Breakfast Is The Best Meal Of The Day, But Here's Why Yours Is Letting You Down

In case you hadn’t heard, breakfast is kind of a big deal. In fact, termed as the ‘most important meal of the day’, skipping this one could not only see you crashing mid-morning, but could even lead to weight gain or other health concerns across the span of a few months or years.

But, what happens if you’re eating breakfast and still struggling to feel its benefits? This can be frustrating, especially if you’re waking up early for the cause, but it isn’t unheard of. After all, the downsides of getting this most important meal wrong can be almost as notable as the health benefits of bossing breakfast every morning. The question is, why are your breakfasts letting you down right now, and what exactly can you do about it? 

# 1 - High-fat content

High-fat breakfasts like sausage baps or bacon pancakes might SEEM like great and filling options, but the reality is very different. The high saturated fat content of these selections is especially worrying and can not only lead to issues like lethargy and weight gain but is also one of the leading causes of problems like congestive heart failure when consumed regularly over long periods. Of course, none of this is to say that you can't enjoy a sausage in the morning now and again, but you should avoid making this a regular thing in place of far healthier breakfast options like fruit, cereals, etc. 

# 2 - Short-term impact

The true pulling power of breakfast comes from the fact that it gives us a boost to get us through until lunchtime. Unfortunately, reaching for highly sugary foods that enhance this benefit (e.g. pastries, sugary cereal, or even smoothies), could soon backfire. After all, sugar highs are always followed by lows, and while these breakfasts might have you popping by the time you hop on the subway, you’re going to feel a lot less perky after an hour in the office. This will either facilitate morning slumps, or encourage further sugar-based snacking to see you through. Neither option is good, and it would be far better to simply seek long-lasting, slow-burning breakfast alternatives in the first place, such as oatmeal, eggs, seeds, and so on.

# 3 - Grabbing it on the go

Sometimes, it can seem easier to eat breakfast on the way to the bus stop, but this is a problem for two prime reasons. For one thing, this grab-and-go attitude makes it way more likely that we’ll pick up sugary treats (see damage above). Eating on the go also significantly hinders digestion as the fight or flight sympathetic nervous system prevents the benefits of the ‘rest and digest’ parasympathetic nervous system, making it less likely that we’ll be able to burn off our breakfasts, and way more likely that we’ll experience weight gain as a result. 

Breakfast is beautiful, but it can quickly become a nightmare if you leave room for these mistakes. Make sure it doesn’t happen by considering what you’re eating, how, and what that means for those breakfast benefits overall.