So you’re busy. You have loads of things to do, you slept in, and you’re rushing out the door, but WAIT! Did you eat breakfast?
Your body hasn’t had any fuel since last night, you’ve been asleep for at last 7 hours and you’re expecting your body to run on empty until lunchtime!? No wonder you’re starving by 11am and reaching for a chocolate bar…
The purpose of breakfast is in the name… BREAK your FAST. Eating breakfast gives you the start up fuel for your day and for your metabolism too. NHS research states that those who eat breakfast everyday are less likely to be overweight, and if you need more convincing, children who eat a healthy breakfast are less likely to have behavioural problems, pay better attention in school and perform better on standardised tests. This shows that fuelling your body correctly is good for the mind too!
Night Eating Disorder is a fairly new concept, and many of you may identify with its symptoms. If you are eating your evening meal very late, or continuing to snack until bedtime you may have dysfunctional eating patterns. Having food to digest when you go to bed can prevent your body from sleeping properly, repairing itself and resting for the next day. You probably wake up late and tired and don’t have time for breakfast. It’s a vicious cycle; you don’t eat breakfast, so you probably start eating at lunchtime. You could think of it as having Breakfast at lunch, lunch at dinner, and – you guessed it, you’re eating into the night, because your body is still hungry for the meal it feels it missed out on!
The cure for this disorder is simple. Eat breakfast! Chances are you’ll be less likely to snack after your evening meal, sleep better and get up feeling better! It takes time to get used to and change your routine, but it will work. Those who eat breakfast and don’t skip meals will keep their metabolism burning, and are actually shown to consume fewer calories during the day. For many people, breakfast is a meal it’s easier to make healthy choices for, and if eating it makes you less likely to snack at night, just think of the contrast in the food you would eat for breakfast and the food you would snack on!
Many people say that eating too soon after getting up makes them feel sick. Perhaps try investing in a smoothie maker or juicer and make your own breakfast drinks from fresh fruit and vegetables and organic natural yogurt. A drink can be just as nutritious as a meal if you do it right, and may be easier to stomach.
Porridge is another good choice as oats have a low glycaemic index, and so release energy to your body at a slower rate, keeping you fuller for longer. If you prefer something cold, mix 30g oats with a chopped up apple and a couple of tablespoons of yogurt and keep in the fridge over night. You’ll have a lovely, cold nutritious breakfast ready to go. You could even make it in a sealed container and eat it on the train on the way to work if you’re rushed.
They say that any breakfast is better than no breakfast at all, but it’s better to choose unsweetened wholegrain cereals over sugary kids ones (in fact, I wouldn’t even buy those for your kids). Toast is good if you choose wholegrain brown bread, maybe try having a banana on toast, or poached eggs (better than sugary jam). If you really fancy a ‘fry up’ you can alter the traditional English breakfast to be a bit healthier than if you bought it from a ‘greasy spoon’. Try grilling meat instead of frying, and poaching, scrambling or boiling eggs. Save calories by removing fat from bacon, or choosing turkey rashers instead. Buy sausages from the butchers instead of the supermarket as they tend to have less fat in them, you can also save calories by removing the sausage skins before cooking.
If you’re working out early in the morning, try a banana or fruit juice beforehand to get you going. Try to give yourself some time for your food to go down before you start your workout. If you would usually eat more than that, you can always have a bowl of porridge after your workout to fuel you for the day ahead.
Start your day the right way, with a healthy breakfast and you’ll be able to take on the world (and all before lunch!).
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But I must explain to you how all this mistaken idea of denouncing pleasure and praising pain was born and I will give you a complete account of the system, and expound the actual teachings of the great explorer of the truth, the master-builder of human happiness. No one rejects, dislikes, or avoids pleasure itself, because it is pleasure, but because those who do not know how to pursue pleasure rationally encounter consequences that are extremely painful. Nor again is there anyone who loves or pursues or desires to obtain pain of itself, because it is pain, but occasionally circumstances occur in which toil and pain can procure him some great pleasure. To take a trivial example, which of us ever undertakes laborious physical exercise, except to obtain some advantage from it? But who has any right to find fault with a man who chooses to enjoy a pleasure that has no annoying consequences, or one who avoids a pain that produces no resultant pleasure?