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New commercials for breakfast foods are reinforcing the idea that breakfast is important. But why? Doesn't it make sense that if you're trying to lose weight, skipping a meal will help you reduce your calorie intake? Not so. The body works in mysterious ways. Learn why breakfast is your first chance to make a good first impression on your day.

Eating breakfast boosts your metabolism

After spending 7 or 8 hours (hopefully) in the sack, your body is still in a sort of hibernation. It's time to wake up your body and tell it to get cranking. Food has a way of doing that. In order to keep your fat-burning process running, you need to keep your tummy satisfied.

Eating breakfast regulates your blood sugar
After skipping breakfast, do you find yourself getting nauseated and light-headed by mid-morning? That's your body telling you your blood sugar is low. Skipping meals is especially dangerous for diabetics, and even the rest of us can find ourselves confused and altered when our tanks are running on empty.

Eating breakfast prevents you from binging
Think you can make up for lost breakfast with a heavy lunch? Not only does a large meal make you want to take a siesta, your body isn't built to metabolize the food as efficiently. You'll end up sending more of your meal right to your hips.

Eating breakfast fuels your brain
Low blood sugar is known to cause fatigue, dizziness, memory loss, confusion, and altered mental status. This isn't exactly the impression you want to give at your morning meetings. If you want to remember what happens before lunch, and participate in it effectively, breakfast will fuel your mind.

Eating breakfast satisfies you with fiber
Fiber is a wonder to your waistline. Fiberous foods are bulky, which means you get more to eat in the same package. They're digested slowly so they fill you up and keep you from craving a vending-machine cookie in 20 minutes.

Eating breakfast satisfies you with carbs
Carbs have gotten a bad rap recently, but they're important to two weight-related issues. Eating carbs stimulates the production of serotonin in your brain. Serotonin makes you feel good and acts as a natural appetite stimulant. Who doesn't want to feel sparky and un-hungry first thing on a Monday morning?

Eating breakfast rebuilds your body with protein
Protein is used to build your body tissues and repair damage that has been done throughout your life. When you don't get enough protein, your muscle mass will start to decline, you'll suffer from immune deficiency, and in severe cases, your heart and bones will weaken.

Eating breakfast helps you naturally fill up on vitamins
Many common breakfast foods are the only opportunity you may have to get key vitamins and minerals into your system. Deficiencies in these areas lead to dozens of other ailments, which can be misdiagnosed for something more severe and costly.

It's easy to play the blame game and make excuses for skipping breakfast, but the fact is that breakfast can make or break your day, and your belly. By making your favorite healthy breakfast choices convenient, you'll never have to worry about morning confusion and lunch that lodges permanently in your gut.

Learn more about this author, Kimberly Dawn Wells.
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