Hi Hayley,
I am confused. When it comes to diet/lifestyle, I know not every diet is for everyone. I know for some, paleo is the way to go, for some it's vegan or gluten free, and for others it's just simply a balanced and clean diet. It does get confusing, with so many conflicting theories and "facts" that you try to take in, when trying to make the right choices for yourself. One thing though that I thought we could all agree on, no matter what you're eating, was that breakfast is a very important, if not the most important, meal of the day. Yet lately I've been hearing different. Please give me your thoughts on it. I am not interested in fad diets or the latest trends and just want to do what is best for my body and what will properly fuel it for long work days, typical/moderate exercise (I'm not running a marathon anytime soon) and for the long haul. Am I just predisposed to thinking breakfast is important and feeling that I need it even though maybe I don't? And maybe I wouldn’t if I just conditioned myself to not eating it? Or is this just straight up bad advice? Very curious to hear your thoughts.
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Everyone has their right to their own opinion, but I will say that I don’t tell my clients to skip breakfast. Health benefits or not, in my opinion and according to what I have learned through years of observation, analysis, and my own experience, I always eat breakfast. Why?
Number one reason is breakfast is really the only thing that gets me out of bed. That and knowing that I have people counting on me to come into the studio at the crack of dawn and kick their butts. And they will be the first ones to tell you that they don’t want me to come train them if I haven’t eaten.
When I haven’t eaten I am miserable because the feeling of being hungry sucks. When I haven’t eaten I am starving which means the first break that I get I am running out to grab some food, food that usually comes from the coffee shop across the street, meaning it is not the best option. When I haven’t eaten I have zero energy, which means my workout suffers, or worse yet, it doesn’t happen.
Breakfast is one of my favourite meals. It is pretty much the only meal that I make myself, at home, due to how busy I am every day. It is usually my healthiest meal too as I have the time to make something nutritious. I am usually out the door 40 minutes after I wake up and I make myself some of the best breakfasts. The other day I was telling my client about the soft boiled eggs on ancient grain bread with avocado and goat’s cheese that I had for breakfast. They looked at me in shock and asked how much time I have in the morning to do that. Trust me, there are harder things to do.
The other thing about starting your day with a healthy breakfast is that it sets you up to eat healthy for the rest of your day. You fill your body with nutrients in the morning and you want to keep that going until the sun sets. And if you don’t, at least you have had one healthy meal that day.
What I see with people who don’t eat breakfast is the exact opposite of what a lot of these articles that you write of are telling you. They are usually overweight, they have trouble working out because of the lack of energy, they usually spend more money because they are buying food rather than making it at home, and for what they don’t eat in the morning they make up for on the couch after a long day. To not eat breakfast and have the ability to not overindulge later in the day takes a lot of mental focus and most, though not all, would struggle.
If not eating breakfast is your thing, then great. If it works for you then keep doing it. But don’t listen to someone who tells you that in order to lose weight you need to cut out breakfast. Weight loss is not a one-step thing. There is not a “do this” or “do that” solution. It is a lifestyle that has to last for a lifetime. And for me, personally, cutting out breakfast is NOT an option.
Attached - Minka Kelly leaving the gym yesterday in LA.
