Importance Of Breakfast
How Eating The Right Food Made Me Energetic
I few years ago I got an epiphany. I suddenly realized the true importance of breakfast - well, the true importance of having a good one to be more specific.
Now you might say...
"duh, come on, we've all heard about how vital it is to eat well in the morning.”
Well, let me tell you - it wasn't that I didn't know it before; the difference was that I hadn't truly experienced it myself. This time, I started to really feel and believe in the old saying
"breakfast is the most important meal of the day"
Why?
Simple because it's true. But you might be in the same position I was in a few years ago. So what I want to accomplish with this post is to get you to experience yourself the importance of breakfast. Trust me, it will be worth it. Let's get going!
What Do You Get?
First, let me just say that this is not just about whether you should, or should not, eat breakfast. No. What I write about is why you should make sure you eat a totally awesome first meal that fulfills two main things:
- It gives you loads of energy for the entire day
- It's healthy and great for your body to eat every day
By fulfilling these two simple requirements, the quality of my life has spiked. Both my mind and body are ready for new challenges every day and I always have the energy to go for what I truly want.
Actually, if I hadn't realized the importance of breakfast, this entire website wouldn't even exist - I simply didn't have the energy before.
So let me break down these a little and explain how I managed to get so much more energy into my life. By eating a great breakfast, I nowadays:
- Get my body going in order to have a great morning
- Avoid that 2 p.m. energy dip at the office
- Have an easier time being fit
- Have developed a sharper and more focused mind
- Have much more energy throughout the entire day
But why is it so? How does it really work?
Why Does It Work?
To me, the reason behind why a great breakfast gives you energy is threefold:
- You Need It: You need fuel to run a car, right? Same goes for your body. If the last meal you had was dinner, then your body has been without anything to eat for around 12 hours(!) so it's as simple as that - your body needs food to produce energy.
- You Are Proactive: Many of us tend to focus our food intake around dinner. According to me, that's just completely wrong. Why eat so much when the day is almost over and we just have few hours of sitting in the sofa in front of us? Instead, be proactive, and eat before you need the energy. By eating in the morning, you'll have all that energy to use when you need it the most - mid day.
- You Eat Right: You have huge power when choosing what to eat in the morning. What you eat determines the result you will get. If you eat to get as much out of your body and mind as possible, then you’re on the right track. If you just eat to get full, then you might end up draining your energy level instead.
I believe bullet point number 2 is the most crucial here. The importance of breakfast is in essence all about being one step ahead. If you know you're gonna need lots of energy in the upcoming day, then why not charge your batteries accordingly?
How To Start?
So now we know what you can get by eating a great breakfast and we also know why it works that way. The third and final step of this post is to get you moving forward. Here's a list of 10 of my absolute best food tips on what to include in your breakfast:
- Water - Your body is dehydrated after a long night so refill it quick.
- Berries - Contains essential vitamins and antioxidants. Plus they're easy to take on-the-go.
- Peanut Butter - An immense source of protein.
- Honey - Gives amazing benefits such as high energy, lots of minerals and increased metabolism helping you to lose weight as well.
- Banana - Chop a banana into your fruit or cereal and you get a big meal of carbohydrates instantly.
- Nuts - Depending on the type, you can find one containing almost anything you need. A personal favorite of mine is the almond with its richness in fiber and protein.
- Yogurt - If you go for one without sugar, you should be able to find some really high-quality stuff that will release it's energy throughout the day.
- Eggs - Fantastic protein source and you have a great variety of options for how to eat them.
- Porridge or Muesli - Packed with complex carbohydrates making you last for many many hours of high energy. Plus you can put a lot of additional things in there.
- Smoothie - Easy to make, taste fantastic and there are endless of possibilities. You can try different kinds until you find a personal favorite to get a handful of energy in a single cup.
So in order to really experience the difference in energy level I suggest a small test.
Keep going with your normal routine for a week (meanwhile you can learn more about what to eat in the morning) and write down these things each and every day:
- The time you first feel hungry after eating breakfast
- The time of any sensation of drowsiness during the day
- At the end of the day, write a few paragraphs summarizing your energy throughout the day - Where you alert in the morning? How did you feel all day? When could you have needed more energy?
That's it. That's not too hard, is it? Then do the same after you switch to having power breakfasts instead :-) And in the end, compare your results for a final evaluation.
I bet that you will be blown away by the difference you will be able to see after eating a healthy and energetic breakfast each morning - That is the importance of breakfast.
Early Riser > Power Breakfast > Importance Of Breakfast
Thanks for reading! By Matthew M. McEwan