Metabolic Habit #3

July 2009

by Morella Devost

Over the past month we've been sharing little steps to help you optimize your metabolism. Hopefully, you've been taking action following each email so that, little by little, you're building the momentum for ideal weight and longevity without EVER dieting again. Today we are sharing the third habit for metabolic optimization, but first I want to recap habits 1 and 2:

Never eat late at night or within 3 hours of going to bed
Exercise first thing in the morning or in between meals

Habit #3 is: Never skip breakfast

You've probably heard this before but you may not have really learned why it's so important. If you don't need a reason, then you can skip the rest of the article and just promise yourself to eat a breakfast containing protein EVERY DAY.

Here's why...

If you look at the word breakfast you can see it literally means ‘breaking the fast'. And that's exactly why it's so important. If you eat dinner at least 3 hours before going to bed and hopefully get 8 hours of sleep, it will be 11-12 hours by the time you eat again, which is the ideal spacing between dinner and breakfast.

If you skip breakfast, reach for your coffee and go 14-16 hours before eating your body quickly begins to adapt to the famine that it senses is possibly about to start. Your body says "Hey! We haven't seen anything come down the shute in a while, maybe there won't BE anything coming!" And so it quickly lowers your metabolic rate. As it does this, your brain sends a message to your hormone-producing glands and fat cells instructing them to hold onto fat as long as possible, and instead start getting rid of high-energy-consuming muscle tissue.

When you eat breakfast around 12 hours after last night's meal, AND you include protein in your breakfast, you send a message to your body that food is plentiful and there is no need to hold on to excess fat.

Now, let's be clear, getting rid of excess fat will not be solved by eating breakfast alone. You have to exercise and you have to eat right for your metabolic type so that you don't have cravings and can go 5-6 hours without needing a snack. We'll discuss this in more depth when we cover habit #4, so stay tuned for our next issue.

For now, just be sure to explore your breakfast options and make a point of starting your day on the right metabolic foot!

If you want to know your metabolic type and would like support on optimizing your metabolism so you never go on a diet again, feel free to email us.