Five Ways Skipping Breakfast Affects the Body

Common knowledge says that breakfast is the most important meal of the day and, to a certain extent, it’s right. We wake up after a long night of sleep and no food since dinner. That’s where breakfast comes in. We eat, we gain energy and, breakfast is the right start to any day that lets us begin the day properly and stay energetic through the day. Yet, the fact remains that most of us end up skipping breakfast. Whether it’s because we’re in a rush to get to work, don’t have the patience to cook for ourselves, or just too lazy to eat, we end up skipping our morning meals.

Why is that a bad thing? Well, there are a dozen or more reasons it’s a bad idea to skip eating in the morning. But those are just reasons. Let’s take a look at what skipping breakfast really does to our bodies, shall we?

Packing on the pounds:
One of the most common side-effects of skipping breakfast, and one we largely tend to ignore, is weight gain. It’s a proven fact too. What really happens, is when you don’t eat for a long time, your metabolism slows down. You might wonder how that turns into putting on weight. The trick behind this, is your body absorbs the calories at a slower pace. Also, if you skip breakfast, you get really hungry later and, tend to eat more calories to make up for what you missed, causing weight gain. The other downside of packing on the pounds? Heart problems, diabetes and more.

Unfocussed Daze
We’ve all seen this happen those few times we’ve skipped out on a meal. We tend to be less focussed and have trouble concentrating. It’s doubly true for breakfast. The fact that we’ve just woken from sleep and then, skipping breakfast just compounds this effect. Not eating breakfast in the morning means you think less clearly, focus less on tasks and, your memorization is also affected.

Not in the mood
One of the common side-effects of missing breakfast? Being tired all the time. Skipping out on a morning meal is known to cause fatigue, plenty of restlessness and leave you irritated for most of the day. It’s not just the memory or concentration that’s affected by skipping breakfast. It also affects our moods. Compensating for skipping breakfast by drinking coffee only makes the situation worse. Drinking caffeine with plenty of sugar leaves us more irritable than before and, too much sugar is a bad thing to begin with.

Low on Sugar
This is something that definitely needs to be kept in mind when skipping breakfast. It’s not just the risk of diabetes but, the fact that we haven’t eaten since dinner, and then skipped breakfast can cause our blood sugar levels to drop dramatically. Fun fact; it’s not just the diabetics that have to worry about it, though it’s definitely more of a risk for them. For everyone else, low sugar might not have an immediately bad effect but, in the long-term? Definitely. Skipping breakfast and dealing with low sugar could lead to the development of diabetes.

Eating Unhealthy
Here’s another thing to really keep in mind. While eating breakfast is all well and good, eating healthy is just as important, if not more. When we say have a good breakfast, we don’t mean eat as much as you can, or eat heavy foods. Eating a balanced, nutritious and healthy breakfast is just as important. Eating fatty and fried foods for breakfast leaves us feeling bloated, overly full and is definitely not healthy. Also, skipping breakfast leads to overeating later which can lead to obesity, hypertension and other lifestyle diseases. Still, there are plenty of ways to overcome this bad habit, and make sure you have a healthy, nutritious breakfast. Avoiding fried or heavy breakfasts, eating cereals and a balanced meal can go a long way to make your breakfast a healthy, wholesome one. Plus, there’s always a few superfoods you can add to your breakfast, to fill in the gaps in your nutrition.