2 whole eggs, 4 egg whites scrambled and a smoothie (6oz water, 1 cup frozen blueberries, 5 ice cubes, one scoop of strawberry flavored whey protein and one Tbsp flax oil)
I think I may have had the worst seat on the plane yesterday.
You see, I flew Southwest, which means I didn’t have an assigned seat, only a boarding “zone” (which didn’t matter anyway because I was very, very late getting on the plane).
Why?
Well, as I sat there at the airport bar, history was unfolding before my very eyes.
I sat there watching as Roger Federer and Andy Roddick battled it out in what will be remembered as one of the greatest tennis matches of all time—the 2009 Wimbledon Men’s Final.
140+ mph serves, smashing forehands, slicing backhands, and oh yeah, a five-set grueling back and forth match which set the all-time record for most games played in a 5th set (it took THIRTY games for someone to finally “win by two”, as is required).
But that wasn’t the only record that was set. Ultimately, “the greatest”, Roger Federer pulled out the win, pushing him above Pete Sampras for the most career grand slam titles of all-time with 15. A new all-time record, a new champion, a phenomenal record-breaking match.
Like I said, history in the making.
So, naturally, I wasn’t even thinking about getting up from my seat in front of the television until they paged me.
And I still didn’t get to see the end (thank God for Sports Center).
Needless to say, when I got on the plane the only seat left was a middle seat between two rather large individuals, one of which looked like he probably hadn’t showered in about three weeks.
Lucky me.
But, despite all that I still needed to get some work done, so when the captain gave the OK for the “use of electronic devices”, out came the laptop.
I began writing an article called “7 Tricks to Boost Metabolism” for a large women’s magazine that I regularly contribute to and no more than 10 seconds after typing out the title was I bombarded with questions from the woman sitting next to me for the next hour.
So much for getting work done.
So she began telling me that despite religiously watching what she eats, she still can’t seem to lose weight.
I responded with “Okay, well what did you eat for breakfast today? Let’s start with that.”
Here response: “I don’t like to eat breakfast.”
Not good.
So I attempted to explain to her that she wasn’t doing any favors to her metabolism by skipping breakfast, and for the following reasons:
1. Breakfast is a literal word. With your morning meal you are “breaking” an 8-12 hour “fast” in which your body hasn’t received nutrition for an extended period of time. It’s a necessity during any weight loss program, not an option.
2. Breakfast is the meal that gets your metabolism going each day. If you’re repeatedly waiting until lunch to eat, you’re simply training your metabolism to remain slow for an extended portion of each day.
3. Breakfast is THE time to consume carbohydrates. Carbohydrate tolerance and insulin sensitivity are highest at breakfast. The absolute best time of day to eat carbs (and get away with it) is in the morning. Period.
4. Breakfast is energy for the day. You literally have ALL day to burn the calories that you eat at breakfast. It’s very unlikely, unless you are making very poor food choices and eating highly excessive amounts of calories, that calories eaten during the first meal of the day will lead to appreciable fat storage.
Simply put, breakfast should be the biggest, not smallest (or skipped) meal of the day, and if you’re not consuming it on a regular basis, you really need to start.
How about you? Do you regularly eat a hearty breakfast? And if so, what did you have for breakfast today?
At least 50 comments and I’ll be back on Wednesday with more content for my VIP subscribers!
Talk to you in the comments section!
Joel
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239 comments - add yours
Kirk
July 8, 2009
I can get in a really bad mood if I don’t have my breakfast! At 6am I had 1 whole egg and 2 whites scrambled with spinach and green onions and a whole grapefruit and a cup of coffee. 1oz monavie (acai) drink with my green powder, glucosamine/chondroitin, 3g fish oil, EPO, and chromium. Starving by 9am!
Boryana
July 11, 2009
I do not have breakfast regularly, but when i do, it sis always fruit.If I have a brakfast later(at 11 for example),then it could be sth else (oats, or other carbs,if the day is proper for eating carbs). When years ago I stopped having other breakfast except fruit, I really started feeling better. Maybe or sure that breakfast
speeds up metabolism, but in my case it rises also appetit( hunger) for the rest of the day.
Cameron
August 2, 2009
This gives me the chance to relate my success-story: I lost 25-30 pounds 7 years ago, and have kept the weight off. But the fact that I’ve succeeded where most people fail doesn’t stop the “experts” from scolding me for daring to buck conventional wisdom.
I don’t eat breakfast.
I don’t eat lunch.
I don’t swallow the claims that this is bad for my health.
Many people prefer to scold than stopping to consider something that may help them. But doesn’t my success in an area dominated by soul-crushing failure indicate you should consider my points?
My own story of weight loss is, of course, anecdotal, so how about some research that supports my claims: first, Dr. David Levitsky, professor of nutrition at Cornell, conducted a controlled study where subjects skipped breakfast. They ate more than they usually would at lunch, but not enough to make up the difference. There was a net loss in caloric intake. Dr. Mark Mattson of the National Institute of Aging had subjects skip breakfast and lunch, then had them a prescribed, full day’s allotment of calories worth at dinner. They neither gained nor lost weight, but his opinion was that if left on their own they’d eat less for dinner. That’s my experience. Exercise discipline and don’t eat junk-food (except occasionally), and you won’t eat more throughout the course of the day. Just make sure you have a good selection of assorted, nutritious foods for your one meal.
