For those people who want to lose weight or maintain their lean muscle in the body, it is important to eat regularly. The most important meal of the day is breakfast and should not be scrimped either on the calories. Breakfast can include fruit, cereals, full English breakfast, or muffins, etc.
Breakfast should ideally include protein. Eggs and lean bacon is a fantastic way to start the day and supplies the body with all nine essential amino acids. Sugary muffins contain empty calories and should be eaten in moderation. They supply no nutrients to the body. When the body consumes sugar, after a short time the body craves more sugar due to the drop in insulin.
Breakfast is also important because, essentially, the body has been in a starvation mode during sleep. The most effective way to kick-start the metabolism is to eat breakfast. The body burns more calories in the morning so it makes sense to take in at least 500 calories via breakfast. A full English breakfast is not fattening if cooked in the right way. Poach eggs, grill bacon – cut off the fat, wholemeal bread and a small amount of butter, fry mushrooms in water and add beans and grilled tomatoes. A breakfast full of protein will keep the body fuller for longer. Some cereals contain a lot of sugar and, therefore, many calories.
Many people believe by missing breakfast they will lose weight. Over the long term, they may in fact gain weight due to a sluggish metabolism. The body burns up to 10% of calories per day through dietary thermogenesis. Take advantage of this by starting the day with a healthy breakfast, and try to eat a snack every three or four hours to keep that metabolism high.
Starving the body through missing breakfast is one of the worst ways to keep the body at an optimum fat burning level. The metabolic rate will decrease rapidly because the body is under attack. The body cannot survive without sufficient calories. The skin, muscles, and internal organs may suffer over time. When the body is deprived of optimum calories, it may dip into lean muscle mass to give out energy. This reduces the metabolism further. Lean muscle tissue is important. The more lean tissue there is in the body the higher the metabolism.
Obviously, for those people who suffer with weight problems or obesity, try to force the body to have breakfast every day. If the body consumes breakfast and does not have to wait until lunchtime to have its first taste of food, the metabolism will increase gradually. Add exercise to that regime and the body will realize that you no longer want to starve it and the fat will drop off.
Another great thing about starting the day with breakfast, the body will let you know when it is hungry. If breakfast is consumed at 6 am, the body may feel hungry again at 9 -10 am. Listen to the body and take in a snack whenever you feel the urge.
For those people who know what their ideal calorie intake is per day, why not take advantage of breakfast and spread out snacks, dinner, and tea throughout the day within the daily allowance. Try to eat regularly or when the body feels hungry at level 7 on a scale of 1-10, 1 being satisfied, 10 extremely hungry. Regular eating also stokes the metabolic rate and increases daily thermogenesis.
Consuming calories earlier in the day or later at night does not cause weight gain. If you have 500 calories left and it is 10 pm at night, eat rather than starve the body. Late night eating does not cause weight gain this is a myth.