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What’s your score?
Check all that apply:
º My brain seems to kick in after I eat lunch.
º I have a better attitude at work on some days than others.
º I work hard, but don’t accomplish as much as I’d like.
º Sometimes I can’t get motivated to do work I enjoy.
º I have low energy.
º I am too busy in the morning to eat.
º I gulp a coffee and a donut in the morning then panic over misplaced items.
º I give in to afternoon cravings.
º I skip breakfast because I’m trying to lose weight.
º My mood is brighter when I eat in the morning. |
Your score
1-3 You eat breakfast most days, and notice you have more energy and enthusiasm on the days you do. Enjoy more health benefits with daily breakfast.
4-7 You eat breakfast at least half the time. It’s important to change morning routines to make time for breakfast every day.
8-10 You usually skip breakfast. You are at increased risk of overweight and type 2 diabetes. Read on to learn how to reduce these risks. |
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Breakfast at work
Success on the job involves proper training, aptitude and motivation. If you’re falling short in the motivation department, it might be time to re-evaluate your breakfast strategy. Here’s why: the brain is fuelled with glucose, a natural sugar we manufacture from food. After an 8 hour rest, our brains are running on empty. If you delay eating food for several hours and your first meal isn’t until lunch, your brain will only kick into gear in the afternoon after it finally gets some fuel. Results for children are the same: children who eat breakfast do better at school, both academically and socially.
Researchers have found that skipping breakfast is a common trait in people who appear to work hard, but don’t get the results they’d like. Breakfast eaters, on the other hand, are more easily motivated and have a better attitude about their work. |
As a bonus, people who eat every meal also appear to have more energy and motivation at the end of the workday – which is fabulous news for people whose lives are still busy after 5pm.
Too stressed to eat?
If you think skipping breakfast will get you where you’re going faster and reduce your stress, it’s time to take a deep breath as you reach for your cereal bowl in the cupboard. Frequently skipping breakfast is linked to a higher perception of stress and depression, so enjoying some food in the morning is good for your mental health. What you eat also matters: the simple sugars in confections like donuts negatively affect memory. No wonder you can’t remember where you put the keys or the kids can’t find their homework. Opt instead for a balanced breakfast
containing complex carbohydrates found in whole grains, protein and healthy fats from nuts and seeds.
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Rebuilding
breakfast habits
Sometimes unhealthy breakfast habits start innocently enough, with one busy morning or because of bad information. These breakfast facts will help you build a healthy new morning routine.
Habit #1: No time
 While a breakfast buffet with all the trimmings is great for a leisurely weekend morning, pouring milk on a bowl of whole grain cereal topped with nuts and dried fruit takes about five minutes to prepare and eat, and gives you a blend of protein, healthy fats and complex carbohydrates to fuel your brain and body.
New habit: Organize breakfast foods before bed to free up precious morning minutes. Set your alarm five minutes earlier. Commit to making time to eat breakfast daily for one month. You’ll see that it adds little stress to your morning routine – and the payoff will be tremendous.
Habit #2: Not hungry
Breakfast literally means ‘break the fast.’ A fast refers to time when you abstain from food, in this case while you sleep. The digestive system uses this break to do some much needed repair. To support your body’s bid to be healthy, stop eating at least three hours before bed – leaving your body without food for approximately 10 hours. When was the last time you were awake and didn’t eat for 10 hours? If it happened recently, were you hungry?
New habit: If you’re famished at night, try a glass of water or herbal tea; fruit digests easily and likely won't hamper sleep.
Habit #3: Skipping
breakfast to lose weight
Many people believe that skipping meals is a sure-fire strategy for losing extra pounds. Ironically, the exact opposite is true – especially when breakfast is dropped. |
Breakfast eaters are leaner than those who skip it because refuelling in the morning revs up your metabolism, allowing you to burn more calories all day. In fact, a new study suggests that front-loading approximately half your daily calories at breakfast might be the key to long-term weight loss.
The study compared two low-calorie diets for permanent weight loss results: the ‘low carbohydrate’ group received 290 calories for breakfast and the ‘big breakfast’ group received 610 calories, about half the day’s calories. At four months, women who ate the smaller breakfast lost an average 28 pounds versus 23 pounds in the ‘big breakfast’ group. At 8 months, however, the small breakfast group regained 18 pounds, while the ‘big breakfast’ eaters lost another 16.5 pounds. At study’s end, they lost 21% body weight versus 4.5% for the ‘low carbohydrate’ group.
One of Canada’s leading nutritionists, Leslie Beck RD, says that the composition of the ‘big breakfast’ might explain the results: “A big breakfast controls appetite and afternoon cravings for sugars and starches by maintaining a higher serotonin level in the brain, a chemical that helps regulate carbohydrate intake.”
A balanced breakfast sets the tone for the day’s food choices. Studies illustrate: women who enjoy breakfast eat less fat and make healthier food choices all day. A 2007 study on men over age 46 found that eating breakfast helped prevent weight gain.
New habit: Beck recommends at least five grams of fibre to slow digestion and help keep you satisfied. Along with dairy products, egg whites and lean meat, Beck suggests nuts and soy products as plant sources of protein. Low glycemic index foods like grainy breads, steel cut and large flake oats, apples, citrus fruit, grapes, pears and nuts release sugar slowly into the bloodstream. Eat your breakfast within an hour of waking. Don’t wait or breakfast becomes a mid-morning snack or disappears altogether.
Leslie Beck, RD is author of The No-Fail Diet (Penguin) www.lesliebeck.com
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National First Nations School Nutrition Program
Many of us do what we can to financially support people struggling in developing countries, but you might be surprised to learn that some of our youngest Canadians are living in 3rd World conditions right in our own backyard. According to Paul Sparkes, Executive Vice President of Corporate Affairs for CTVglobemedia and ONEXONE Board Member, many First Nations children in remote communities simply don’t have access to healthy food and go to school hungry. Says Sparkes, “Children shouldn’t have to think about their stomachs at school. |
They should be thinking about learning. ” As a result, ONEXONE starts the First Nations School Nutrition Program in September 2008. Learn how to help personally or as a corporation: visit ONEXONE.org H&L
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