BREAKFAST

I have always been a breakfast eater.  I know that some people can't look at food until at least mid morning and others just want their morning coffee and can go until lunchtime before having anything that can be called food.   I think what is one of the deciding factors is how long you are up before eating breakfast and if you had a late night snack before going to bed.   If you get up 45 minutes or so before you have to leave for work, your time is limited and you haven't been up long enough to feel hungry.   As I go out walking the dog in the morning, I get up early and I am hungry by the time I get back from walking.  I am a firm believer in three meals a day plus snacks mid morning and afternoon.  I like grazing and distributing my calories throughout the day.

Two recent articles about breakfast caught my eye.  One is from the website called RealAge (www.realage.com).  RealAge has interesting material on its site and you can sign up for all sorts of newsletters.   In their article they rated the best breakfasts.  They call breakfast the most important meal of the day.  A nutritious, well-balanced breakfast boosts weight loss efforts as breakfast eaters are more successful at losing weight and maintaining the weight loss; eating a high-fiber breakfast makes you more alert than eating a high fat meal; eating whole-grain cereals versus refined cereals is better for your cardiovascular system; and it strengthens your immune system.  RealAge supports eating cereals that have at least 3 grams of fiber per serving.  Your total goal is 6 grams of fiber at breakfast.   You can get more fiber at breakfast by eating berries, apples, foods with bran or oatmeal, whole-grain cereals, and nuts.  Their article on breakfasts compares different breakfasts and their limitations.

The second article was from Science Daily (June 23, 2008).   The researchers quoted in the article have found that a big breakfast with protein and carbs followed by a low carb, low calorie diet for the rest of the day resulted in dieters staying on their diets as a big breakfast seemed to control appetite and carvings for sweets and carbs.  Women who ate a big breakfast were less hungry, especially before lunch and had fewer carvings for carbs.  These dieters ate more calories at breakfast, lunch had less calories and supper had even less calories.  Total calories for the day were about 1300.   This reminds me of the saving, "eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a queen and supper like a princess."  Consuming your calories in this style might be interesting to try.  You would have to plan out your menus so that you are aware of your carb, protein and fat limits at each meal.