The “breakfast hypothesis” – i.e., the assumption that breakfast eaters are better able to manage their weight – got some bad press earlier this year.
Debunked by research at Columbia University, the go-to proclamation by health coaches and nutritionists everywhere that you MUST eat breakfast if you want to lose weight or maintain a healthy weight just isn’t backed by the facts.
AND…
I still think breakfast is the rock star of meals when it comes to your wellbeing.
Picture this.
You wake up as the sun comes up, feeling rested. You’re the only one awake (for now).
As you climb out of bed, your stomach rumbles and your thoughts turn to breakfast.
You drink a glass of water and do a few yoga stretches, as the water boils on the stove and the coffee pot burbles to life. (You have one of those groovy coffee makers with the timer that you set last night.)
You add oats to the boiling water and – 10 minutes later – you’re sitting at the table – calmly enjoying an energy-boosting bowl of oatmeal and drinking a steaming cup of coffee. You might even be reading a book or the paper.
No, it’s not Saturday. It’s Tuesday. And you’ve decided to make breakfast your time from now on…even if it means getting up earlier.
I love, love, LOVE breakfast.
I look forward to it. I plan for it. I luxuriate in it (especially weekend brunch).
I adore breakfast foods – pancakes, oatmeal, eggs, bacon, coffee, omelettes, mimosas, granola – or any combination/variation of the above. (Best pancakes ever, by the way, are at the Lake Placid Lodge in Lake Placid, NY.)
Forget about breakfast being the “most important meal of the day” nutritionally or metabolically speaking. (See “research at Columbia University” above.)
For my money, breakfast IS the most important meal in terms of HOW YOU FEEL all day.
Making time to have breakfast – sitting down to mindfully start your day – sets the tone.
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Do you feel…
Energetic. Calm. Focused.
Or…
Exhausted. Frazzled. Scattered.
If you answered one of the last three, try eating breakfast. Or eating something different for breakfast.
Try this experiment for a week:
Eat something different for breakfast each day. Oatmeal. Eggs. Fruit. Yogurt + fruit. Boxed breakfast cereal. An apple with almond butter. Fresh veggies. A bagel.
You get the idea.
(If you’re not always hungry in the morning, start with something small. Breakfast doesn’t have to be a huge meal.)
Write down how you feel just after you eat; and again, two hours later.
Note your energy level, hunger level, and mood. Jot down any physical “symptoms” you notice, like an unhappy tummy, a headache, or feeling spacey.
That’s it. The Breakfast Experiment.
It’s a great way to tune into your body and figure out what foods fuel you best. (So great, in fact, that it’s one of the first exercises I ask you to do in The Effortless Eating Program.)
And it’s worth doing every six months or so. Your body needs different things at different times, even if you don’t notice.
Tell me in the comments…
Are you a breakfast eater? Why or why not? How do you think your choice affects (or doesn’t affect) your day? And if you’ve done The Breakfast Experiment, what did you discover?
xo,
