Breakfast, the most important meal of the day. Or is it?

Following on from our weight loss seminar last month, I wanted to share a part of the seminar that was a little contentious – the topic of breakfast, and whether we should eat it in order to lose body fat.

Over the years we have been told that breakfast stokes the metabolism for us to burn more fat. I’m here today to do a little mythbusting and you guessed it… this bit of news is FALSE!

Along similar lines, we’re also told that breakfast is the king of meals and we should consume it even if we don’t want to.

Are you someone who has been forced a breakfast down you when your whole body is telling you to not have it?

So if this is the case and some of us really aren’t up to breakfast should we really be eating it?

If we know that a reduction in calories means weight loss, why would eating more calories mean we lose more? It doesn’t make sense right?

Despite our understanding of the basic mechanics of weight loss (a calorie deficit will result in weight loss) the matter of breakfast still manages to shake our beliefs and many people question what they have been told.

If we really begin to trust our knowledge and understand that creating a calorie deficit is the only answer to losing weight consistently then this will help to clear whether we need breakfast or not. There have been many studies into the matter of breakfast, and for many of us, the information is contradictory. For example, for some people, cannot stomach eating first thing, and are happy to eat a light meal at lunchtime. On the other hand for others, skipping breakfast can make them ravenous by lunchtime, which results in totally overeating.

Which one are you?

This study looked into whether breakfast made a difference on adults attempting to lose weight, and whilst being told to (or not) made them feel happier with their choices, eating in in the morning, or skipping that first meal made no difference at all!

Why is that? We KNOW that calories are the thing that affects weight gain or loss. So inevitably, we could argue that there is no one structure, or magic formula to losing weight. You could eat 100 tiny meals a day, and as long as you are under your calorie goal, would lose weight. Alternatively, you could just eat one big meal a day!

My advice – structure your calorie intake around your eating habits and preference. If you can’t stomach breakfast, don’t eat breakfast. If you like breakfast then just be aware that it is an additional meal that will contribute to your consumption of calories.

Breakfast affects us all differently – you may feel energised for the day ahead, or it can make you queasy. Whichever you choose to do, take a holistic view of your day rather than just one meal.

When do you enjoy eating, what meal makes you feel best? Spread your calorie intake to suit this, for the most sustainable and consistent weight loss method for YOU.