START THE DAY OFF RIGHT

Do as I say...

All together now --- what's the most important meal of the day? Right! Breakfast.  So, why aren't you eating yours?

We're a funny breed, we women.  We would never think of allowing our children, or any other loved one to leave the house in the morning without having had breakfast.  After all, we know that starting the day without food is a sure fire way to end up sleeping through class, feeling weak, unable to focus, stressed or ready to bite someone's head off in that important meeting first thing in the morning.  Yet, we deprive ourselves of this vital component of the day more often than not.

There are myriad reasons to justify our lack of balance, and we're masters of excuses when it comes right down to it.  I don't have time:  With making sure everybody else is cared for and fed, there's not enough time to eat.  Or, I'm just not a morning person and can't face food in the morning.  And how about this one:  I'm trying to lose weight anyway.

We've managed to talk ourselves into sabotaging our health efforts, especially weight-loss, by believing the myth that breakfast doesn't matter.   Here are some facts - which you probably already know and tell your kids - which may help you to remember why you need to eat breakfast, just like the rest of your family.

Why we ALL need to eat breakfast

Studies have shown that, particularly in children, skipping breakfast leads to lack of focus and concentration.  That is the reason the government has instituted school breakfast programs.  Learning anything comes easier if the body and brain are receiving vital nutrients.  If it works for children, it works for adults as well.

Ladies, start your engines.  No, it's not the Indy, but our bodies need fuel in order to metabolize fats, so if we don't feed the engine, it won't burn any fuel but rather it will store it.  By not eating, we're teaching our body to hold on to whatever food it gets because it may be the last for a long time. Food stored for later is called fat.  So, if we want to burn fat, we need to eat in order to get the motor going.

And, one last thing, by having breakfast and following it with a several small meals  throughout the day, we keep our blood sugar levels balanced so we don't overeat at any one meal and we have energy for the day.  Now, go eat your breakfast.