This post brought to you by the early hour and a hot coffee in front of me. (And the letter B, which is for breakfast, and the number 7, which is the number of days a week you should eat breakfast.)
For the sake of brevity, the post could end there, if you'd take it and run with it and not look back. Those who need further convincing, read on.
In high school, I convinced myself a great way to "save calories" for the day was to skip breakfast, many of which I didn't have time to prepare anyway, as sleeping in trumped food for me. Who needs a mediocre breakfast when you can have another ten minutes of suddenly appearing naked in front of your audition audience for your school play, right? RIGHT? Er...maybe just me?
This rejection of breakfast worked against me. I'd wait until lunch to eat, at which time I'd be cranky and hungry to the point of not caring what I put in my face. I'd then tell myself after lunch that since I'd "saved" so many calories by avoiding breakfast, that a logical snack in the afternoon was whatever candy I wanted, in order to avoid the 2-4pm energy slump. TA DAH, health fail. This is a standard occurance for those who skip what is, in fact, the most important meal of the day.
But why? Why is breakfast important?
Your body has not eaten since you went to bed. (Unless you take Ambien and are given to late night unknown trips to the fridge, not uncommon as I understand it.) Your body has been in a state of fast for 6-8-whatever hours. In order to end that state of fasting, your body needs food. Some say this is needed to jumpstart your metabolism, some say it's just to begin the process of fueling your body's needs for the coming day. The truth is, if you don't eat breakfast, it is far more likely you'll make poor food choices later in the day, and overestimate what else you should eat.
Ok, I give in. What SHOULD I eat for breakfast?
If you're convinced, and willing to use this excellent tool to assist in your fitness goals, then let's talk about what to eat. I'm currently a fan of eating 5-6 smaller meals throughout the day, so my breakfast usually consists of 1/6 of my daily calories. 4-6 eggwhites is only ABOUT 110 calories, and packs a whallop of protein. (Approximately 3.6grams of protein per egg white.) I've got to be honest here, having been on and off eating plans since March, I've grown a bit tired of the egg white. I have recently embraced the whole egg. I eat fewer of these, one or two on a heavy workout day, but it should be noted that a whole egg has 6.28 grams of protein, and approximately 75 calories, therefor those on a reduced calorie diet should eat in moderation.
In addition to the egg/eggwhite, I have a half cup (uncooked) of oatmeal, seasoned with some cinnamon, or with a tablespoon or two of bee pollen (shut up, try it, it's amazing), or pumpkin puree and spices. I eat this until I'm so full I can't cram another bite into my face, and it's usually not the full serving. Paired with a big glass of water, you're stuffed. I usually am full until lunch with this meal.
If I'm at the gym, or rushing out of the house, I make sure to mix a scoop of whey or multi-protein with water and chug it so I have at least gotten the nutrients going. The important thing is NOT to NOT eat. Eat. Eating fuels your body, and your energy, and your life.
I may add some fun breakfast recipes in the future!
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