Breakfast is considered the most important meal for a reason – it is the first one and sets the tone for the whole day. It has been shown that people who skip breakfast are more likely to overeat during the day or evening, and people who overeat for breakfast have a harder time dieting. The reason is in the physiological state in the morning. Let’s consider in more detail.
What happens to the body in the morning?
It doesn’t matter if you are an owl or a lark, you eat at 7:00 or 12:00, during a long break for sleep, all processes in the body slow down. Reduced calorie expenditure, insulin sensitivity, and glucose levels, but increased cortisol production. The worst thing you can do in the morning is starve yourself or eat a large serving of carbs.
In the first case, the metabolism will continue to be in a sleepy state, the growing feeling of hunger will make you constantly think about food, and a long hunger period and the accompanying low blood glucose level will increase the chances of breaking into high-calorie foods. In this state, it becomes difficult to recognize satiety signals as satiety takes longer (calorizer). High cortisol does not contribute to this either. Many people overeat during stress and after long periods of time without food. In the second case, eating too much carbohydrate breakfast with low insulin will make you feel sluggish and hungry after two hours. It’s all about the glycemic load. If it is high, then even the most useful buckwheat porridge will affect your body in the same way as a piece of cake.
There is an exit! It is important to understand why the first meal is needed and how to tune the body in the right way with it.
Why is breakfast important?
If we consider breakfast as an opportunity to speed up metabolic processes and provide the body with the necessary nutrients, then everything falls into place. A proper breakfast will provide vigor, high performance and appetite control.
In the morning, the body especially needs proteins. Protein food does not create a glycemic load, and its high thermal effect will make you waste calories even at the stage of its absorption. The ideal time for your first meal is 30-60 minutes after waking up (calorizator). If you’re not particularly hungry, drink tea and snack on something light, but always a source of protein, and when you get hungry, eat a normal portion. Protein will reverse the catabolic processes that occur as a result of long breaks without food, help reduce stress and gently prepare the body for normal carbohydrate absorption.
Breakfast helps you recover from strenuous physical work and intense training, and it also contributes to better concentration throughout the day. Of course, the breakfasts of people working in the office and those exercising in the morning are different – they should be selected individually. If after the first meal, you do not think about food for 3-4 hours, then you have found your ideal option.
The first meal sets the tone for the whole day and reduces susceptibility to external factors. With healthy eating behavior, when you are full, no amount of harmfulness can tempt you.