Breakfast, Make or Break Your Day

My idea of a Purrrrfect Breakfast! Muesli mix of oats, walnuts, sunflower seeds, wheat bran & rasins, add in fresh blueberries, raspberries & swirling low-fat milk. MMMmmmMMM! =)

You know what they always say, “Breakfast is good for you”. Particularly true for a dieter. In fact, almost every diet book I’ve come across advocates & wax-lyrical about the first meal of the day. Here are some of the most popular reasons, & having tested & verified them myself, I’m putting it here in plain English:

TOP 5 REASONS WHY BREAKFAST IS IMPORTANT:

(1) It wakes up the body’s metabolism & start burning fat.
After a long night of rest without ingestion of food, your body has, presumably, used up much of the glycogen (converted carbohydrate energy) stored in its tissues. (I say “presumably”, because I am assuming that the individual has not taken supper the night before.) A light breakfast, preferably something with protein & whole-grained carbohydrate, stimulates the digestive system, which itself will encourage the body to use its blubber stores.

(2) It helps to regain mental & physical alertness faster upon waking up.
When the contents of your healthy breakfast have been broken down into usable forms of energy, it enters your blood stream, giving a boost into the entire otherwise sluggish system, particularly your brain. Our brain tissues are poor in storing any form of energy in them for long, which helps account for why we tend to crave for sweet stuff when we feel lethargic. It is also advisable to have a small snack-like breakfast e.g. half a glass of milk, wait for about 20 to 30 minutes, before tackling on physical tasks or any form of aerobic exercise in the morning. You will find that it is much easier to beat the slug bug or Monday blues than having no breakfast at all.

(3) It helps to keep your blood sugar levels stable.
Having a light breakfast, generally keeps me a bit fresher as the hours go by after I leave my bed, & allow me to cruise till lunch time. For those who, like me, get cranky whenever there is a sudden dip in energy, it definitely helps control those mood swings, without reaching out for the trusty Snickers or Mars bar. (I like Hershley’s CookiesN’ Cream. =P)

(4) It makes Portion Control easier during lunch time.
Making it easier for me to last till lunchtime also means a lower frequency to snack, & a better sense of control over the choice of meal & its portion. One of my most recommended advice to people trying to lose weight is to exercise portion control, aka as “eat till 75% full”. When one skips breakfast, resolutely sticks to drinking water to beat the hunger pangs, by the time he (she) reaches the permissible meal time, the impulse to binge oneself to death (ok, maybe just overeat, ha ha) is very real. And sadly it is easy to succumb to that impulse. It must also be said that a “right start” for the day greatly influences a dieter’s psyche—both the knowledge of doing the right thing for yourself immediately upon waking up, &the physical benefits that come along, are strong motivators to keep you on your healthy, slimming regime.

(5) Your body absorbs rapidly all the essential nutrients found in your breakfast, & retains the effects for a longer period of time throughout the day.
It’s a repetition here, but worth repeating—take your breakfast within 3 hours of waking-up, for your night-long fast while you are sound asleep would have depleted your body’s stock of glycogen, amino acids, vitamins & other essential minerals in the process of active repair or self-regeneration. Ever woke up feeling thirsty? You may be in slumberland, but you body is still there, living, breathing & regenerating itself. When you wake up, your body’s tank of essential fuel & water has run out, hence it soaks up nutrients like a sponge when you take your breakfast. (Remember why it’s called “break-fast” at the first place.) A tip I would add in here is to have a glass of warm water to gently wake up your digestive systems, as well as replenish liquids lost (ESPECIALLY if you sleep in an air-conditioned room). Taking a multi-vitamin or any other supplement together with your breakfast maximizes the “usage level” (i.e. effectiveness) of the health products too.


