8 reasons to eat breakfast everyday

Your mom was right: you need to eat breakfast everyday. Experts say fuelling up is the best way to kick your life into high gear each morning. Skipping this crucial meal can deprive you of nutrients and energy, reduce your concentration, and – we're not lying – make you pack on the pounds. Here's why you need to eat breakfast every day.

1. Eating breakfast helps you lose weight
"There's well-documented evidence showing that eating breakfast correlates with long-term weight loss and weight maintenance," says Charlene Chen, a clinical dietitian with the Vancouver General Hospital.

Eating regular meals, says Chen, "stimulates metabolism and signals the body to start using fuel, instead of hoarding fuel." When you skip meals, however, the body goes into lockdown mode, burning far fewer calories.

So get your metabolism humming each morning with a healthy meal. Your waistline will thank you.

2. Skipping breakfast is tied to being overweight
Studies have shown that breakfast-skippers – of all ages – are more likely to be overweight than regular breakfast eaters.

In fact, said one study published in the American Journal of Epidemiology, skipping breakfast isn't just associated with being overweight, but with obesity. (Overweight refers to having a body mass index (BMI) of 25 to 29.9 per cent, while obesity refers to having a BMI of over 30.)

What's your BMI? Find out here!

Translation: If you aren't already overweight, your breakfast-skipping habit may be pointing you in that direction.

3. Skipping it makes it harder to meet your nutritional needs
According to Canada's Food Guide, adult women need at least seven servings of fruit and veggies per day, six of breads and cereals, two of dairy, and two of meat and alternatives.

Wow! How are you going to pack that into a mere two meals a day? (Answer: You can't!) So start your day by checking off at least two or three servings from the list.
On a diet? No problem, says Chen: Just eat to lose. "Recent studies have confirmed that a breakfast containing 2 to 3 oz of protein is best at inducing weight loss and increasing satiety and fullness," she says.

Chen says you can find that in:
•  two or three eggs, or
• two to three tablespoons of peanut butter, or
• 15 to 21 almonds, or
• two or three slices of low-fat cheese

Have some cereal or a slice or two of whole-wheat toast, plus a serving of fruit to balance out the meal for a healthy start.

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