I'm not a morning person, but something like this might get my butt out of bed a few minutes sooner.
There is a phrase that’s been repeated so often (yes, even more frequently than “Please reboot your PC”) that it’s practically become a cliché — “Breakfast is the most important meal of the day.”
New research suggests that there’s yet one more reason that it’s apt to be true. Eating breakfast will blunt cravings for fattier, less-healthy fare later in the day (even if it’s not one of those suspiciously photogenic repasts we see in cereal commercials, or the “I’ve never seen it show up at my table looking like the thing in the menu” offerings from Denny’s or IHOP).
Essentially, a brain that’s not lacking for its main source of fuel won’t send out signals that are the neurological equivalent to “Feed me, Semour!” or, well, “OM NOM NOM.” (Whether that latter thought always occurs in Impact is unclear.)
I found the mechanics of the study to be kind of cool — having people rate how appealing various images of food appear to them — means that their own subjectivity and preference for one sort of food for another cancels itself out. Me? I hate eggs, so unless I was four days into an unscheduled stopover on a desert island, it’s unlikely that I’d want to have anything to do with an omelette or anything sunny side up. (Speaking of desert island diets, how the heck do Skipper and Hurley remain so steadfastly beefy?)
Other reasons breakfast is awesome:
- It makes you smarter. Getting your blood sugar back to normal levels after sleep has shown benefits in terms of cognition, comprehension, and attention.
- Alpha-Bits. Yeah, I know; when I eat cereal these days, it’s probably one of Kashi’s “twigs and berries” variants (which, I will say, are pretty tasty). But, man, I love me some Alpha-Bits.
- It keeps you strong. Your body begins slowly eating itself overnight, starting with your blood sugar, then going to the glycogen stored in your muscles, and then your muscles themselves a little bit. If you’re trying to get stronger and/or more buff, getting something into your bloodstream to put an end to catabolism will help keep your gains in the muscle department.
- Leftovers. Nothing cleans out a fridge like waking up and realizing you’re ravenous and… Hey, look! Meatloaf! Pizza! Sushi! Braaaaaiiiiinnnnns! (Shut up, you.)
So, grab something more substantial than a cup of coffee, especially that lowest-common-denominator stuff you get at the office. A banana. An english muffin with some peanut butter. A protein shake. Something moderately healthy. Your body and brainmeats will thank you for it.
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I’ve had really good luck with a glass of 2% Ovaltine or a carnation breakfast replacement.
I know 2% is not the best, but the extra fat seems to help keep any cravings at bay, it is a lot more satisfying than fat free first thing in the morning.
I’m a snooze bar person, so anything I can consume during my commute ends up being breakfast, like the stuff mentioned in the closing paragraph (which is fairly typical for me, other than the English muffin).
Basically, “anything is better than nothing, and a healthy something is better than an unhealthy one.”
I’ve been known to eat leftover sushi during my morning commute. Just not with chopsticks.
I start every week day with a bowl of bran and skimmed milk, I put cranberries or almonds on it to bulk it out. Satisfying and slow burning so sees me through until lunchtime.
Instant oatmeal will save your life. I have eaten it for years. It’s wasy to store, you can make it easily at work and it’s super good for you overall.
Even the extra sugar in somthing like the brown sugar one is allright overall. It is by far the best simple to make, easy to eat breakfast food you can get.
@A: I was a big fan of instant oatmeal when I was still allowed to eat at my desk at the office (unofficially). New digs = less culinary flexibility, and it’s impractical to trek down to the cafeteria for a snack (range on the wireless headset isn’t remotely good enough, unfortunately).
@S: If I’d hit the snooze bar one less time (and didn’t have this aversion to making more dishes to wash), I’d probably do something similar with Kashi as I checked my email before going to the office.
Two eggs on wheat toast every morning!
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-452282/How-eating-eggs-breakfast-help-lose-weight.html
The first thing I tell someone who is trying to lose weight is to never ever ever skip breakfast…. women seem so eager to skip it especially – and it just wreaks havoc on your metabolism. NEVER skip breakfast!
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