Eat Your Breakfast!

It's what my mom has been telling me for years--breakfast is one of the most important meals of the day. And yet I've never really been a big fan, unless its later in the morning.

However, a few weeks ago I heard a report on the radio that studies have shown that women who eat cereal for breakfast have higher metabolism throughout the day and tend to weigh less overall than their keep-fasting-till-lunch counterparts. I bought a box of Raisin Bran and started eating it every morning for breakfast (except the odd weekend breakfast, when I indulge in a bagel).

A few nights ago, I saw the same statement in the latest edition of Glamour magazine, so I decided to do a bit of research. Here's the info I found:

Breakfast appears to act as a wake-up call for your body's metabolism, stimulating it to burn more calories. A study conducted by Wayne Callaway, M.D., associate professor of medicine at George Washington University in Washington, D.C., found that breakfast eaters had metabolic rates 3 to 4 percent above average, while breakfast skippers had sluggish rates, 4 to 5 percent below average. That means that in the course of a year, breakfast skippers will "conserve" 10 to 15 pounds of body fat, explains Dr. Callaway.

I find that I don't mind the Raisin Bran, I'm not as hungry when I get to school (which means I avoid buying the crap for sale in the staff room), and by the time I get home, at about 1:00, I'm ready for a nice, healthy lunch of soup and salad, soup and sandwich, or salad and sandwich. Often I eat enough at lunch that I only need a small salad for dinner.

So eat your breakfast!