LOS ANGELES—Ah, hunger pangs. We all get them, be it first thing in the morning, often annoyingly at lunchtime when you have to work through your lunch hour, or at night after a few too many beers. So do you just follow your stomach and tuck in or does the time of day we eat really affect our health? Theories such as don’t eat anything after 6 p.m., don’t snack between meals or don’t eat carbs after midday have rapidly spread their way across the pages of diet magazines as quickly as maple syrup over waffles. Is there any truth in their argument or is it all one big fat rumor?

Our bodies, regardless of our makeup, love regularity and routine. We crave it, and rightly so— it’s our energy-giving life source—and this comes in the form of hunger cravings. Our bodies need to know when the next food intake is coming along, hence why we get hunger pangs around the same time every day when we usually eat. If you go without breakfast your body will become used to not eating at that time of the day, so when you suddenly begin to eat breakfast again, you may not even feel hungry or may feel nauseous at the thought of eating. Equally, a person who is used to having breakfast religiously every day, may feel sick, lethargic or dizzy if they skip breakfast one morning. The trick is to try and train your body into following a healthy routine.

Photo courtesy of Leah Bisch

First off, breakfast is the most important meal of the day; this is a fact. It sets your body up for the day ahead, kicking your metabolism into gear and feeding your brain so you can concentrate from the offset. Sleeping involves not eating for eight hours or so; hence, the reason why breakfast is called “breaking the fast”! A carb-rich breakfast, that is one full of whole grain such as cereals, will keep performance levels high both mentally and physically, helping to reduce mood swings and cravings for fatty or sugary foods later in the day. Those who skip breakfast have been proven to have lower concentration levels, poorer attention spans and are far more likely to be overweight than those who do eat breakfast every day. Statistics from The Academic Health Center at the University of Minnesota show that skipping breakfast does not help to lose weight and indeed has been linked to binging and poor eating patterns throughout the day. Research also concluded that teens that did eat breakfast on a daily basis tended to have a lower body mass index (BMI) in later life.

Snacking on healthy treats such as nuts, fruit, etc is a good thing. Don’t avoid food; that’s the number one golden rule of staying healthy and in shape. Treat food as a friend not a foe. Avoid it and your body will go into starvation mode and when you next eat it will grab onto as many calories as it can and store it as fat. That is why yo-yo dieters and extreme dieters always fail to keep the weight off in the long run. Trying to starve the body never works when trying to maintain a healthy weight over any period of time. It also affects the mind by depleting the brain of vital sugars and nutrients that help keep it fresh and focused. Smaller meals on a regular basis are far better than one big meal at the end of the day. Heavy meals late at night will leave you feeling bloated and gives the stomach the heavy task of trying to digest food when your metabolism is at its slowest. Eating while you are active and busy throughout the day is best and will keep you on top form ensuring your energy levels are kept stocked up.

Dine like a king at breakfast time and dine like a princess at dinner time. Stick to that rule, and you can’t go wrong. Eating regularly, as healthily as possible, and making sure you wake up your metabolism by indulging in a hearty breakfast, will allow you to enjoy your day to its fullest. Make that change and see the difference it has on your life!

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