Weight Loss Winners Eat Breakfast!

I used to be afraid of breakfast. Breakfast was simply too early in the day. I was afraid because I knew that once I ate breakfast, there would be no stopping me ... I would continue to eat all day and by the time I went to bed that night I would have consumed an enormous number of calories.

The problem with starting the day with only coffee and willpower, though, was my body was physiologically in need of some fuel. Every night, while sleeping, our bodies continue to work, repairing and restoring the damage from the day. By morning the energy tank is empty and unless fuel is taken in, there will be problems. You know the symptoms ... irritability, mood swings, feeling shaky and an inability to focus. These symptoms are your body's way of shouting "I need food!"

Skipping breakfast and skimping on meals during the day when energy is needed the most sets up a cycle of deprivation that causes big problems for anyone who desires weight loss. The sad fact is, when all your willpower to avoid eating for as long as possible is placed head to head with the power of real physiologic hunger, hunger will win every time.

All of your efforts to "starve" the weight off by avoiding breakfast and maybe even lunch will be undone when hunger overwhelms you later in the day. The likelihood then is that you'll end up inhaling mass quantities of happy-hour chips and dip, plus an entire dinner, followed by half a package of cookies before bed. This is a sure way to keep you fat!

A research study published by Obesity Research Magazine (2002 Feb;10(2) 78-82) studied a group of individuals who had not only lost, but had also KEPT OFF thirty or more pounds for a period of one to six years. The study's findings indicated that 78% of those people reported eating breakfast every day! The researcher's conclusion was that eating breakfast is one practice common to successful weight loss maintainers that is probably a factor in their success.

As the research indicates, (and as your Mother may have told you may times) breakfast IS the most important meal of the day for anyone who wants to lose weight and to successfully keep it off.


Beginning the day with a satisfying and enjoyable meal containing protein, fiber-filled complex carbohydrates and maybe a little heart-healthy fat will accomplish the following:

#1 Get your metabolism going! During sleep your body's metabolic needs are at their lowest levels. When you wake up, your body is ready to rev up and get going - and that process uses up energy (i.e. burns calories.) The mere act of eating food boosts the metabolic rate, as well, so by eating a healthy breakfast you'll kick-start your metabolism and boost your daily calorie burn.

#2 You'll be more productive! The morning's activities will be accomplished with energy and a clear head, without the distraction of your body yelling "I'm hungry!" in any way it possibly can.

#3 You'll be able to better control the rest of your food intake during the day! The initial blast of energy you get from breakfast will insure that you won't run out of steam mid-morning. Rather than ending up feeling SO HUNGRY you must grab and eat anything you can get your hands on, you'll experience a gentler onset of hunger that can be quelled with a small, healthy snack.

#4 You'll feel a sense of empowerment and confidence! Develop the habit of beginning each morning being good to yourself, nourishing your body with fuel and refusing to "starve" your body in an attempt to lose weight. You will undoubtedly see positive results in your body and on the scale, which is good. You will also begin to experience hunger as being your body's signal, telling you what it needs, rather than as an ugly monster that destroys.

I know these things to be true because eating breakfast each morning was one of the twenty-five essential habits I learned to practice during my own 120 pound weight loss (which I have maintained without difficulty for over two years now!)

I learned a new way of eating, centered on changing my relationship with food. Instead of treating it as the enemy to be battled, I now realize food should be considered to be a source of nourishment and strength. This approach is radically different from all those other times in my life when I attempted to lose weight by waiting as long as I possibly could each day before allowing myself to start eating (and eating, and eating again.)

Starting the day off with a healthy breakfast and then continuing to eat meals containing nutrient-dense foods throughout the day keeps me feeling satisfied, energized, and NOT HUNGRY. Because I don't feel hungry and deprived all of the time, my emotional and physical energy are available to be directed toward living my life and working to achieve my goals.

I'm happy to report that breakfast doesn't scare me anymore!

Reference to the source secrets for weight loss