"Breakfast? Uh...Well, most of time I have some coffee...always have a glass of water...and sometimes...well I guess really, now that I think about it...I guess I don't eat much breakfast really."
Ok. So, let's move on to lunch. What is a typical lunch?
"Oh...salad...and iced tea...and some days a sandwich and pretzels..."
Great. Now dinner?
"Yeah, I always eat a good dinner...that's where I get my best food...I have some kind of meat...usually chicken or fish and lots of vegetables and maybe a potato...usually a couple glasses of wine...sometimes I have dessert...I am always full though...I eat a good, big dinner..."
Sound at all familiar? This is a sample of what I hear many times per week or a variation of it. Sometimes, the big meal is mid-day but in almost every case, breakfast is either extremely quick or non-existent.
Many people awaken in the morning with little appetite except for coffee. So, they skip the breakfast meal, down a couple of cups of liquid energy and feel ready to go. They may even congratulate themselves on knocking off some extra calories by not eating breakfast. But, the feelings are a trick.
Maybe you or someone you know has had an energy crash where you feel famished, dull, tired, nervous, shaky and ready to eat anything in sight. These feelings come from low levels of sugar circulating in your blood (also known as blood sugar). This is your body's way of telling you it is in crisis mode and needs some food in a hurry. As a result, you often grab something quick to bring the sugar levels back up; to rid yourself of the unpleasant feelings. Typically, the food choices are loaded with refined sugar; candy bars, donuts, some “protein bars”, sodas or just about anything out of a vending machine. Magically, in a matter of minutes, the crash passes and you go about your business. Another quick fix only to be followed later by another sugar crash.
To understand why the crash happens, you need to know how your body regulates blood sugar. Normally, the process of regulating your blood sugar runs smoothly and silently without any action on your part much like regulating the temperature in your house. You set the thermostat to a certain temperature and let the heater or air conditioner do the work as needed. When the temperature is too low, the heater kicks on to raise it. If the temperature is too high, the air conditioner turns on. So, if your blood sugar gets too high your body adjusts by releasing insulin, a hormone, to move some sugar out of the blood lowering the level like your air conditioner in your house lowering the temperature. If the sugar level is too low, it releases a different hormone to move some sugar into the blood to raise the level just like your heater in your house.
When you consume caffeine, you block the function of insulin. A bit like turning off the fan in your air conditioner. Since insulin cannot do its job, your blood sugar level continues to climb tricking you into thinking you are not hungry (remember, low blood sugar drives you to eat). Your body pumps out more insulin in response to the high blood sugar (even though you cannot use it due to the caffeine) . Before long, you have both high levels of blood sugar and high levels of insulin circulating through your body. You feel fine, but it is a false sense of security.
Now the fun starts. About an hour after your last cup of coffee for the morning, insulin starts working because it is no longer blocked by the caffeine. Remember you have a lot of insulin stored up in your blood. There is a ton of sugar to move and plenty of insulin to move it. Now your blood sugar level begins to drop like a rock tossed off a tall building. It is not a gradual descent. It plummets. This is the start of the crash. You fix it by choosing something that will rapidly restore the blood sugar levels. What better thing to use than sugar itself?
This trickery comes with a high price tag: extra calories. Sugar calories are very energy dense. They carry a lot of energy in a small package. So, unless you balance the caloric intake of sugar with exercise, you will gradually add fat to your body. This is how you gain 2-4 pounds per year and discover yourself 30 pounds heavier and frustrated ten years later.
The easiest way to control and eliminate sugar crashes is to eat breakfast. You need a blend of protein, complex carbohydrate and fats. This will create a slower release of sugar into the blood, allow your body to control the movement of sugar out over a longer period of time, help stabilize feelings of hunger and control the total amount of energy going into your body. Even if you do not feel hungry, do yourself a favor and eat breakfast.
I often hear “I don't have time for breakfast”. Well, okay. Fair enough. Do you have the time later to shed 30 pounds of fat? Which is easier? 15 minutes each morning to fend off the sugar crash monster or trying to lose 30 pounds of fat? I have a solution for you: the Sports Center SuperShake. For those of you in a hurry, this is a great antidote. Follow the recipe below to get your day off to a great start.
Sports Center SuperShake Recipe:
* Pour 8 ounces of water into a blender
* Add two scoops of protein powder (such as Atkins Shake Mix or a Soy Protein Shake Mix)
* 1 teaspoon peanut butter
* 1 banana
* A handful of additional fruit of your choice (strawberries, blueberries, apples)
Fill the blender with ice and blend until smooth. You can substitute low fat milk for water which will add about 120 calories to the shake. The total calorie count for this shake is approximately 385 calories and is filled with high quality energy.
* protein powder: 175 calories
* peanut butter: 50 calories
* banana: 80 calories
* other fruit: 80 calories
Remember, if you want to feel better throughout the day, control your weight and have energy to spare, you have to eat breakfast. Take the time to fuel your body.
Make today count.
Doug Kelsey
Author. Teacher. Therapist.