The Importance of Breakfast—and Fitness— in the Morning

Time and time again it has been said that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Sometimes that statement is followed with some reasons why, like the fact that it helps give you energy to get through the morning. However, many people really don’t know why breakfast is so important, and just as many people skip this important meal every day. Not only should breakfast be an important start to the beginning of the day for everyone, but so should fitness.

The Importance of Breakfast

Don’t skip breakfast. Whether it was mom that said it or the doctor, they have good reason to say it; breakfast can help with healthy weight, better focus, and more. Studies show that eating a healthy breakfast can do many great things, according to WebMD. Some of the benefits include:

• A more complete diet full of healthy nutrients, vitamins and minerals.
• Improved concentration, as well as performance.
• More energy and strength to exercise and get more physical activity.
• It can even help lower your cholesterol.

But there’s more to it than that. A healthy breakfast can actually help you keep a healthy body weight. It helps to balance calories throughout the day, curb the need to snack, and ensure there is enough energy for the body to get the physical activity it needs each day for optimal calorie burning.

• Get lean protein

Protein helps reduce hunger, according to Wayne Campbell, PhD (and WebMD). Contrary to some beliefs, eggs are a good source of healthy protein too.

• Fruit and Vegetables are filling

Instead of loading up on bread and bagels, go for vegetables that will help fill the tummy but not add fat around the middle. Fruits are a great way to curb the morning sweet tooth.

Once breakfast consists of the right foods it can help the body do many things, like:

• Metabolism Boosting

Eating starts the digestion process, which wakes the body up. Once the metabolism is in work mode it will keep working through the day, which boosts not only energy, but also weight loss potential. When someone skips breakfast the body thinks it needs to store energy instead, so weight loss isn’t boosted, and neither is energy.

• Appetite Control

For 12 hours or so at night the body gets no food during sleep. That means that it needs sustenance in the morning, and not giving it what it needs can cause overeating later in the day. It can also cause a person to make poor choices in what they do eat the rest of the day (fattier and greaser foods, and more snacking on unhealthy sweets).

• Better Mood

Skipping breakfast can also cause someone to have a shorter temper, be unable to concentrate, and be in a sour mood. A healthy breakfast means the body gets a healthy amount of energy to get through the day, and good energy can mean a good mood.

A great way to burn those awesome breakfast calories is to work in fitness in the morning.

The Importance of the Morning Workout

For many people, if fitness doesn’t happen first thing in the day it won’t happen at all. Days are busy, full of work and running the kids around. Get up just 15 minutes early each day to squeeze in even a little bit of fitness and it will make a huge difference. Just like eating breakfast can lift the mood, exercise releases the feel good endorphins that can help make for a positive and rewarding day.

Those that don’t have an issue working out at night can benefit from an added quick fix fitness session in the morning too.

• Metabolism Boost

Not only does a morning workout help burn through those breakfast calories, but it boosts the metabolism so that it burns through the whole days calories faster.

• Better Focus

Waking the brain up with that endorphin boost of exercise will help with concentration, combat sluggishness, and keep the mind from getting distracted or tired.

Eating breakfast every day, and fitting in a quick morning workout, both have many of the same healthful benefits. They both help boost the mood and the metabolism for the day.

Image courtesy of TeddyBear[Picnic] / FreeDigitalPhotos.net