Is Breakfast REALLY

That Important?

By Marie Keith, MS, RD, LDN

    People always ask me - is breakfast really the most important meal of the day? Yes, it REALLY is!! Why? Think about it. You have gone all night without eating, so when you wake up, your "tank" is empty. You need to "refuel" your body to get it going for the day. Just looking at the work "breakfast" tells you what it is all about - you have to BREAK your FAST! 

   Skipping meals, or going several hours without food, slows your metabolism down. This is because your body tries to conserve the energy it does have until you eat next - it doesn't want to burn all of its fuel within a few hours and then end up running on fumes until it is fed again. Think about your body like you would you car. Eating IS just like putting gas in your car - without gas, your car will not run If you don't "fuel" your body, it will not function very well for you! If you take a car trip from New York to California, you don't just gas up before you leave and expect to make it he entire way without stopping for gas again - you would never make it there! You have to stop every few hundred miles to refuel to keep your car going. This is exactly how your body works.

    You can't expect to start your day running on the fuel form 12 hours a go - that energy has already been sued up and is long gone! Research shows that people who eat breakfast function a whole lot better than those who don't eat breakfast. They think better, which means they do better at school and at work. They are less irritable, tired and restless - probably because they are not hungry! They also tend to be a healthier weight because they eat few calories throughout the rest of the day. i know LOTS op people who only eat one meal a day - and that's usually at night! And when that meal comes around, they are SO HUNGRY from not eating all day that they eat way more than they should.

    Breakfast is actually my FAVORITE meal of the day! It's what i thing about before going to bed, and it's why my belly is talking about as soon as I wake up! So go ahead and set your cereal, bowl, and spoon out tonight, so you'll be ready for some breakfast in the morning!