Breakfast is more important than exercise for weight loss

Breakfast is more important than exercise for weight loss

“Go to the gym or eat breakfast?”may be the choice some well-intentioned dieters face every morning. If you only had time for one of these, which would be more important? The answer is clear, breakfast is king every day. How can that be? Why is breakfast so important? It can add calories. The answer is simple: If you look at all the overweight people who have lost and maintained their weight, the one commonality that stands out is the fact that they eat breakfast. 90% of people who lose weight don't skip breakfast. Almost 100% of successful dieters eat breakfast 6 out of 7 mornings a week. Regarding exercise: 50 to 60% exercise 4-5 days a week.

Here are the reasons why breakfast is more important than exercise: It's about eating, not metabolism.

1. It's easy for everyone to let something in life get in the way of training - training is a low priority for most busy people.

2. Breakfast, especially when eaten in the car, at school or at work, takes no time.

3. Breakfast prevents most people from going crazy in the morning and making poor lunch choices. It helps us slow down how quickly we eat lunch. Fast food and lunch in large restaurants are easy to consume, especially when colleagues eat them, breakfast protects us from this type of eating.

4. Eating breakfast doesn't speed up your metabolism, just like eating small meals throughout the day doesn't. How can you possibly speed up your metabolism through food! The confusion may be the normal increase in metabolism needed to digest food, but that number is a few calories at best. It is never enough to have an impact on stored energy or fat.

If you're having trouble losing weight, think "breakfast." At home, in the car, at work, at school anywhere as long as you don't skip it.

What to eat for breakfast:

For most people, breakfast is about convenience. We will eat what is easy to get, cravings at this time of day play a small role. The obvious choices are bagels, pastries, sugary cereals for adults and Pop-Tarts for kids.

This is exactly what we do NOT want for breakfast. Protein is the key to a good breakfast, as we learned from the Atkins and South Beach diets. Protein prevents hunger and helps keep blood sugar stable throughout the morning. It prevents us from saving the first snack we see at the office and then overeating at lunch. Proteins like eggs, ham, cheese, high-protein cereals, high-protein bars or shakes make the perfect breakfast. A good guideline is to consume at least 15 grams of protein for breakfast.

Inspired by Richard Lipman M.D.