To eat or skip breakfast?

There are several reasons why you may choose to eat or skip breakfast. However, many people do not give this decision much thought.

Breakfast has the reputation of being the most important meal of the day as our bodies literally run on energy provided by food. Skipping breakfast has been correlated to many negative consequences, including weight gain, metabolic dysregulation, reduced ability to focus and reduced exercise performance.

Despite this, out of all the meals of the day, breakfast seems to be the one most people choose to skip. Some of the reasons include:

They want to lose weight
They dislike “breakfast” foods
They “can’t stomach” eating breakfast
They don’t have time

Eating breakfast can help get many people on the right track with regard to body composition and health. However, eating breakfast does not guarantee great results. It depends on the composition and size of breakfast.

The old adage “breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, dinner like a pauper” seems to have validity. There is evidence that our ability to use the food we eat is mandated by our circadian rhythm (i.e. our body processes everything easier in the hours in which we are meant to be awake).

While I don’t think everyone needs to eat 3 meals per day, I find skipping breakfast can lead to:

Missing one opportunity to eat enough nutrients (e.g. protein, fibre, essential vitamins and minerals) for the day
Overeating later on the day (consciously or unconsciously)