BREAKFAST IS KING.. OR IS IT?

By Vegan Victoria, Certified Nutrition Consultant

We’ve all heard that breakfast is the most important meal of the day.  It helps give your body the nutrients it needs to give your day a powerful start.  And the theory is that starting your day with a healthy meal can also help you lose weight, since you’ll be less hungry and therefore eat less, later on. 

Eating breakfast doesn’t guarantee weight loss. But now a new study, one of the most comprehensive on the subject, reveals that breakfast may not have much impact on weight loss. Scientists at the University of Alabama at Birmingham tracked 309 overweight but otherwise healthy adults, ages 20 to 65. The subjects were split into three groups.  One was told to eat breakfast, a second was told to skip the meal, and a control group was told to eat healthfully but not told either way what to do about breakfast.

After almost four months, each group averaged a modest weight loss - between 1 and 2 pounds per person - but many group members also gained weight, no matter which group they were in.  The findings were published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/early/2014/06/04/ajcn.114.089573.abstract  The study’s author did say in a statement that future studies could examine whether certain breakfast foods or quantities may be more effective in promoting weight loss.

So what’s a person to do if you’re trying to lose weight?  Should you eat breakfast or not?  My opinion is, it depends on you and your appetite.  If you wake up, and you’re hungry, you should eat something, preferably something healthy and filling, like oatmeal, fruit and granola, a tofu scramble or, my weekday breakfast of choice, a home-made green smoothie.  But I know plenty of healthy lean people who simply are not hungry when they first wake up and wait several hours before eating and that works best for them. 

Why aren’t you hungry in the morning? The one caveat I would add is you might want to determine why you aren’t hungry in the morning.  If it’s because you’re eating a big meal late at night, you might want to make some adjustments.  Eating a heavy meal right before bed is really not ideal for your digestive system and usually turns all those late-night calories into fat.  It’s best to eat your last meal about 3 hours before going to sleep.  And while I prefer not going to bed starving, I’ve found that I can still get a good night’s sleep even if I’m a little hungry when I turn in for the night.  And I know that I’ll wake up feeling ready to eat a delicious breakfast fit for a king, or a queen in my case!

Next, easy healthy breakfast recipes that will keep you energized and satisfied all morning long, if you so inclined to have a morning meal!