Power breakfast: a morning meal not only curbs hunger, but also provides premium fuel for your body

Breakfast is the meal that makes champions. Unfortunately, many active people follow a lifestyle that eliminates breakfast or includes foods that are far from champion builders. I commonly counsel athletes who skip breakfast, grab a light lunch, train on fumes, gorge at dinner and snack on "junk" until bedtime. This routine not only robs their bodies of needed nutrients, but also energy for high-quality workouts.

A satisfying breakfast contributes more to better health than a grab-anything-in-sight dinner does. Sarah, a collegiate athlete, learned that fueling her body's engine at the start of her day helps her feel more energetic and able to choose better quality lunch and dinner foods. That is, when she has granola, banana and juice in the morning, as well as a sandwich and yogurt for lunch, she stops devouring brownies after dinner.

Excuses to skip breakfast are abundant: "No time," "I'm not hungry in the morning" and "I don't like breakfast foods." Weight-conscious athletes pipe up, "My diet starts at breakfast." However, these excuses sabotage your sports performance. Here's a look at the benefits of eating breakfast. I hope to convince you it is the most important meal of your sports diet.

Breakfast for Dieters

If you want to lose weight, start dieting at dinner, not breakfast. For example, eating a meager bowl of Special K[R] will increase your hunger and sweet cravings later in the day. A bigger breakfast (e.g., cereal, toast and peanut butter) can prevent afternoon or evening cookie binges. An adequate (i.e., 500- to 700-calorie) breakfast provides enough energy to enjoy exercise, instead of dragging yourself through an afternoon workout that feels like punishment.

If you are trying to lose weight, target at least 500 to 700 calories for breakfast; this should leave you feeling satiated. To experience the benefits of eating such a big breakfast, try this experiment:

1) Using food labels to calculate calories, boost your standard breakfast to at least 500 calories. For example, add to your English muffin (150 calories) one tablespoon peanut butter (100 calories), eight ounces orange juice (100 calories) and yogurt (150 calories). Total: 500 calories.

2) Observe what happens to your day's food intake when you eat a full breakfast vs. a skimpy "diet breakfast." The 500+ calorie breakfast allows you to eat less at night and create the calorie deficit needed to lose weight.

Remember, your job as a dieter is to fuel by day and lose weight by night. Successful dieters lose weight while they sleep and wake up ready for a breakfast that fuels them for another high-energy day.

Breakfast for the Morning Exerciser

If you exercise first thing in the morning, you may not want a big pre-exercise breakfast--too much food can feel heavy and uncomfortable. However, you can likely tolerate half a breakfast, such as half a bagel, a slice of toast or a banana before your workout. Just 100 to 300 calories can put a little carbohydrate into your system, boosting your blood sugar to fuel and enhance your performance. You'll likely discover this small pre-exercise meal adds endurance and enthusiasm to your workout. In a research study, athletes who are breakfast could exercise for 137 minutes compared to only 109 minutes when they skipped this pre-exercise meal.

After his morning workout, Jim, a banker, felt rushed and was more concerned about getting to work on time than eating breakfast. Using the excuse "No time," he overlooked the importance of refueling his muscles. I reminded him: Muscles are most receptive to replacing depleted glycogen stores within the first two hours after a workout, regardless of whether or not the athlete feels hungry. I encouraged Jim to be responsible! Just as he chose to make time for exercise, he could also make time for breakfast.

Fluids, for example, are a simple post-exercise breakfast. Liquid breakfasts take little time to prepare and drink, yet can supply the calories, water, carbohydrates, protein, vitamins and minerals you need--all in a travel mug. You can always get coffee at the office. Since Jim felt thirsty after his morning workout, he could easily drink 16 ounces of juice or lowfat milk. Sometimes, he'd make a refreshing fruit smoothie with milk, a banana and berries.

Mid-morning, when his appetite returned, Jim enjoyed the rest of his breakfast--instant oatmeal, a multi-grain bagel with peanut butter, yogurt with granola, a banana or any other carbohydrate-rich food that conveniently fit into his schedule. This nutritious "second breakfast" refueled his muscles, abated hunger and curbed his lunchtime cookie cravings.

Breakfast for the Noon, Afternoon and Evening Exerciser

A hearty breakfast is also important for people who exercise later in the day. It not only tames hunger, but also provides the fuel needed for strenuous workouts. Research shows that athletes who ate breakfast and an energy bar five minutes before a noontime workout were able to exercise 20 percent harder at the end of an hour-long exercise test than when they didn't have breakfast and a pre-exercise snack. In fact, they worked 10 percent harder with only the snack. Breakfast works! Breakfast and a pre-exercise snack works even better!