When you are on a diet, which meal do you find the easiest to skip? If your answer is breakfast, then read on to find out what a grave mistake you are committing. The importance of a healthy, heavy breakfast cannot be emphasized enough. This is the sure shot way to boost your metabolism.
How it all starts
The old saying “Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a peasant and dinner like a beggar” is the mantra to be followed if you want to lead a healthy life.
| | Most people who are trying to lose weight starve pretty much the whole day and then eat a very heavy dinner. This is so wrong!! They think they are just starving since they woke up that day but what they forget is that they haven’t really eaten in their sleep either!! So they have been depriving their body of food since the previous night’s dinner (for almost 24 hours!). This is not only bad for the health; it does just the opposite of helping you lose weight. Your body is not sure when next it’s going to get food, so your metabolism slows down and every ounce of food is going to get stored as fat so as to provide energy for your sustenance. |
Eventually, as you see absolutely no results in terms of weight loss, you are completely frustrated about the enormous sacrifice leading to nothing concrete and give up the whole diet thing and start binging throughout the day. And this will lead to even more weight gain and the cycle goes on….
Sounds exactly like your story, huh? Don’t worry, you are not the only one out there. Most people think they are starving themselves and are still fat. The reason – they are doing just the opposite of what’s right for them. There is no need to starve if you want to lose weight. Just eat sensibly at the right times.
Breakfast and Metabolism
The importance of breakfast cannot be stressed enough. Your appetite is at the maximum as the last meal was your dinner the previous night and your body is craving for food. Nothing can kick start your metabolism like a healthy, heavy breakfast. Now when I mean healthy, I mean real healthy – not weight loss healthy. Don’t worry about the calorie intake (at least not when you are just getting into the habit of eating breakfast).
Make it a wholesome meal
Make sure your breakfast is a good mix of proteins, vitamins, calcium and carbohydrates, preferably in that order of importance (read portion-size).
Eggs are a really good source of proteins. The best form would be a hard-boiled egg with pepper (ofcourse!) But, if you really don’t like boiled eggs, you can have scrambled eggs or omelet with very little oil or butter.
If you like fish or chicken, you can have it in any form except fried. Red meat is best avoided (at least for breakfast :- ) I know you bacon lovers are cursing me – but I started with explaining what a healthy breakfast comprises of!!
Milk is the best way to get some calcium and stronger bones. Nothing can substitute that.
As for vitamins, you can have a bowl of mixed fruits or decide to eat a different fruit each day. You can have half a grapefruit or an orange or an apple or a pear or a bowl of grapes or berries – it’s totally upto you.
And finally for the carbohydrate content, you can have a slice of toast or some cereal to go with your milk.
The heaviest meal in your daily diet
Again try variety and make it more interesting. Don’t stick to the same set of items each day. Not only will it be boring for you, even your body will lose enthusiasm as it knows what to expect.
The key to losing weight and maintaining a healthy lifestyle is to keep your body guessing.
If it’s not always possible to have an elaborate breakfast, atleast have a bowl of cereal and grab a fruit to go. This should be considered only as an exception. As far as possible stick to the healthy routine and never, never skip breakfast – it’s not an option.
You should look forward to your breakfast each day. Coz this is also going to be the heaviest meal of the day. That’s right. As you get into your day-to-day activities, the energy obtained from the breakfast is going to get used in performing these activities. So, you can afford a heavy breakfast. If you eat heavy food just before going to bed, you body gets more energy than it needs at the fag end of the day and is going to end up storing everything for future use (as FAT)!!
So, the 1st step to a healthy living begins with good breakfast!!
Summary:
– Never skip breakfast if you want to boost your metabolism the 1st thing in the morning
– Make sure it’s a good mix of proteins, vitamins, calcium and carbohydrates
– Bring variety in your breakfast – The key to losing weight and maintaining a healthy lifestyle is to keep your body guessing.
Note: This article has been featured in The Twentieth Edition of the Carnival of Improving Life.
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I am someone who loves to skip breakfast – but I think I will try to develop the habit of eating something in the morning.
Thanks!