It's a sad state of affairs, really.
Is breakfast really that important, though? Is it actually the most important meal of the day or is this one of those mom-myths like "your face is going to stay that way" and "that toad is going to give you warts"?
Well... it seems like this one's true. Breakfast is, as the name suggests, a breaking of the fast you've experienced since dinner the night before. When you stagger into the kitchen, you've probably gone anywhere from 10 to 15 hours without food. That's a long time considering our bodies generally get fed every 4 hours or so. The body's main source of fuel is a simple form of sugar, derived from the wrongly vilified carbohydrates, called glucose which powers the brain, muscles and red blood cells. Even though you don't generally think of sleep as a busy time, your body and brain are still hard at work and burning up their glucose stores. If you skip breakfast, you leave your brain running on fumes until you finally eat something and when you do, it probably won't be a healthy choice.
A healthy breakfast will set the dietary tone for the day and will give you the nutrients your body needs recover from the fast appropriately. We'll talk more about what is a "healthy" breakfast later.
Some people purposely skip breakfast in an effort to lose weight. This is counterproductive at best. During long periods of not eating your blood sugar drops and the typically large meals that follow lead to an enormous spike in insulin. This causes the body to store up excess fat. This effect is compounded if you workout on an empty stomach because you will be much more hungry afterwards. Also, your workout will not be nearly as effective. A study published in the International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism found that people who ate a light meal before endurance training burned more calories, specifically those from fat for up to 24 hours after the workout.
Ok so breaking the fast is key to your activity level during the day. But what qualifies as a health breakfast? It depends on who you ask. A good practice is to make breakfast count for about 25 to 30 percent of your daily caloric intake. This means if you're an active person using a 2,000 calorie die, your breakfast should be around 500 to 600 calories. According to the IDEA Fitness Journal, breakfast should be a balanced meal of carbohydrates (oats or cereals), fiber (fruits, beans or vegetables), and protein (low-fat milk, yogurt, eggs, nuts, beans or whole grains). Notice that breakfast should be low-to-no fat.
And now the good part. Here's my favorite recipe for some fantastic breakfast bars that are easy to make, store and grab on the go. You can use this basic method and switch up some of the ingredients to make these fit your taste or any special dietary needs. For example: Peanut butter can be replaced with cashew or almond butter; honey can be switched out for agave nectar. I put the walnuts in instead of almonds or another nut because 1) I like them and 2)they have lots of omega-3s. The flax seeds are here for similar reasons but can just as easily be removed to make room for raisins or whatever dried fruit you like.
Breakfast Bars (click here for nutritional information)
- Peanut Butter, smooth style, 1 cup
- Honey, .75 cup
- Vanilla Extract, .5 tsp
- Cinnamon, ground, .25 tsp
- Oats, 3 cup
- Walnuts, 1 cup pieces or chips
- Flax Seed, .5 cup
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Crush, chop or otherwise process the nuts and set them aside.
- Combine the peanut butter and honey in a large sauce pan over medium heat and stir until it's melted and smooth. Keep an eye on the heat because this mixture can start to burn fairly easily.
- Add the cinnamon and vanilla.
- Add the oats, walnuts and flax. The oats are a bit tricky to add because it quickly dries the mixture. I recommend using a large spoon or spatula to make sure the peanut butter/honey binds to all the oats.
- Pour the mixture into greased baking pan and cook it for 15 minutes.
- Cut into nine equal pieces.
