Weight Loss and Breakfast

Weight loss and eating a healthy breakfast go hand in hand, so you can think of breakfast as setting the standard for your day. There are some who skip breakfast entirely and others who choose this time to use a meal replacement drink or bar, but a good breakfast with real food can help lead to weight loss.

Breaking Your Fast

• The name says it all: break -- fast. During sleep your body has been in a fasting state, relying on stored nutrition so the first meal of the day sets the stage for how the metabolism will work during the coming day.

Postabsorptive state

• Going without food for extended periods places your body in this state, which can be thought of as your body using itself for fuel because none is being provided by food. This sounds like terrific news for weight loss, but it is not.

  Without food your body begins to use tissue that it does not need for survival as fuel. Because fat is needed for protection, insulation and energy, what you will lose first is muscle because your body makes a priority of fat over lean tissue.

Breakfast Boosts Metabolism

• During the sleeping fast your body is in, it's in a basal metabolic state and it is food that triggers it to start using food for fuel instead of itself. Providing your body with fuel is essential at this time; providing the correct fuel is the key.

Supplying Usable Energy

• Providing energy in the form of carbohydrates is the best practice because it can be used and not stored. Food that has retained its fiber content is the way to go; old fashioned oatmeal, bran and muesli are good choices, as well as whole wheat bread (100-percent stone ground) and fresh fruits.

  Refined foods produce a sudden increase in blood glucose and provide short-term energy, which is provided too quickly for the body to use. Your body will clean up this excess blood sugar and the net result is short-term energy and the storing of the excess as fat.

Supply and Demand

• The average American consumes the majority of his calories late in the day, especially for dinner. Some start their day with meal replacement drinks, with a small breakfast, or none at all. Do not fall into this trap.

  Consuming the bulk of your calories earlier in the day and reducing the size of your meals as the day progresses allows your body time to burn them for daily activities.

  Late in the day and into the evening when your activity is minimal, your need for energy is reduced. It may be insulting to dinner guests, but having that meal replacement drink in the evening or having a small dinner would be a better choice because soon, the fast is going to begin again, and your body will be absorbing, not burning.