Does Eating Breakfast Raise Metabolism?

Breakfast has many beneficial effects, including giving you energy to face the day and lowering your risk for obesity and diabetes. If you want to lose weight, breakfast is particularly important because it can increase your metabolism. A higher metabolism means that you burn more calories even when you are at rest.

Features

A healthy breakfast should contain between 350 and 500 calories and consist of one fruit or vegetable serving, one protein serving, one fat serving and one or two servings of complex carbohydrates, according to Columbia University Health Services. This combination provides enough energy to keep you going until lunch, and the fiber, protein and fat will help keep you feeling full and keep your blood sugar levels stable so you aren't as tempted to snack on junk food before then.

Function

During the night you don't need as much energy and your metabolism slows down. Once you wake up, your metabolism speeds up again, but without a healthy breakfast to provide the nutrients and energy your body needs, your metabolism can't sustain a higher level for long.

Effects

Eating breakfast can increase your metabolism by as much as 10 percent, according to MSNBC Health. This means that you burn more calories during the day and are less likely to gain weight. Eating a good breakfast also gives you more energy to get you through the morning and keeps you feeling less hungry during the rest of the day.

Misconceptions

Some people skip breakfast in the hope of eating fewer calories during the day, especially if they are trying to lose weight. However, this actually backfires, since people who skip breakfast are more likely to consume more calories throughout the day, according to MayoClinic.com. Since you will miss out on the boost in your metabolism from breakfast, you also will burn fewer of these extra calories and be more likely to put on weight.

Considerations

Some foods are more beneficial to your health and energy levels than others. The brain needs quick energy from carbohydrates, but you also need some healthy fat and protein to keep you feeling full longer and keep your blood sugar from rising too quickly. If you eat too many calories, some will be stored as fat, so you don't want to eat a huge breakfast.