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Build the burn with BREAKFAST

Steve March 18, 2014

When you awake in the morning, rub your eyes, and put you feet to the floor to start your day, is your initial thought ‘Time to Eat!’ or ‘I’ll find something to eat on the way out the door to work’?  You know the answer your mind and body should be looking for…  Your body slows down its metabolism as a mechanism of defense to conserve energy when it hasn’t consumed food for so many hours; as in a state of famine.  When you wake up and you haven’t eaten anything since your last meal the night before, your body will be in a

Skipping breakfast lowers your metabolism by 5%

Skipping breakfast lowers your metabolism by 5%

catabolic state (in other words breaking down)- thus your body is consuming muscle tissue to get you fueled up as needed to get you up and moving.  While you’re sleeping your body goes through a biochemical process called gluconeogenesis that allows your body to utilize amino acids from your muscle tissue and transport them to your liver where they’re converted to glucose, the only thing your brain can use for energy.  In the process of not eating for all those hours, your body is depleted of these glucose (glycogen) stores and needs to obtain it from elsewhere to keep your brain mainstreamed and operating.  The optimal option is to steal it from your muscles, take the amino acids and convert them to energy.

A recommendation to minimize cannibalization is to consume a healthy serving of protein alongside a whole grain carb with fiber preferably first thing in the morning (or when you awaken).  Skipping breakfast lowers your metabolism by 5% according to Dr. Wayne Callaway, an obesity specialist at George Washington University.  Individuals who skip breakfast are much more likely to binge in the late morning due to starvation and begin to get the “shakes” because of low blood sugar levels.  By the time they eat, their metabolism is even lower than it was when they first woke up.   Portion control goes out the window and they gorge on too many calories which usually leads to high-fat, low nutritious decisions and more weight gain.

Moral is… take time to invest in your first meal of the day as it will launch your mind, body, and metabolism into a fuel burning machine all day long (as long as it’s continually fueled properly).

In good health,

Steve @ Fitastic


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