Myths Associated With Effects of Breakfast on Weight Loss

• We are going to give you at least 7 myths around breakfast when it comes to weight loss. When many of us think of breakfast, we still remember that famous expression, “Breakfast is the most important meal of the day!” Remember that one?

• But, when you think about it, is breakfast the most important meal of the day? Since we’ve been little, we’ve heard our parents and grandparents say, “Eat up your breakfast”. It was supposed to keep us going for the day, and if we had exams, well, we needed a good breakfast!

• However, it boils down to each individual and what your personal goals are around your weight.

Introduction

• Have you always believed that if you skip breakfast, this would be a good way to kick-start your weight-loss plans?

• We are going to give you 7 myths about breakfast and weight-loss, and you will see that skipping breakfast is a personal decision you make with your personal weight loss plans. There are 6 other myths that you will enjoy reading about.

• In fact, some studies show that if you skip breakfast, you could become fatter than those, in the end, who do eat breakfast. But that probably would be if you don’t pack in a healthy snack when you are hungry but rather choose to wolf down your breakfast through takeaways from the cafeteria later!

So does eating breakfast help you lose weight?

Since you’ve been sleeping and fasting throughout the night, it is believed that a balanced breakfast can help restart your metabolism. This may help you avoid unnecessary hunger pangs and reduce incidence of blood sugar imbalances. You may not resort to unnecessary overeating and eat less as the day goes on. Thus, naturally, all these factors have contributed to giving breakfast the prestige of a meal that helps you keep your weight in check.

However, these days, a new trend, intermittent fasting has gained immense popularity. It includes skipping breakfast and eating an early dinner. You’re not supposed to eat again until noon the following day. Since many people have reported successful results by following this kind of diet plan, it has left many people wondering about what exactly would work for weight loss and would be conducive for their health.

For some people, eating a big breakfast works particularly well for them if they do their workouts in the morning. Later, they recharge themselves with a nutritious and protein-rich breakfast. There’s research that claims that breakfast, when packed with proteins, can be very beneficial, being the best time of day for a big meal. After all, in 2013, a study published in the American Journal of Nutrition put it like this, “Breakfast leads to beneficial alterations in the appetitive, hormonal, and neural signals that control food intake regulation.”

Even though many people have been advised to not skip breakfast, those who practice intermittent fasting see fantastic results – believers are of the opinion that this is the ultimate way to put an end to fretting about putting on weight. But it’s a lot more complicated than that because there is evidence that supports both sides of the coin. It’s personal preferences and habits that play a big role in creating the right meal plans that allow each one to lose weight and improve their health.

Let’s look at 7 other myths about breakfast –

Myth 1: Drink artificial sweeteners in your coffee – it’s healthy for dieting

At breakfast, many people think that if they lower their sugar intake and opt for the low or even no-calorie sweeteners, this will reduce their amount of calories consumed and help to drop weight fast. But, some studies that show that artificial sweeteners are not part of healthy eating, they can actually make you gain weight. According to research, when you routinely take in non-nutritive sweeteners, you can increase the Body Mass Index (BMI) as well as cardiometabolic risk. Not all studies conclude this though, and health experts continue to discuss the effects of sweeteners on metabolic health and weight loss.

Myth 2: Eating typical traditional foods aren’t very healthy for you

If you are dieting, it makes sense that you will go slower on the bacon and sausages, the waffles, and pancakes, right? But the thing is, over the past years, even healthy foods have had to take the rap, such as eggs! They have been blamed for making your cholesterol levels go high. And then there’s that morning cup of Joe? Yup, this is now supposed to cause heart disease and cancer. And black coffee is known to help protect you against high blood pressure, Parkinson’s disease, type 2 diabetes, and liver cancer. What about whole-wheat toast with butter also getting the rap! Meantime, real butter is a healthy fat which we need, and whole wheat offers you fiber.

Myth 3: Drink some orange juice at breakfast time

Another saying; “Breakfast without orange juice is like a day without sunshine,” – remember that one? Orange juice has been touted as the ultimate juice to have at breakfast and we have all fallen into that habit, and believed it! Now, doctors are saying that you might be better off eating an orange instead. The orange juices of today; well, some are simply loaded with sugar – just drinking eight ounces of orange juice can set you back by about 6 teaspoons of sugar. That’s a lot! That’s twice what a medium-sized orange contains. By eating an orange, you get heaps of fiber as well. Remember, we are not saying orange juice isn’t good – we are just squashing the myths. Orange juice has vitamin C in it and so on. In 2017, the American Academy of Pediatrics tightened up on their guidelines – they claimed that fruit juices should be off-limits for children under one year, and older kids should have just a little.

Myth 4: If you eat a good breakfast, you won’t overeat later in the day

A Cornell University study found researchers using volunteers – some had their regular breakfast and the others skipped breakfast. They looked at how the two groups ate for the rest of the day. Those who skipped breakfast did get hungry but didn’t eat more at lunchtime; some even eating fewer calories at lunchtime than those who had had breakfast.

Myth 5: If you want to lose weight, you need to eat breakfast

There is not much evidence to show that eating a morning meal like breakfast helps the weight to come off. One study on 50,000 healthy, active people suggested that when you eat a big breakfast; avoiding snacking and late-night binging, you could prevent long-term weight gain. That makes sense, but doesn’t prove that if you eat a regular breakfast you lose weight – or even what type of breakfast is best!

Myth 6: Missing breakfast results in loss of muscle mass

If you are wondering whether skipping breakfast will cause loss of muscle mass, you needn’t worry – that won’t happen, as long as you are getting in plenty of protein. While it is true that fasting for an extended period can cause muscle mass to decrease, it will take over 16 hours of fasting for the body to start breaking down muscle mass.

Myth 7: You should not eat breakfast before exercising

Eating a nutritious breakfast can improve your exercise routines in the morning. Not only will it fuel your exercise session, but you’ll find you have higher energy levels, enabling you to go the extra mile!  Another benefit you will feel is that you won’t feel sluggish and lightheaded doing your exercises. But if you are one who can’t bear the thought of eating a full meal, then opt for a quick snack of nuts, some fruit, maybe a protein bar, or even down a protein shake – these are great ways to maximize your performance.

Conclusion

We are going to conclude with another myth and that is that “eating fat makes you put on fat”. That’s a myth if ever there was one. It might sound unbelievable to you, but fat, like carbs and proteins, is a vital nutrient for your body and your overall health. You need fat in your diet, healthy fat. Try and make a habit of getting in 30% of your calories per day from heart-healthy unsaturated fats. These types of fats are nuts, olive oil, fish, avocados, flaxseed, etc. The ones to avoid are the trans-fats that are found in processed foods such as margarine, chips, and cookies – limit these like the plague. And a word of advice here, don’t skip meals if you can help it.

When you do, your blood sugar decreases and that means an interruption in your ability to think straight. The brain needs glucose to run efficiently and if it can’t find it, the body won’t work efficiently. Most of us know what it feels like to have low blood sugar – when we feel confused, irritable, tired, and restless. Skipping meals slows down the metabolism too and this can cause weight gain, defeating your weight loss plan. Maybe if you don’t believe in skipping meals, you can try these tips: