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Why is breakfast is so important

JustinE22 Posts: 1,312 Joined: 2003/09/18	2005/02/11, 04:00 PM Here's an article i found on the importance of breakfast. Thought it was an interesting read. By: Chris Zaino As many of you know, breakfast is the most important meal of the day. It is amazing how many people skip this valuable meal. If you are a bodybuilder or not, breakfast plays a vital role for your metabolism and over all health. Let's just take the time to look at the word itself, "Break-Fast". That is essentially what we are doing in the morning when we eat. We are breaking the fast our bodies go through from our last meal the night before, through the 8 to 10 hours of sleep we get a night. During Your Sleep Period During the night, especially for body builders, your nitrogen balance fluctuates from a positive balance into a negative nitrogen balance. Nitrogen balance is when a person's daily intake of nitrogen from proteins equals the daily excretion of nitrogen. A negative nitrogen balance occurs when the excretion of nitrogen exceeds the daily intake and is often seen when muscle is being lost. On the other end of the spectrum, a positive nitrogen balance is often associated with muscle growth. In other words our metabolisms turn catabolic (breakdown of muscle tissue for energy metabolism) during sleep, a condition no bodybuilder wants to be in if he/she desires maximum muscle growth. What happens is your hard-earned muscle tissue is robbed of important amino acids to be synthesized into glucose to fuel the brain, nervous system, and other organs and tissues. Don't panic, this is a natural process our bodies go through to sustain life every day. Our goal is to keep the state of negative nitrogen balance to a minimum and throw that balance into a positive through diet and nutrition and by making sure we eat a well-balanced breakfast. This however should definitely assure you to think twice before skipping breakfast. Breakfast feeds your body the fuel it is in need for and serves to jumpstart and speed up the metabolism. Just by eating breakfast, containing all of the three main components (protein, carbs, and fat) can raise your metabolism 60-100%. So with this in mind it would sound foolish to even think about skipping the most important meal of the day. This will take you out of the negative nitrogen balance (Catabolism, breakdown of protein), and hopefully switch you into a positive nitrogen balance (Anabolism: process of building up complex materials (proteins) from simple materials). Positive nitrogen balance is the environment you want to be in to promote lean muscle mass and accelerated fat loss. O.K., now that we know the importance of breakfast for your health, metabolism, and fitness gains, we now need to know what to eat for breakfast. A lot of people think a bowl of hot cereal and a piece of fruit is a nutritious breakfast. Guess again! Yes these are healthy choices, but the meal is incomplete. Breakfast, along with the rest of your meals, should contain a balance of protein, complex carbohydrates, and fats (which usually occur naturally and do not have to be added). I'll give you an analogy. Your car needs water, oil, and gas to run efficiently. If you leave one of those three properties out, your car is not going to run. The same goes for our bodies. We must include all three nutrients, especially protein and high-fiber complex carbohydrates, to function at peak performance and to get all the benefits of your weight and aerobic training. So if you are just eating a bowl of oatmeal, you must include a protein source along with that. Here are some examples of protein sources you can have for breakfast. Example Protein Sources For Breakfast: Egg Whites Egg Beaters Protein Powders ( whey, egg, milk, soy) Meal Replacement Powders (Myoplex, Met-Rx, Rx-Fuel, etc.) TOFU Cottage Cheese Meat ( if you can handle it in the morning) Again, including a protein source will bring you into positive nitrogen balance, increase the metabolism through the digestion of the protein itself, and increase fat mobilization for fuel. Now that we have the protein source problem solved, what about the complex carbohydrates? Try to stay away from highly processed, sugar loaded cereals. Your best option is to stick with the more natural high-fiber sources such as oatmeal, wheteena, kashi, shredded wheat, fiber cereals etc. These complex carbohydrate sources contain high amounts of vitamins and minerals, and are loaded with fiber. We need to consume a minimum of 30 grams of fiber a day, so you definitely want to include a good amount in your breakfast. Fiber will also slow down the absorption of carbohydrates yielding a steadier supply of energy and a more stable blood sugar level in the body. To put it all together I will use what I had for breakfast as an example. After my 45 min. of cardiovascular training upon rising I had the following: 12 egg whites / 2 yolks 2 servings of oatmeal w/ cinnamon 16 oz. of water The meal above contains a balance of good quality protein, high-fiber complex carbohydrates, and a small amount of fat I find I need through out the day. Remember this is just an example; you might need more or less depending on your activity level, and lean muscle mass. So now that we have a little info on why breakfast is important, here is a recipe for oatmeal pancakes that you might want to try. For the basic recipe batter you will need the following: Oatmeal Pancake - (Basic recipe batter) 10 egg whites plus 1 yolk 3 oz. Oatmeal 1 tsp. Vanilla extract 1 tsp. Cinnamon 1 packet of artificial sweetener Directions: Combine the first four ingredients in a mixing bowl. Pre heat a non-stick skillet on medium to med-high heat. You might want to also use a non-stick cooking spray. Mix ingredients together until a smooth battery consistency forms. Depending on the size you want your pancake to be, pour some of the batter into the skillet. Flip the oatmeal pancake when the outer edges start to bubble and become crisp (About 2-3 min.). Cook other side for an additional 1-2 min. Repeat for the other oatmeal flapjacks. Serving Set them on a plate and sprinkle some artificial sweetener and additional cinnamon over the top. Serve hot and enjoy! They are delicious! Nurtrional Breakdown: Prepared as listed above contains: 522 cal.; 46g protein; 65g carbohydrates, 10g of fiber; 10g fat; 400mg sodium. Modifications: That was just the basic recipe I use and used during my pre-contest diet phase. It helped break the monotony of the same old breakfast every morning. If you think the basic recipe is too bland here are some suggestions you can use to make them even better: 1) Add or subtract more egg whites and/or oatmeal for +/- calories, protein, and carbs 2) For more flavors add some of your favorite low sugar or sugar free jams, jellies, and preserves to the batter. (My favorite is raspberry!) 3) For those gaining weight add a tablespoon of natural peanut butter, to give it a delicious peanut butter flavor. (Mouth watering!) 4) For extra protein and flavor, add a scoop of your favorite flavored protein powder. Mix it in well to get out all the clumps. 5) Add or subtract egg yolks depending on how many fat grams you want. I recommend at least 1 yolk to help the digestion of the eggs themselves. The fat of the yolks combined with the fiber of the oats will lower the glycemic index of the food providing a slower absorption of the meal. This will keep insulin and blood sugar levels stable giving you more sustained energy. This is one reason why fat is beneficial to the diet in moderate amounts. 6) Instead of artificial sweeteners, add some cottage cheese or yogurt as a topping.
asimmer Posts: 8,201 Joined: 2003/01/07	2005/02/11, 04:08 PM nice post, justin! -------------- Spoon feeding in the long run teaches us nothing but the shape of the spoon. -- E. M. Forster --
yadmit Posts: 4,670 Joined: 2003/10/05	2005/02/25, 03:04 PM Further to the above: Eating Breakfast May Do a Heart Good By Amy Norton NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Mom may have been right when she said breakfast is the most important meal of the day. A small study suggests that skipping that morning meal may be a bad move for the heart, and possibly the waistline. UK researchers found that when healthy, lean women skipped their morning meal, it raised their cholesterol levels and diminished their bodies' sensitivity to insulin, a hormone that helps regulate blood sugar levels. On top of that, the women tended to eat more calories on breakfast-free days -- suggesting that over the long haul, skipping breakfast could spur weight gain. Dr. Hamid R. Farshchi and his colleagues at the University of Nottingham in the UK report the findings in the February issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Some past studies have suggested that people who eat breakfast, particularly whole-grain cereals, have lower cholesterol and insulin levels, Farshchi told Reuters Health. Along with past evidence, he said, the new findings suggest that making time for breakfast is likely to have long-term health benefits. Whether one of those benefits is a smaller waistline is unclear. Some research, Farshchi noted, has found an association between eating breakfast -- again, whole-grain cereals in particular -- and lower body weight, but other studies have found no such relationship. To study the short-term metabolic effects of having and forgoing breakfast, Farshchi's team had 10 young, normal-weight women spend two weeks on each of two diet plans. Under one plan, the women had bran flakes with low-fat milk for breakfast, then had two meals and two snacks throughout the rest of the day. Under the other, they skipped breakfast, but had the cereal around noon; as in the breakfast plan, they had two additional meals and two snacks during the rest of the day. Under each plan, the women were allowed to indulge in a mid-morning cookie. At the end of each two-week period, the researchers measured the women's metabolic responses to a test milkshake, using blood samples drawn before and after they had the drink. After the breakfast-free period, the women's cholesterol levels -- including the "bad" cholesterol, LDL -- were generally higher, and they showed poorer insulin sensitivity after having the test drink. Insulin is released after a meal in order to escort digested sugars into body cells to be used as energy. But the body can become resistant to the effects of insulin. Over time, this impaired insulin sensitivity can cause blood sugar levels to soar and possibly lead to type 2 diabetes -- which, like high LDL cholesterol, is a major risk factor for heart disease and stroke. Besides the effects on cholesterol and insulin, skipping breakfast also seemed to make study participants eat more, as the women reported higher calorie intakes on breakfast-free days. They showed no changes in body weight, but Farshchi said this is not surprising given the short study period. "Further long-term studies are needed to investigate the full impact of breakfast consumption on body weight," he noted. What's interesting about this study, according to Farshchi, is that it points to the importance of eating first thing in the morning. "If the first thing somebody eats in the day is a mid-morning snack and has the cereal later in the day," Farshchi said, "he or she does not get these metabolic benefits." SOURCE: American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, February 2005. -------------- This donut has purple in the middle, purple is a fruit. - Homer (Simpson)
Awenatural Posts: 1 Joined: 2005/02/24	2005/02/25, 03:41 PM Greetings, a friend of mine sent me a voice message mentioning this message as I always harp on her about the value of a good breakfast. After reading her voicemail I couldn't help but respond. Yes it is true that breakfast is an important meal in everyones day. However I believe more attention should be paid to what is eaten rather than whether or not the fast is broken. I was introduced some time ago to the science of proper food combining under the name Trophology. I underestimated the value of such information until a group of friends and I who had regularly been goig to weight watchers classes decided to try some of the dieting techniques as mentioned in the material aquired on Trophological science. We agreed to call or message each other as soon as anyone of us noticed significant change or progress along the path of each of our individual set goals. Needless to say, after about a month an d all around about the same time, most of our cellulars started becoming innundated with amazed or incredulous messages from different members of the group. After such a response I am now truely a convert. How you eat, matters a great deal more than where, and when to me now. I also would like to mention that I feel more energized and alive than ever before in my life. I hope other people someday investigate the needs of their body through the food and how it gets combined upon entry into the system. Good luck and God bless. ============ Quoting from JustinE22: Here's an article i found on the importance of breakfast. Thought it was an interesting read. By: Chris Zaino As many of you know, breakfast is the most important meal of the day. It is amazing how many people skip this valuable meal. If you are a bodybuilder or not, breakfast plays a vital role for your metabolism and over all health. Let's just take the time to look at the word itself, "Break-Fast". That is essentially what we are doing in the morning when we eat. We are breaking the fast our bodies go through from our last meal the night before, through the 8 to 10 hours of sleep we get a night. During Your Sleep Period During the night, especially for body builders, your nitrogen balance fluctuates from a positive balance into a negative nitrogen balance. Nitrogen balance is when a person's daily intake of nitrogen from proteins equals the daily excretion of nitrogen. A negative nitrogen balance occurs when the excretion of nitrogen exceeds the daily intake and is often seen when muscle is being lost. On the other end of the spectrum, a positive nitrogen balance is often associated with muscle growth. In other words our metabolisms turn catabolic (breakdown of muscle tissue for energy metabolism) during sleep, a condition no bodybuilder wants to be in if he/she desires maximum muscle growth. What happens is your hard-earned muscle tissue is robbed of important amino acids to be synthesized into glucose to fuel the brain, nervous system, and other organs and tissues. Don't panic, this is a natural process our bodies go through to sustain life every day. Our goal is to keep the state of negative nitrogen balance to a minimum and throw that balance into a positive through diet and nutrition and by making sure we eat a well-balanced breakfast. This however should definitely assure you to think twice before skipping breakfast. Breakfast feeds your body the fuel it is in need for and serves to jumpstart and speed up the metabolism. Just by eating breakfast, containing all of the three main components (protein, carbs, and fat) can raise your metabolism 60-100%. So with this in mind it would sound foolish to even think about skipping the most important meal of the day. This will take you out of the negative nitrogen balance (Catabolism, breakdown of protein), and hopefully switch you into a positive nitrogen balance (Anabolism: process of building up complex materials (proteins) from simple materials). Positive nitrogen balance is the environment you want to be in to promote lean muscle mass and accelerated fat loss. O.K., now that we know the importance of breakfast for your health, metabolism, and fitness gains, we now need to know what to eat for breakfast. A lot of people think a bowl of hot cereal and a piece of fruit is a nutritious breakfast. Guess again! Yes these are healthy choices, but the meal is incomplete. Breakfast, along with the rest of your meals, should contain a balance of protein, complex carbohydrates, and fats (which usually occur naturally and do not have to be added). I'll give you an analogy. Your car needs water, oil, and gas to run efficiently. If you leave one of those three properties out, your car is not going to run. The same goes for our bodies. We must include all three nutrients, especially protein and high-fiber complex carbohydrates, to function at peak performance and to get all the benefits of your weight and aerobic training. So if you are just eating a bowl of oatmeal, you must include a protein source along with that. Here are some examples of protein sources you can have for breakfast. Example Protein Sources For Breakfast: Egg Whites Egg Beaters Protein Powders ( whey, egg, milk, soy) Meal Replacement Powders (Myoplex, Met-Rx, Rx-Fuel, etc.) TOFU Cottage Cheese Meat ( if you can handle it in the morning) Again, including a protein source will bring you into positive nitrogen balance, increase the metabolism through the digestion of the protein itself, and increase fat mobilization for fuel. Now that we have the protein source problem solved, what about the complex carbohydrates? Try to stay away from highly processed, sugar loaded cereals. Your best option is to stick with the more natural high-fiber sources such as oatmeal, wheteena, kashi, shredded wheat, fiber cereals etc. These complex carbohydrate sources contain high amounts of vitamins and minerals, and are loaded with fiber. We need to consume a minimum of 30 grams of fiber a day, so you definitely want to include a good amount in your breakfast. Fiber will also slow down the absorption of carbohydrates yielding a steadier supply of energy and a more stable blood sugar level in the body. To put it all together I will use what I had for breakfast as an example. After my 45 min. of cardiovascular training upon rising I had the following: 12 egg whites / 2 yolks 2 servings of oatmeal w/ cinnamon 16 oz. of water The meal above contains a balance of good quality protein, high-fiber complex carbohydrates, and a small amount of fat I find I need through out the day. Remember this is just an example; you might need more or less depending on your activity level, and lean muscle mass. So now that we have a little info on why breakfast is important, here is a recipe for oatmeal pancakes that you might want to try. For the basic recipe batter you will need the following: Oatmeal Pancake - (Basic recipe batter) 10 egg whites plus 1 yolk 3 oz. Oatmeal 1 tsp. Vanilla extract 1 tsp. Cinnamon 1 packet of artificial sweetener Directions: Combine the first four ingredients in a mixing bowl. Pre heat a non-stick skillet on medium to med-high heat. You might want to also use a non-stick cooking spray. Mix ingredients together until a smooth battery consistency forms. Depending on the size you want your pancake to be, pour some of the batter into the skillet. Flip the oatmeal pancake when the outer edges start to bubble and become crisp (About 2-3 min.). Cook other side for an additional 1-2 min. Repeat for the other oatmeal flapjacks. Serving Set them on a plate and sprinkle some artificial sweetener and additional cinnamon over the top. Serve hot and enjoy! They are delicious! Nurtrional Breakdown: Prepared as listed above contains: 522 cal.; 46g protein; 65g carbohydrates, 10g of fiber; 10g fat; 400mg sodium. Modifications: That was just the basic recipe I use and used during my pre-contest diet phase. It helped break the monotony of the same old breakfast every morning. If you think the basic recipe is too bland here are some suggestions you can use to make them even better: 1) Add or subtract more egg whites and/or oatmeal for +/- calories, protein, and carbs 2) For more flavors add some of your favorite low sugar or sugar free jams, jellies, and preserves to the batter. (My favorite is raspberry!) 3) For those gaining weight add a tablespoon of natural peanut butter, to give it a delicious peanut butter flavor. (Mouth watering!) 4) For extra protein and flavor, add a scoop of your favorite flavored protein powder. Mix it in well to get out all the clumps. 5) Add or subtract egg yolks depending on how many fat grams you want. I recommend at least 1 yolk to help the digestion of the eggs themselves. The fat of the yolks combined with the fiber of the oats will lower the glycemic index of the food providing a slower absorption of the meal. This will keep insulin and blood sugar levels stable giving you more sustained energy. This is one reason why fat is beneficial to the diet in moderate amounts. 6) Instead of artificial sweeteners, add some cottage cheese or yogurt as a topping. =============
kakaroto Posts: 893 Joined: 2002/05/09	2005/02/25, 07:43 PM :laugh::laugh:it looks like you have been reading the post i linked to you, isnt it justin?:laugh::laugh: