Opinion on Breakfast & Obesity...

Aug 18, 2011

I have been chatting with a lot of folks on Obesity Help and Facebook, and I keep coming down to the common denominator of most of my conversations: EAT BREAKFAST!

Having grown up a latch key child -- well, we didn't lock the door, but I don't want to admit I was more street urchin, ah heck, I just did -- back to my point.  I had to get myself up in the morning since Kindergarten, and truck myself off to school.  Never being an early riser, I used to sleep until the last possible moment before being forced to hurry off to school or face being late.  This left no time to have breakfast.  I actually remember my nutrition classes in second grade with Mrs. Paganini, and trying to have something in the morning, but I kept finding it made me HUNGRIER sooner.  Duh, I didn't know that is supposed to be how our body works.  I won't blame seven year old me for not knowing, but I hope to help other seven year olds out there (your kids) not go through being the fattest kid in class.

Mrs. Paganini had it going on!  She not only was my breakthrough teacher who got me reading like a lion devours meat, she also made sure her students ATE a snack at reading time.  She introduced me to grapefruit, which took some getting used to, but I used to pick the fruit off my neighbors tree - it hung over my back fence.  We had Early Birds & Late Birds, I was BOTH.  So, I took her reading classes TWICE a day, and learned about actually having food to fuel my brain and body.  I still didn't make breakfast my ritual that it is now, but many decades later, I have yet another thing to go back and thank her for!

Breakfast FUELS the body after a nights sleep, and it will make you want food sooner, but that is a good thing.  I make breakfast my second largest meal of the day, sorry, I still have dinner mentality that may never change.  Anyhow, I usually have a Meal Replacement Shake (anyone guess which brand?  Extra points if you said Chike), usually some fortified oatmeal (flax seed and added protein) and a piece of fruit.  You can also have cottage cheese, eggs, or whatever you enjoy for breakfast, but my point is have a HIGH protein breakfast - hence my double dipping with the meal replacement drink.

I eat about every two hours.  They aren't large meals, but I keep protein in my system so I can do my two hour swims without feeling like I want to collapse.  Okay, another thing, if you have NOT followed my journey, I started out swimming 20 - 30 minutes a day, three times a week -- it took me MONTHS to get to the point I can swim almost 3 miles in two hours.  I make sure my diet is well balanced, especially now with my plumbing rerouted!  I take multivitamins twice a day, various supplements at different times, but I make sure my nutrition comes from good sources.

My very own daughter, Kate, had a weight problem, and I kept trying to figure out ways to help her.  I finally came up with her solution: Meal Replacement Breakfast!  Yup, it was that simple.  I offered to drive her to school in the morning (we live over three miles from her High School), but she needed to walk home after school, getting exercise.  I would make her a meal replacement shake EVERY morning, and she would drink it on the way to school.  This was great for two reasons: She is NOT a morning person & is grumpy to EVERYONE; she never ate breakfast on her own.  Her weight at the start of this experiment was 286 - at 5' 10", she was wearing a size 26.  By the next year, she was down UNDER 200, and working toward 180 range.  She has KEPT OFF all the weight (five years later) and is wearing a size 12.  Before she heads off in the morning for school (she is now in college), she makes herself a morning meal replacement shake -- and I am proud of her for NOT following in mom's footsteps!

Yes, this is Kate, Mini Me, My Muffin to her Tuffin (what she called me as a little girl), and I am proud of my big little girl!

So, what am I trying to get across to all you folks?  PLEASE, make your kids eat breakfast!  It is easier to change habits now, before the weight gets so bad bariatrics needs to be considered.  If YOU don't eat breakfast - START!  It is just a little step in this long journey, so make it count.  Stay Positive!

Brenda : )~

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