Breakfast is such an underrated meal; it is by far the most important meal of the day. If you’re looking to lose weight, enhance your performance, or just eat healthier you have to focus on what you put into your body. Your metabolism is still turned on while you’re sleeping, metabolic processes are still running. This means you are still breaking down tissue & using ATP (cellular energy) even when you are doing NOTHING. When you wake up, eating breakfast within an hour is ideal - you need to replenish what your body has used overnight. You have been fasting for around 8 hours, don’t skimp at breakfast. A well balanced breakfast between 400-600 calories is perfect, unless you’re planning to workout first thing in the morning, then you would want to eat a little lighter. There are a million reasons why breakfast is the most important meal but here are a few to take home…

• A carbohydrate & protein rich breakfast will help curb cravings later in the day & help keep your body energized throughout the day so you won’t feel the need to snack on whatever is in sight
• Breakfast will replenish glycogen stores your body depleted over night, so you don’t start to break down lean body mass for fuel
• It’s a perfect time to load up on essential nutrients your body needs - calcium, iron, vitamin B, & fiber
• It’s been shown to help people stay focused & make healthier choices throughout the day; not only when it comes to food but exercise & in the work environment as well
• You will be able to work out harder when your body is fueled properly as opposed to “running on fumes”
• If you train early, it’s better to get a low calorie (150-200) carb-rich “pre-workout snack” when you wake up & follow your workout with a larger well balanced breakfast to refuel
• If you train later in the day it is more important to get a hearty breakfast to fuel your morning & a “pre-workout snack” is important 30-90 minutes before your work out
• Focus on what works for you. Busy?...Prep at night so you can take it to go. Don’t love cooking?... Hearty cereal & a banana. Not hungry first thing?...Liquid breakfast - make a smoothie full of fruit, veggies, & a little protein

As you can see I could go on and on about how important breakfast is but hopefully this illustrates the point. If you think about it, breakfast means “break the fast”, you have been fasting for 8 hours & we all know that is not a great thing to put your body through. It has been shown that people who don’t skip breakfast weigh less, make healthier choices, & have more energy throughout the day. Do yourself a favor & start the day out right so the rest of your choices throughout the day follow.