5 Reasons Why You Should Stop Skipping Breakfast

Do you normally walk out the door in the morning with an empty stomach? You might want to reconsider the way you start the day! While you might get by on nothing but your 7 AM cup of coffee, that caffeine can only get you so far. Without a healthy, nourishing breakfast, you can set yourself up to crash midway through the morning.

We’ll be covering the five biggest reasons to start eating breakfast. If you’re currently a breakfast-skipper, we think we can convince you to change your ways. Plus, we’ll set you up with a killer breakfast menu – stick around until the end of this article for the recipes!

1. Breakfast Helps You Focus

Skipping breakfast in the morning means you’re depriving your brain of much-needed nutrition. Those calories can make a big difference in your brain’s ability to focus on tasks, retain information, and keep you working efficiently.

Aim for a breakfast composed of whole grains, lean protein, and some fruit or vegetables for good measure.

Your Brain Needs Those Carbs!

Some of the most important nutrients for focusing are your macros – carbs, protein, and fat. When nutritionists talk about a “balanced” breakfast, they’re describing a meal that contains ample amounts of each of these macronutrients. One macro that is often demonized is the carbohydrate, which many people avoid on principle as part of a keto or low-carb diet.

However, your brain needs carbohydrates to function. Carbs – especially glucose – fuel your brain and play a key role in cognitive functions like memory and learning. Without carbs, the only other way to fuel your brain is through ketosis, the namesake of the ketogenic diet.

When your body goes into ketosis, it starts getting energy by burning through fat. Fat can fuel your brain, but only when your body is running on virtually no carbohydrates. Since it can be difficult to reach ketosis without harsh dietary restrictions, we recommend including some complex carbohydrates in your breakfast.

‍

Calories Matter When It Comes to Focusing

While a nutritious, balanced breakfast can indeed help you focus, this often isn’t the case when it comes to super rich, high-calorie meals. Eating too much for breakfast can make you feel sluggish and lethargic, which in turn can make it nearly impossible to stay on task.

To avoid eating too much and going into a mid-morning food coma, aim to eat a breakfast of around 400-500 calories. This is still a hearty meal, but it’s not so big and rich that you’ll end up wanting to pass out as soon as you clock in.

‍

Focus-Boosting Breakfast Foods to Eat Tomorrow Morning

For tomorrow’s breakfast, try adding some of these foods to the menu! They’re packed with macro and micronutrients that can help you stay on target throughout the day, fueling both your body and your brain.

Nuts: Nuts are plant-based, and they’re packed with all three macronutrients – carbs, protein, and fat. Plus, they’re rich in vitamins and minerals. Some nuts, including cashews and almonds, contain high levels of magnesium, which can help keep your metabolism running on high throughout the day.

Berries: Low in sugar and packed with antioxidants, berries are a breakfast staple. You can sprinkle some on your oatmeal, drop a cup of them into your bowl of cereal, or simply eat them on their own.

Eggs: Nothing says “breakfast” like some delicious eggs. They’re a go-to breakfast food around the world, and they’ve got a great reputation as nutrient-dense powerhouses. In addition to boasting high protein content, eggs are rich in vitamins and minerals.‍

2. Breakfast Can Fire Up Your Metabolism

When you eat a healthy, nutritious breakfast in the morning before heading to work, you’re setting your body up to burn more calories during the day. Your metabolism is the mechanism within your body that turns food into energy, and nourishing your body early in the day can help to get it running on high.

When It Comes to Metabolism, Not All Breakfast Is Equal

If you want to energize your body and boost your metabolism, you’ll need to pick the right breakfast foods. Eating tons of processed junk disguised as “breakfast” won’t do your body any favors, no matter how good it might taste. That’s why it’s important to emphasize whole, unprocessed foods, making these the mainstays on your breakfast plate.

There’s a big difference in how your body responds to certain foods and how these foods can affect your metabolism differently. For example, eating a donut full of refined sugar, processed carbs, and saturated fat can leave you feeling sluggish and bogged down. A skillet made with eggs, rice, and kale, on the other hand, fuels your body and gives it energy for the day!

Want to Level Up Your Workouts? Eat Breakfast!

If you like to exercise in the AM, eating something healthy before heading to the gym is a great idea. A nutritious breakfast gives you the energy to perform well athletically, whether you’re doing cardio or building muscle with strength training. While trends like intermittent fasting are all the rage, giving your body the fuel it needs to build muscle mass is what will really help.

3. Eating Breakfast Can Help You Avoid Overdoing It at Lunch and Dinner

When you skip breakfast, you’re setting yourself up to feel hungry – and we mean hungry – by the time lunch rolls around. Left without food for hours, you’re far more likely to make impulsive decisions when you finally can eat. This lack of self-control and overwhelming hunger can drive you straight to the vending machine for a candy bar or a bag of chips, which, over time, can lead to a higher risk of becoming overweight.

On the other hand, when you eat a breakfast that energizes you and fills you up, you’re hungry – but not starved – at lunchtime. You’ve had some food already, so you’ve got your wits about you to make a wise decision about what you’ll have for your second meal of the day.

