Most would argue that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, but it is also the one that is most skipped. Every day people get up in the morning and are in such a hurry to get out the door that they don’t have time to eat anything. Some people might justify this by telling themselves eating less is good for them, but what they don’t realize is that skipping breakfast could actually be causing their bodies more harm than help.  

Studies have proven that when people skip breakfast they are causing their metabolism to slow down, therefore hindering themselves from burning fat. Similar studies have also shown that people who skip breakfast are more likely to overeat during the day because they believe that since they did not eat in the morning, they can make up for it later.

“Our blood sugar drops and with that comes a lethargic attitude,” health teacher Todd John said. “When we do eat, we find that we’re more alert, our concentration levels are better, and we’re not irritable.”

The quote above pertains a lot to kids in school. When kids skip breakfast, studies have shown that they are not as attentive and therefore do not score as well on assessments. The kids who wake up early enough to get something in their stomachs before they head out the door in the morning are more likely to do well in school.

But it’s not just enough knowing that you need to eat breakfast. Which foods you eat have an impact too.

“It needs to be a complex carb, some protein and some good fats, some healthy fats,” John said. “It doesn’t have to be a lot, but within the first hour that you wake up you need to put something in your stomach so your blood sugar levels don’t go down.”

Foods that should definitely be avoided are foods that are sugary and high in bad fats. This includes; donuts, sugary cereals, white breads and refined sugars. These foods are filled with glucose and will only give people a short energy spike rather than a long fulfilled one that could be obtained from eating more substantial and healthier foods.

“Your metabolism is driven by food,” John said. “The more times you eat throughout the course of the day, within reason and within your calorie intake, the faster your metabolism speeds up. Faster metabolism results in greater fat loss.”

In other words, breakfast skippers have more of a propensity to be overweight because their metabolism is programed to burn food more slowly. Going along with this, people should eat something even when they are not hungry. This will help them to train their metabolism to burn food calories faster. It will also help in not overeating later in the day, and people are more likely to make better food decisions.

“We seem to be more successful throughout the course of the day, whether it’s has to do with our fitness, our weight, and our concentration,” John said. “It’s our metabolism that’s driven by the foods we eat, so it is equally important for all.”