By Stephanie Zhang
“Breakfast is the most important meal of the day.”
I’m sure we have all heard this saying recycled over and over throughout our childhoods, yet only a fraction of us have truly taken it to heart. Like any saying, it lost its meaning after being regurgitated so many times. However, at the end of the day, more of us need to listen to it.
Students are often found guilty of skipping this morning meal because we all want to sneak in a few more minutes of sleep. Dinner ends up being the biggest meal for us because even during the school day, it is hard to always eat a full and nutritious lunch. This routine is the opposite of what should occur and ends up hurting us more than anything; eating so much when the day is winding down hinders our metabolism and results in many complications.
Breakfast is the fuel for activities in the morning; consequently, eating breakfast helps prevent the mid-morning slump I’m sure we have all experienced at some point. Those who eat breakfast are also proven to concentrate better in the classroom and receive higher test scores than those who skip the meal. If us students are dedicated to acing those tests, we should all take the extra fifteen minutes to prepare a nutritious breakfast.
After hours of fasting while sleeping, the body needs breakfast to replenish the blood sugar that allows muscles and the brain to work at their best. Without this morning fuel, you will end up more likely to overeat later in the day as a result of your body feeling a lack of energy. This overeating ends up being in the form of high-fat and high-sugar snacks. Breakfast provides you the chance to supply your body with vitamins and nutrients from healthy foods like dairy, grains, and fruits—food groups that are often ignored or neglected in meals later on in the day.
It might seem counterintuitive that breakfast would actually help dieters keep the weight off, but breakfast indeed does. Research has shown that on average, people who eat breakfast are thinner than those who go without it. Breakfast regulates your metabolism and eating breakfast foods with protein and fiber helps to keep your appetite in check for the rest of the day.
Breakfast doesn’t need to be a pain; there are many quick and convenient ways to get those nutrients in early in the day. Getting up just ten minutes earlier is plenty enough time to fix a healthy and satisfying breakfast that will make you feel better for the rest of the day than sleeping for those ten minutes. Many portable forms of breakfast like fruit/vegetable smoothies and yogurt cups can be consumed on-the-go, saving you even more time. Even small acts of planning ahead like setting out your cereal box or cutting up fruit the night before can improve your overall health, and don’t forget — your test scores, too! Just remember, not all breakfast is created equal. Tomorrow morning, when you get up to fix yourself some breakfast, you know better than to succumb to the temptation of that sprinkled donut or Starbucks frappuccino!