That’s why skipping breakfast actually tends to be ineffective when your goal is weight loss—smaller meals throughout the day will help you maintain healthy eating habits. Skipping breakfast isn’t going to lead directly to weight gain or risk of obesity, but it’s not really going to help you, either.

4. Cooking Is Therapeutic

If you tend to wake up in the morning feeling a bit… blah, creating a ritual of cooking yourself breakfast in the morning can be a real game-changer for your mood.

Building structure and routine into your life – including a consistent eating schedule – can be a big help in times when you’re feeling overwhelmed and off-balance. In fact, some people treat cooking breakfast as their “me time,” an early morning ritual that lets them relax, chill, and get creative in the kitchen.

For millions of people around the world, at-home cooking is an art, a science, and, in a way, therapy. We’re not saying to eat your feelings, but we firmly believe in the unique way cooking can relax an addled mind and start the day off right.

5. Breakfast Can Be a Relationship-Builder

Eating breakfast as a family is a great way to start the day. Enjoying your first meal of the day together allows you to connect with the other members of your household before you go your separate ways for work and school. This ritual can keep you and your family close – and so can eating as many meals as possible together!

One of the reasons why we’re so passionate about at-home cooking at JOW is because of the way it can improve relationships. If you feel like you don’t see enough of your loved ones, making a commitment to cooking and eating together each day, especially in the morning and at night, can make a big difference in how close you feel.

If You Feel Hungry… Eat!

One rule we like to live by at JOW is let the hungry person eat. We don’t buy into a mindset about eating that paints food as evil and pressures you to deprive yourself when you just want a good meal. Instead, we say embrace food – it’s delicious, nourishing, and good for you!

So, with this mentality, you have the freedom to determine when you need to eat – and then eat! If you feel hungry for breakfast, go ahead and have breakfast. If you don’t, try having a snack mid-morning and your first meal at lunch. Don’t let anyone make you feel guilty for getting hungry – it’s only human – and don’t let someone talk you into thinking that enjoying food is evil.

The bottom line? If you love breakfast, have breakfast! If you don’t usually feel hungry in the morning, feel free to eat later. It’s up to you! Just make sure you avoid reaching hangry levels when you’re planning your breakfast consumption—we’re sure your colleagues will appreciate it.

Bonus Facts About Eating Breakfast

If we haven’t given you enough information yet, we have a few more quick facts about the importance of including breakfast in your daily routine.

According to the American Heart Association, those who eat breakfast tend to have lower rates of high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and cardiovascular disease.
Skipping breakfast might correlate with a higher risk of type 2 diabetes since it might affect insulin sensitivity. Other risk factors include a higher risk for insulin resistance and hypertension. That said, those who skip breakfast may also spend more time smoking and drinking alcohol, so it’s definitely a case of correlation vs. causation.
Skipping breakfast means you’re more likely to miss out on the vital nutrient intake of calcium, vitamin A, and vitamin C.
Skipping breakfast can cause a spike in blood glucose levels, which can seriously affect your energy.
Skipping breakfast may be associated with poorer diet quality and greater body weight and body mass index (BMI) overall.

Some of Our Healthy, Yummy, Quick Breakfasts

Need some breakfast inspiration? Check out these mouth-watering recipes!

Huevos Rancheros

This traditional Mexican breakfast is made with just a few simple and delicious ingredients:

Avocado provides the healthy fats and a creamy texture
A flour tortilla ties everything together and adds some complex carbs to the mix
Eggs provide protein and healthy fats
Red beans give you plant-based protein and fiber
Sriracha spices things up a bit
Fresh cilantro gives you that classic Mexican flavor

This recipe is perfect for anyone who loves to cook but often has to rush out the door. Thanks to the high fiber, protein, and healthy fat content in our Huevos rancheros, you’ll feel satisfied, energized, and ready for whatever the day holds!

‍

Almond Chia Pudding

This delicious and simple breakfast takes just four minutes to make and has only five ingredients, with a hint of sweetness from honey.

Our kiwi breakfast bowl is super quick to whip up, and it’s the perfect thing to make when you're on the go but still want to stay healthy!

‍

Breakfast Sandwich

Do you normally pull into the drive-thru on the way to work for a greasy, low-quality breakfast sandwich? Not anymore! This irresistible tuna & avocado breakfast sandwich will change your ways in a heartbeat. It’s ready in no time, and all you need are 5 simple ingredients to make it:

Canned tuna for protein and heartiness
Avocados add healthy fats and delicious flavor
Spinach for crunch, as well as important vitamins and minerals like iron
Cream cheese ties the whole sandwich together with sweetness and creaminess
An English muffin serves as the perfect vessel for all those tasty ingredients. It’s light, fluffy, crispy, and so good!

Making your own tuna & avocado sandwich at home will save you money in the long run, and trust us – you can make a better one than the fast food chain down the street! With this recipe, you’ll be saying goodbye to drive-thru breakfasts for good.

Want More Cooking Inspiration?

So we’ve convinced you to incorporate breakfast as part of a healthy lifestyle, but where do you start? If you’ve been feeling stuck in a rut lately and aren’t sure what to cook, we’ve got exactly what you're looking for. Head to our recipe section for tons of inspiring recipes! From breakfast to lunch to dinner to dessert, our recipe database is full of simple, delicious dishes that you and your whole family will love!