“Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a pauper.”This age-old adage shows how important breakfast is. After all, it’s what fuels your body and prepares you for the rest of the day. One Yale study even suggests that eating two breakfasts is better for you than eating none at all (1).
While 93 percent of the population actually agrees that breakfast is indeed the most important meal of the day, not everyone eats breakfast. In reality, only 44 percent of the population partakes in the morning meal (2). And sadly, statistics show that while 80 percent of school-age children eat breakfast, 73 percent of those meals come from sugary cereals!
Why Is Breakfast So Important?
When you sleep, you essentially fast. So, eating breakfast breaks the overnight fasting and replenishes your body’s glucose supply, and provides other essential nutrients that help to keep your energy levels up throughout the day.
Your body needs glucose, which is broken down and absorbed from carbohydrates. Your muscle tissue and liver stores glycogen, which is released slowly during the night to keep your blood sugar levels stable. Between your last meal of the day and your next breakfast, your body may go as long as 12 hours without food, so your glycogen stores will be low first thing in the morning.
If all of the energy from these glycogen stores is used up, your body resorts to breaking down fatty acids to produce the energy it requires. These fats are a good short-term source of energy, but they aren’t as easy to use. By eating breakfast, you quickly restore glycogen levels and thus boost your energy levels and more importantly, your metabolism.
6 Things That Happen When You Skip Breakfast (3)
1. Children who skip breakfast are significantly heavier than those who eat breakfast.
2. Skipping breakfast can diminish your mental performance. Eating breakfast helps you stay alert and thus better able to pay attention and better able to stay interested and learn.
3. Eating a high-fibre breakfast reduces fatigue.
4. Children who eat an inadequate breakfast are more likely to make poor food choices for the rest of the day and in the long term, which leads to obesity.
5. People who eat breakfast have more nutritious diets than people who skip breakfast. They also have better eating habits as they are less likely to be hungry for snacks during the day.
6. Going without breakfast becomes more common as you get older.
Overall, skipping breakfast can lead to weight gain and poor mental and physical performance. So, do your body a favor and make sure to include a well-balanced breakfast that is full of fiber, protein and beneficial nutrients that will help boost your metabolism and ultimately, lose weight.
16 Fat Burning Breakfast Recipes
These recipes will change your breakfast routine forever.
1. Roasted Veggies Skillet
While roasted veggies are a great idea any time of the day, when eaten first thing in the morning, they give your body that extra boost of vitamins and nutrients it needs to face the day.
Plus, the protein from the egg will not only give your body more energy, but studies show it will keep you feeling full longer, a bonus for people who are trying to curb food cravings (4).
Put them together and you have a sure-fire, fat-burning breakfast to keep you going all day long. Find the recipe here.
2. Cantaloupe And Greek Yogurt Boat
Just scoop out a ripe melon and drop a dollop of plain Greek yogurt on a slice with a few fresh summer berries.
Top it off with some crunchy seeds, walnuts or pecans (or any other seed or nut of your choosing), and you have a solid meal full of protein, vitamins, nutrients and powerful antioxidants.
In fact, cantaloupe has a massive 189 times more beta-carotene, an antioxidant your body uses to make vitamin A, than other melons (5).
Just one cup of cantaloupe is only 54 calories, so this bountiful fruit is perfect for losing weight.
And when you add the protein in the yogurt, it helps your body burn extra calories throughout the day and keeps you full, longer.
Altogether, you have a perfect fat-burning breakfast! Get the full recipe here.
3. Belly Busting Oats
This will be your go-to breakfast because it is so easy and utterly delicious. Grab a mason jar and fill it with:
- 1/2 cup rolled oats
- 1 teaspoon chia seeds
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 cup unsweetened homemade almond milk or plain coconut milk
- 1/4 cup Greek yogurt
- 1/4 banana
- 1/4 cup pineapple, chopped
- 1/4 cup blueberries
- 1 tablespoon chopped almonds
Add the ingredients to your mason jar in the order listed and put the lid on and put it in the fridge overnight. In the morning you can simply eat it cold or warm it up in a small saucepan. Easy-peasy!
Oats are complex carbs that keep you feeling full longer because they take longer to digest. They are also full of fiber to keep you regular, and studies even show they help boost your metabolism (6).
Chia seeds are also high in protein, antioxidants and fiber, which studies show can help you lose weight (7).
Bananas are rich in potassium and pectin that helps to keep you feeling full (8).
The healthy fats in the almond milk can reduce belly fat, while the cinnamon helps to regulate your insulin levels, which is key for your metabolism and energy, thus burning fat (9, 10).
4. Almond Strawberry Banana Yogurt Smoothie
There’s nothing better than a great breakfast smoothie, especially when it can help you burn extra fat! Fresh strawberries and blueberries are full of beneficial vitamins, nutrients, and antioxidants to help you fight disease. The yogurt not only makes it rich and creamy but adds a punch of protein to keep you full until lunchtime.
With some added healthy fat from the almonds, this fat-burning breakfast is sure to become a favorite.