As for metabolism: one’s basal-rate of metabolism never stops, but it does decrease while sleeping. It’s true that eating can increase it – through what’s called thermogenesis – but then so can drinking a glass of cold water.
My routine is tough at first to get used to, but I think many can relate to how you get into a “zone” where you just don’t feel hungry. Today I ran 11 miles/17.7K on an empty stomach (btw- I’m not lying; I have better things to do than misrepresent myself on an internet forum). When I finished at about 1, I had plenty of fluids, but no food. Yeah, yeah, I’ve heard it all about how “bad” that is for you. Talk to the hand. I’m right on this; I’m TELLING you. I’m not going to claim it’s the ONLY way to lose weight, but long-term success stories are rare, so I’m clearly doing something right. And I feel utterly confident that the “Breakfast is the most important meal” canard will be revised, as part of ongoing scientific inquiry, in due course.
Hotta
August 4, 2009
first thing congrats, i agree with u about what u said, cos i don’t believe in the 6 meals aday bs, it’s obviously made up by the supplements companies(cos ppl won’t have time to cook 6 meals aday so they will have to drink 2-3 meal replacements).
one meal aday at dinner time is the way to go,in the morning i only drink a green smoothie(veges).
[…] few weeks ago I exposed the benefits of eating breakfast, particularly a BIG, protein-rich breakfast, and wouldn’t ya know, researchers from The […]
Barb.
August 11, 2009
So, Joel,
If morning is your carb time, what do YOU recommend? I’m sensitive to wheat and milk, so could use some suggestions.
Bill
August 11, 2009
Hmm, Not sure how my breakfast ranked. 8 OZ of V-8 juice, low sodium I think,
then a bowl of a combo of Shredded Wheat and Bran Flakes. A handfull of blueberries in the cereal and a banana. Skim Milk used on the cereal. A glass of water was added. I always eat breakfast, but seldom get to cook anything in the rush to get to work. It is seldom the biggest meal of the day.
Weight is definately my problem, very hard to control at AARP ++ age.
Linda
August 11, 2009
Joel….My coming across scientific information and consulting professionals about blood types, geographical, ethnicity, and genetic disposition 30 years ago is supported by a host of acknowledged doctors and professionals. There’s so many variations in lifestyles, hours of sleep, exercise, work and play across the globe, so my understanding is “one size doesn’t fit all”.
I’ve come to know my body strengths and weaknesses, an understanding for well being in all areas of my life. I listen to my body. I’m of European decent living in a 4 season climate, fast seasonally, and with very low tolerance for sugar refined or otherwise (add Stevia or maple syrup sometimes), wheat, gluten, and dairy, or today’s sick tap water (have reverse-osmosis system). I have 3-4 medium meals a day, enjoy them all.Dinner is usually followed by a small fresh raw salad with olive oil and vinegar dressing.
Mornings, I have a glass of water to hydrate, another small glass of water with powdered calcium with minerals, do 10 mins. cardio exercise, shower, and by an hour make up a delicious sort of smoothie that takes 5 min. to prepare before I begin work in my home office.
2 oz. 100% cranberry-raspberry juice
1 tbs black cherry concentrate
1/2 grapefruit juiced
1 tbs rice protein powder
1 tbs ground flax seed
1 tsp greens
1 tsp silicea balsam
1/2 tsp omega 3-6-9 oil
1/4 tsp powdered vitamin C with minerals
1/4 tsp lecithin
pinch of cayenne
I have it with 3 caps acidolphilus and bifidus, 1 cap magnesium, and a daily multi-vitamin, nothing from drug stores.
It all works for me!
Daniel
August 11, 2009
I just have some cereal or oatmeal in the morning
and have some fruit, should i be eating more?
Steve kd4ttc
September 30, 2009
Using the ancestor argument is not persuasive. Our ancestors only lived 30 or 40 years. Now we live much longer. Thus, what ancestors did was not as successful as what we do now. It is interesting to imagine, though, that with chronic food scarcity, an active metabolism that burns a lot of calories is not a good idea. Thus, the argument follows that the best way to preserve weight is to skip breakfast. Since the major health problem now is the excess of food in our lives it does not make sense to take the approach of ancestors that were dealing with chronic scarcity of food.
BTW, since I started eating something for breakfast I’ve see 5 pounds come
off with no effort. I added an Egg and sausage muffin, or an egg and toast for breakfast. Energy level is up. I feel much better. I may be more active, but it is hard to tell.
@Vaseem –
J
October 7, 2009
you’re right!! 100% i’ve noticed a change and some weight loss ever since i stopped skiping breakfast and i feel so good! and is not even the healthiest breakfast, and im still losing weight and dont feel hungry again until like 3-4pm. all this time i was dieting the wrong way by not eating in the morning.
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Hey, it’s Joel! So you want to know a little more about me, huh? Well, I’d be happy to oblige :-)
I guess it all started back in 2001 (my freshman year of college) when I was just a “skinny fat” 19-year old kid. At the time, I was spending close to 2 hours a day in the gym (now my workouts last about 30 minutes), and despite my efforts, you’d probably never guess I worked out a day in my life by looking at me...