There is rarely a day that goes by without hearing something to the effect that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Even going as far as saying that you should not leave home without it as you begin your day. Most definitely, do not let your children leave home without fuel for their busy day at school.
To be honest it was not until after doing some research that I realized breakfast was two words meaning to break the fast. While sleeping we are fasting. If you sleep 8 hours, your body has been in a fasting mode for 8 hours. Add on getting up and showering and dressing, you can probably add another hour on to that.
Then there is the big theory going around that we should do intermittent fasting in order to allow our bodies to burn more fat. Of course, children at school are on a time schedule and can't just pull out something to eat at anytime they feel hungry so fasting can't apply to them. They really do need to eat something to get them through their morning.
Let's start at the beginning. A lot of people get the wrong concept in believing that they need to eat breakfast right when they wake up. In a culture with an abundance of food, people started to break the fast as soon as they woke up, when actually it has no correlation when to eat. In reality, you can't skip breakfast, you can only delay it. Also, one should not eat breakfast because people tell you so. Get to know your body. Your breakfast could be at 7 a.m. or 2 p.m. Just know when you are hungry as well as when you are suffering from blood sugar spikes and brain fogs.
Many can eat 2 - 4 meals per day including snacks depending on calories that you allow yourself. Basically it is a matter of having a balanced diet with reduced processed sugars. Some people like to start their day with a cup of coffee or a cup of tea before they think about eating. If you truly find yourself not hungry in the morning one trick to try is to eat earlier and lighter the night before. Maybe you will find yourself hungrier in the morning. This does not mean that you need to dive into a huge breakfast. Keep it simple. Even if you simply grab a yogurt with some fruit or granola on top. Or perhaps an apple, cheese or berries.
The real deal is that breakfast is not always to be considered the most important meal of the day. For those people who tend to have blood sugar issues, it may be more important for them to have something in order to keep their bodies functioning normally. It has been proven that those people who try to eat one meal a day gain weight vs. those who try to go for 3 - 4 smaller meals. Plus, they don't feel hunger pains.
There is no one size fits all when it comes to the time to eat. It has been proven that your metabolism will speed up if you drink a glass of water when you wake up and then eat an apple or another piece of fruit. Later in the morning, you may start feeling hungry and that is when you can have those pancakes at the top of this blog.
Or perhaps you can keep it a little healthier for you and enjoy a hard boiled egg, wheat toast with a guacamole spread. Filling, yet great nutrients for your body. Eating a little something is better than nothing at all. Another good suggestion is to have a protein bar or a healthy smoothie. The most important thing is to get something in your body to keep it functioning properly. Being light-headed or having brain fog is not a good feeling so a small glass of juice or some fruit may be helpful until you are hungry.
Then going for something healthy may be the answer for you. I like to switch it up. Variety is the spice of life for me. Some people enjoy exercise as soon as they get up. If that works, then go for it. I know that I could not work out before I had breakfast and then after having, even a light breakfast, I don't quite feel like working out. Later in the day works best for me. As I have said before, we all need to listen to our bodies and do what is right for us.
Just to be clear: there is no definitive answer for if we all must eat breakfast when we get up in the morning. Find your body's schedule. Some ideas that popped up in my research was to carry healthy snacks with you feel hungry to munch on throughout the morning and/or early afternoon. Things like a banana, a granola bar, some trail mix or nuts/seeds or an apple. Then later, possibly around lunch or a late lunch have a bagel with eggs and bacon. The main thing is to not go out on a 2 miles walk on an empty stomach. Be smart.
Skipping meals especially breakfast, no matter the time that you have it has proven to lead to blood sugar issues and/or A1C issues. Pre-diabetic disorders are not something to mess around with. So go ahead and at some point in the morning, jump start your metabolism and get your brain going. Find what is right for you.
Looking at the traditional full English breakfast and the traditional American breakfast, it is of my opinion that this is better left to a later brunch and not weigh myself down with this much food first thing in the morning. You all know of the KISS theory? "Keep It Simple Stupid." My body would say that I now need a nap after eating all of this food too early.
Find your way to the breakfast that is healthy for you. There is no one way. For me, it is simply a matter of having a variety of choices at the times that my body is hungry. But first? There is coffee!
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