Benefits Of Eating A Bigger Breakfast

You may skip breakfast because you are not hungry or you do not want to take the time. However, you cannot afford to pass on breakfast as it provides many benefits. A healthy, bigger breakfast refuels your body and jump starts your day. It is essential to starting the day out right. Breakfast provides you with lasting energy to get through the morning. It may even prevent the risk of chronic disease. The benefits of eating a bigger breakfast are endless, so you may want to think twice before running out the door on an empty stomach.

What Constitutes a 'Big' Breakfast

Eating breakfast does not mean grabbing a doughnut or muffin at the drive thru and eating it in your car on the way to work. Typically, a big breakfast is made up of approximately 500 to 600 calories. It includes plenty of carbohydrates and protein with minimal fat. This type of breakfast might include a cup of coffee with cream, 8 oz of low-fat milk, 3 oz of lean chicken, turkey or beef, 2 oz of low-fat cheese, one egg, fruit, vegetables, two slices of whole grain bread with 1 tbsp of butter or margarine and even a small piece of chocolate. This will provide you with approximately 610 calories.

Boost Your Metabolism

Breakfast helps rev your metabolism and keeps it going for the rest of the day. When you wake in the morning, your brain and your body automatically look for food to replenish and break the fast from the night. Your metabolism is activated and your levels of cortisol and adrenaline are at their highest. As a result, the brain needs food quickly and if you do not eat enough, your brain taps into your body's emergency reserve as a fuel source. This depletes the energy in your tissues and muscle. When you finally eat, the body stores this energy as fat. Eating a bigger breakfast with a high carbohydrate and protein content gives your body the jump start it needs to get going. Focusing on a big breakfast brings your body out of the survival mode it is in while you are fasting; helping you burn calories rather than store them as fat.

Cut Cravings

Eating a substantial breakfast, especially rich in protein helps you feel satisfied throughout the day. Protein is digested slowly, helping you full, not hungry. Eating a big breakfast keeps snacking and excessive eating throughout the day at bay. In the morning, your serotonin levels are high. Serotonin is a chemical in the brain that helps regular your intake. As the day goes on, your serotonin levels go down and you get cravings for certain foods such as chocolate or other sugars and starches. Eating a big breakfast helps control your appetite and cravings by maintaining high serotonin levels in the brain. Eating too few calories and carbohydrates causes low serotonin levels. This can trigger cravings, especially in the afternoon and evening.

Blood Sugar Control

Eating a traditional breakfast, including foods such as cereal or doughnuts, will cause your blood sugar levels to spike.A rise in blood sugar causes a release of insulin. Insulin reduces the sugar in your blood. However, once your blood sugar returns to normal, there is excess insulin left circulating in your body. This can cause hunger and cravings, especially for carbohydrates. Consuming a well-balanced, bigger breakfast helps to stabilize blood sugar and insulin levels in your body.

Weight Loss

Eating a bigger breakfast may help you maintain a healthy weight. Filling up on whole grains, fruits, vegetables, protein, dietary fiber, vitamins and minerals in the morning can help your weight loss efforts. According to CNN News, a recent study compared sedentary, obese women who ate big breakfasts with those who consumed a low-carbohydrate breakfast. At the end of eight months, the women who ate a big breakfast lost an average of 40 pounds while those eating a low-carbohydrate breakfast lost only nine pounds. The low-carbohydrate group consumed 290 calories at breakfast while the big breakfast group ate 610 calories. The big breakfast included milk, cheese, lean meat, whole grain bread, added fat and a small piece of candy or chocolate.