However, NOT ALL breakfast food are made equal. Take note of the following in your choice of the most underrated, yet important meal of the day:

(1) NO caffeinated drinks like coffee & tea ONLY.
And definitely, any other form of sugary, commercially-produced drinks. I know of some fellows who think that a big cup of milk coffee = breakfast. It is permissible to have that kopi-o to complement your breakfast, but then again, I would screen your dietary habits carefully before I allow that. Caffeine is can be addictive, a dehydrating diuretic, & cause problems related to hyperventilating or increased blood-pressure—more on this I promise, but for now, limit the intake please.

(2) NO Food high in refined carbohydrates & saturated fat (i.e. FRIED.)
In Singapore, it means NO “economy bee hoon”, “chui kueh”, “char kway tiao”, “you tiao”, & yes, NOT EVEN your favorite YA KUN Coffee set. Anybody else not located in SE Asia, it means NO MacDonald’s Big Breakfast & please don’t try to schimmy away with other means of fast food brands. On the contrary, such foods only jam your system up, making you feel even more sluggish than a tank stuck in mud, & yes, for those who work in the office, piles fat around your midriff. OLs (Office Ladies), WATCH OUT!

(3) NO BIG bowl of commercially produced cereal.
Toss out Kellog’s, & remember MUESLI. Other than fresh, natural whole-grain blends, all other forms of cereal only contain refined carbohydrates, sugar & usually, chemically blended colorings, additives etc that only upset the blood sugar balance. You will find that sugary cereals are usually too easily digested, giving you a quick energy “high” within the first 2 or 3 hours, of which then plummets rapidly & demanding you ingest some other form of stimulant to keep you alert. For some people, you might find you get hungry way too early before lunch time draws near. Use skimmed milk, or low-sugar soy bean drink instead of full cream or condensed milk. For something more hearty, try mixing two dollops of non-fat yogurt to your muesli. It tastes much, much better, & lower in sugar & fat calories than commercial yogurt muesli bars.

(4) Again. PORTION CONTROL.
The point is to have a light breakfast to kick-start your fat-burning engines, not choke your body with fuel fit to scale Mount Everest, or fast for a 100 days. I personally advise a 50-60% fullness gauge. Remember, we are not camels, & we certainly do not need (additional) humps on our bellies (& certainly not on our backs). Fee free though to sneak in a mid-day snack. For example:

06.00 am : Wake up & wash up
06.45 am : Light Breakfast ( ¼ cup yogurt + ½ cup muesli)
07.00 am : Pop off to work early. Alight one bus-stop earlier & walk a longer way
07.30 am : Reach work place. Check email *yawn*, do boring stuff.
10.00 am : 1 cup low-fat milk with 2 tbs instant oatmeal
01.00 pm : Moderate Lunch. (Caesar salad minus mayo, cheese at the side, with wholemeal bread)

If you are like me, following the 6-meals-a-day rule as in the Abs Diet, one important thing to mention is to remember to VARY YOUR FOOD CHOICE & PORTION according to your physical needs. If your occupation, like me, is less physically demanding, add in more fiber & protein, & try to take whole-grained products as they keep your energy more even throughout the day. And contrary to what most people would assume, even if you are sedentary, keep up with drinking at least 2 litres of water a day. You might think your only activity is to sit on your office chair & wheel across 3 metres to get a file, but being in an air-conditioned room saps up more liquid from you than you think. Each time you breathe out, water molecules are carried out to the dry, arid air around you. Water also keeps your skin cells plumped out, & is more effective than rubbing Olay furiously on your skin in bid to fight against dry, crinkly skin.

Have I convinced you yet on breakfasts? Fee free at the moment to surf the net for more good nutrition breakfast recipes, will share some of my own soon while I go & help check out where all the good stuff & links go. BTW, did I mention my “Thorn RoseBerry” smoothie is a FANTASTIC breakfast for beginners? Check out my blog “Talk About An Instant Pick-Me-Up”—& don’t worry, you do not actually put in roses in the shake. All you need are strawberries. Have fun! =)