You may have heard the proverb, ‘Breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dine like a pauper’. Words that when thought about in depth, offer you all the advice you need for a long-lived life. I’ve always eaten breakfast. Period. Based upon my very sensible approach to life, my thought process is very simple; I haven’t eaten for 12 hours and my body needs re-fuelling, and I’m normally hungry too.
By taking the word in both its literal sense and from its origins, we are of course breaking the fast from our last meal, which usually happens around 6pm the previous evening.
But let’s go back to the proverb for a second; if I breakfast like a king, what does that actually mean. Research undertaken into breakfast, looked at the idea of how we can distribute 1400 calories across the day. (Please note, this study and the calories mentioned were for overweight women with a metabolic syndrome) They allocated the calories to Group A like this – 200 calories for breakfast, 500 calories for lunch, and 700 calories for dinner. Group B was the opposite – 700 calories for breakfast, 500 calories for lunch and 200 for dinner. Without question, Group B benefitted the most from their eating pattern; seeing a 11% weight loss, a 10% loss in body mass index, a 7.9% loss in waist circumference and a 33.6% loss in fat levels (triglycerides). Albeit a study based on weight loss for overweight women, the fact that eating a hearty breakfast before the start of your day is better for you. It stands to reason, really, if you eat 700 calories prior to bedtime, your body is naturally going to hold onto those calories, resulting in weight gain.
Other work into this area, resulted in the conclusion that our bodies cope better when we eat more at the start of the day and less as the day progresses. I am not a nutritionist, a dietician or a doctor, but I am a doctor of common sense and this conclusion shouts common sense to me! I eat 3 meals a day, and rarely does that change. My prescription would be; eat at set times in the day, even if you think you’re not hungry. It keeps your body running in a natural rhythm.
I have heard many friends say that they don’t eat breakfast. In my experience, missing this meal does, and will, catch up on you. Our bodies need a required amount of calories per day; 2000 for women and 2500 for men. This is purely guidance – for further information, please read this article from the NHS –
https://www.nhs.uk/common-health-questions/food-and-diet/what-should-my-daily-intake-of-calories-be/
Therefore, if you skip breakfast, thinking it will help towards keeping your calories down, I very much doubt that it will. After all, your body will ask you for those missed calories later in the day and so this may lead to eating excessive calories that are disproportionate to your required calorie intake.
So, what does breakfast look like? I will use the 700 calorie example to help to illustrate what a 700 calorie breakfast would include.
Porridge with 250ml semi-skimmed milk & made with flaxseed & chia seeds= 337 calories
Served with a handful of blueberries & a chopped banana = 202 calories
Soft boiled egg = 60 calories
1 Slice wholemeal toast with olive oil spread = 95 calories
Total approximate calories = 694 calories
Interestingly, as I checked the calorie content of the food I eat, I was surprised to find out just how much I would need to eat to reach the 700 calorie goal. Thankfully, I’m not overweight and I don’t require this amount of calories, but I do know from past experience, that eating porridge, which I eat every single day, along with a boiled egg, toast and fruit, I would be very full!
I also know from experience, that if I don’t eat porridge for breakfast, I do feel hungry and less satisfied later in the day. My calorie intake does fluctuate depending on how much exercise I have done. Here is a typical menu plan for my breakfast –
Porridge with 250ml semi-skimmed milk & made with flaxseed & chia seeds= 337 calories
10 soft prunes = 76 calories
Half a pink grapefruit – 30 calories
This totals = 443 calories
It isn’t uncommon either that I will then have a banana and a slice of granary toast, which adds another 183 calories to my morning total. This equals 626 calories, leaving me with 1374 for the rest of the day. I think this illustrates just how quickly calories can build and creep into your day when your not really looking!
I don’t advocate calorie counting on the whole, but for educational and research purposes, it’s a really useful exercise. There are lots of calorie counting apps available to help you with this.
Our lives are busy, our bodies have great demand put upon them, and this leaves me to believe even more strongly, that you need to give your body what it needs to cope with the rigours of your daily life. We expect our bodies to keep working at maximum capacity, and yet, we don’t necessarily provide them with the correct fuel: healthy, homemade food!
So, when you’re next eating breakfast, stop and think; Am I eating enough and will it keep me fuelled until lunchtime? Is the food I’m eating for breakfast a healthy choice? Do you know how much sugar is in your breakfast? Take account of the type of job you do too. Is your job physical or stationary? Are you exerting yourself throughout the day? You know what I’m suggesting, don’t you? While the kettle is boiling, just take a moment to stop and consider how you are looking after your body. And remember the proverb; ‘Breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dine like a pauper’ Striking the right balance will serve you well for years to come, and that surely can’t be a bad thing, can it?
Please note, statistics from the 1400 calorie diet were taken from the book, ‘Eat Better, Live Longer’ by Juliette Kellow & Dr Sarah Brewer. I would highly recommend this book if you want to take what I’ve said in this post, and previous posts, that bit deeper. It’s a brilliant read!
