We all have heard this a million times over – Breakfast is important; it’s the most important meal of the day!! Most of us don’t give this age-old belief a second thought. But you need to understand whether this is really the case. You might be shocked to hear this- but your breakfast might actually be doing you far more harm than good.
Sure there are a number of people out there that might think we are talking off the top of our heads and misleading people, but do continue reading; after you’ve heard what we have to say, you’ll be more than convinced that there is nothing so must-do about having a hearty breakfast at the start of the day.
Some facts to consider
- When you first wake up in the morning, the levels of insulin in your body are at their lowest point.
- Combine this with higher levels of cortisol (it tends to peak from 7-9am), and this becomes the time when your body is in a state where it will burn the maximum amount of fat.
- When you eat a sumptuous breakfast soon after you wake up, it spikes your insulin levels; this means you rob your body of the opportunity to burn extra fat when it is at rest.
- Apart from this, the insulin in your fat cells is the most sensitive in the mornings; and so, when you start your day off with a large bowlful of oatmeal, it tends to promote fat storage.
- Not to forget, that loading your stomach with too much food so early in the morning can also leave you feeling very groggy and tired. Don’t many people feel like they just have to take a nap at around 10 am? That feeling can make you feel very lethargic.
Bring your body into an anabolic state
It’s important that you be able to maintain your energy levels right through the day, which is when you have to be the most-productive. If you are serious about getting the right nutrition at the right time, and on giving your body the chance the make the most of it, you should focus a little more on your post-training meal.
As a matter of fact, you should be following that up with even more nutritional food. It’s crucial that you ingest protein and carbs soon after your workout session. This is the time when you have to replenish your glycogen stores and bring your body into an anabolic state. After that you just have to add some food to bring your protein, carbs and caloric needs on level.
Identify what your work out goals are
So, then are we telling you to skip your breakfast? Well not really – it depends on how you want your body to be and what your goals are. Most guys who hit the gym want to be lean and big and train consistently for 4 days a week. Many also look for ways to minimise the total amount of time they spend doing various high-intensity cardio exercises to lose fat.
If you train in the late afternoon and the have a big meal at night, it gives your body the chance to replenish itself. And so, when you get to bed, your body is in an anabolic state. You can of course have a protein shake or two in the morning or at other times of the day, but it’s a good idea not to eat anything much till lunch. So technically, you will have fasted for 12-14 hours and your body will have been in a fat-burning state for at least half the day.
Rethink your breakfast
When you eat this way, lift 4 days and do only 2 conditioning sessions per week (20 minutes each), you will be able to maintain a single-digit body fat, and will find that you are still able to put on some muscle. After reading this, entire do you still feel that you should and must have a humungous breakfast when you are building?
If you have any questions don’t hesitate to get in touch with us at Schembri PT. You can send us an email to info@schembript.com or fill in this contact us form and we’ll reply as soon as possible.
Thanks for reading,
Schembri PT Team
02 9648 6405