitudinal associations with cardiometabolic risk factors in the Childhood Determinants of Adult Health Study http://www.ajcn.org/content/92/6/1316.abstract
Should I Eat Breakfast? | EatWellWithJanel
Jul 15, 2011 @ 02:05:06
[...] you know breakfast is good for you, but do you know it can help keep your metabolism boosted? Check out my Attune blog post about the benefits of breakfast and have a happy [...]
Should I Eat Breakfast?
Jul 15, 2011 @ 04:13:06
[...] you know breakfast is good for you, but do you know it can help keep your metabolism boosted? Check out my Attune blog post about the benefits of breakfast and have a happy [...]