I Get It, Breakfast Is Important
“Breakfast is the most important meal of the day!”
“Never ever skip breakfast!”
“No matter what, you should always eat breakfast!”
These statements have been embedded in my brain my whole life.
I get it, breakfast is important. When I was a kid I would hear about it during the Saturday morning cartoons. I even knew the whole “part of a balanced breakfast” slogan.
But I never understood why it was so important until recently. Why eating breakfast actually helped me live a more healthy life.
I have battled obesity since I was a child. Hell, I am still battling. In fact, in five years I will be battling. Once you lose weight, the battle does not go away. Lately though, it is a battle I have been winning though.
When you are obese, you want to lose weight. So you hear a ton of things that help in the process. Here are a few: eat small meals; drink a lot of water; work on portion sizes. Eating breakfast was one that I heard yet rarely understood.
I would eat a lot of food every day. My biggest problem was I would eat a lot at night. I would probably eat close to 4,000 calories right before bed. Then I would wake up the next day and think that if I skipped breakfast, I could burn some of those calories. I was never hungry in the morning. I was hungry at night. Although I got to over 400 pounds, I rarely ate before noon.
Sounds silly, right? Yet I did this for many years. I never ate breakfast – not until recently.
When I started to lose weight a few years back, I forced myself to eat breakfast. At first it would be something small like an apple or a banana. Just something to have when I woke up. Most of the time I was not hungry in the morning. I was hungry at night.
Then I started to make it the biggest meal of the day.
What I found out was by doing that, I ate less throughout the day. I did not worry as much about late night eating because I knew that I would eat in the morning.
I also had more energy. I felt like wanting to go work out. I felt like wanting to run errands. I felt like wanting to accomplish things. I am proud now that a bowl of Uncle Sam cereal fuels me each day.
Funny thing is everything I have written is nothing new. Most people who are reading this already know how important breakfast is.
But I am a food addict. I am not saying that in a cute way, I mean that I can eat 10,000 calories in one day and not get sick. I can eat three dinners at one time. But I noticed I ate mostly at night.
So if you get one thing from this post, know that if you eat a little more in the morning, you will eat less at night- this has been my experience. I am not saying this just to say it but because I have lived it. If you eat whole grains, protein and some great carbs in the morning, you have a good chance not to stuff your face at night.
A chance is all I needed. A chance helped me lose over 200 pounds.
Be well!
Tony
Check out my latest posts here
Jul 18, 2012 @ 03:40:00
What is your favorite breakfast? Me….Egg whites, Uncle Sam cereal and an apple.
Jul 18, 2012 @ 06:02:00
I have two…one is a huge bowl of cereal (not something I should indulge in often). I am learning to steer away from that and my new fave is a green smoothie. I love all the different ways I can get my fruits and veggies in for breakfast!
Jul 18, 2012 @ 08:06:00
Oatmeal and scrambled eggs. mmmm.
Jul 18, 2012 @ 08:46:00
Do you know what scrambled eggs goes good with?
Everything!
Jul 18, 2012 @ 08:11:00
I am a green smoothie breakfast convert too – starting about a year ago….my current favorite: mango, coconut milk, pineapple, orange, 1/2 a banana – LOTS of spinach and some kale. I LOVE getting in several servings of fruits and vegis for bkfst. Whole foods is a real focus for me. On weekends – I have eggs scrambled with leftover vegis from the fridge – usually onions, kale and peppers – but I have been known to add roasted carrots, broccolli or anything else that is alreayd cooked
Jul 18, 2012 @ 08:47:00
I used to make Green Smoothies with spinach, celery, tomatoes and a lemon. I never said it was good, but those were what I made for days!
Jul 18, 2012 @ 20:43:00
Excellent. Thanks…
Jul 27, 2012 @ 11:06:00
Love ya Tony!
I am slowly finding this out. Eat a good breakfast! It does make a difference all day long.
Jul 28, 2012 @ 06:20:00
Thank you for writing this. My husband does this. Everyone goes to bed and he stays up and eats. We’ve discussed at length how he wants to stop, but doesn’t know how. I think this will give him some clarity.