Is Breakfast REALLY the Most Important Meal of the Day?

By Chelsea Garcia, MEd

There has long been a debate on which meal is the most important one of the day. You might have grown up with your mom telling you that you had to eat your breakfast. When you asked why, she probably said it’s the most important meal of the day. However, to people who are using specific eating patterns known as intermittent fasting, breakfast is obsolete.<p>

What is intermittent fasting or IF?

IF is known as a dieting technique that has periods of eating and fasting. It can be pretty simple because everyone “fasts” everyday. How is this possible? You fast while you’re asleep for 8 hours each night. If you want to start intermittent fasting, all you need to do is extend this fast from when you wake up to around noon each day. That can be as simple as skipping that so called most important meal of the day.

This particular form of fasting means you will be fasted from around 7-8 pm to 11 am-12 pm the next day. That means that during a normal 24-hour day, the eating period will only be 8 hours long and the fasting period is the remaining 16 hours. If you’re a coffee person, don’t worry! You can still drink non-caloric beverages like water, black coffee, tea, etc. Just don’t add in all those extra pumps of sugar with your Starbucks order! Non-caloric supplements are also allowed during the fasting period. During that 8-hour eating period, remember that you still need to eat good foods that are nutrient rich. Eating a whole pizza and a tub of ice cream won’t do you any good if you’re fasting or not.

What are the benefits of fasting?

Scientific research in other mammals has shown that IF can actually increase your lifespan and neurological functioning. It has been shown to reduce risk of diseases such as type 2 diabetes, cancer, Alzheimer’s, and other heart diseases. It’s also another way to restrict caloric intake. When this happens, the liver is depleted of glycogen levels. Then, ketones or fats can begin to be used as the primary fuel source. This can then lead towards taking off unwanted fat mass and overall weight loss.

Please keep in mind that IF isn’t for everyone because no one person has the same genetic makeup as another. Nutritional and weight loss plans need to be specifically tailored to each person. If you’d like more information about IF or how to jumpstart your metabolism schedule a FREE CONSULT at PHASE IV to discuss a Body Composition Examination and a Resting Metabolic Rate Analysis. Call 310-582-8212