Group Wellness Program 60-DAY

Breakfast Like a King

Breakfast Like a King! Breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, dine like a pauper. It is important to eat a good breakfast, including some protein. This gets blood sugar levels off on the right foot. If you skip breakfast or eat the wrong breakfast, there will be a knock-on effect throughout the day.

Up to half the working population, according to estimates, skip breakfast because they don’t feel like eating at that time in the morning. Many schoolchildren also skip breakfast. Later on their blood sugar becomes too low and they overcompensate with a large lunch and dinner followed by grazing and late-night snacks. Don’t Skip Breakfast!

What skipping breakfast leads to…

A 2003 study published in the American Journal of Epidemiology showed that people who skip breakfast are 4.5 times more likely to be obese than those who don’t. Others eat a sugary breakfast. This also causes blood sugar swings during the day. Eating a good breakfast is an effective way to control your eating habits and avoid overeating. Don’t Skip Breakfast!

Good Breakfasts

Healthy Breakfasts

Try to eat a good-sized breakfast every day – if not first thing, then after the school run or when you get to the office. Studies show that skipping breakfast results in poorer performance by schoolchildren. Don’t Skip Breakfast!

The USDA’s Department of Food and Nutrition Service reports that children do better both in terms of behavior and cognition when they eat breakfast before going to school. Another study showed that people who eat breakfast are happier than those who don’t. The Brain Needs a Steady Supply of Fuel

Not-So-Good Breakfasts

Add a Smoothie to Your Breakfast Routine

Try to eat a good-sized lunch and a fairly modest supper – eat until you are just full enough. If you are hungry in between meals, eat a healthy snack such as fruit and nuts. Ever since humans have existed, we ate during the daytime and fasted at night time. It is only very recently – since we have been using electricity – that we have been eating at night time. This is not compatible with our metabolism. Lunch Like a Prince, Dine Like a Pauper

A 2012 study in the Journal of Cell Metabolism reported that mice which could eat as much as they liked but ate only during 8 daylight hours and fasted during the night were the same weight as mice fed a healthy diet. They concluded that eating only during daytime is better for metabolism, and that it is not just what we eat but when we eat that counts. The study leaders warned against eating as much as we like during the day, however, and recommended that we still stick to healthy foods. Remember also that you have all day to burn off the calories consumed at breakfast, whereas if you do most of your eating at night, you will be sleeping on those calories and they are more likely to be turned into fat. Lunch Like a Prince, Dine Like a Pauper

ACTIVITY: This week, eat a sensible, sizeable breakfast, medium lunch and meagre dinner. Do not eat anything after the sun goes down.

NEXT WEEK: how smoothies can change your life