I have never been a big breakfast eater or really feel motivated to eat in the morning. I usually never felt hungry and would feel full and heavy when I ate in the morning. I didn’t know this was abnormal.
A month into my gym membership the owner, Frankie Cole, sat down with me to talk nutrition. He knew my fitness and health goals and wanted to give any advice about my eating habits. I had recorded what I ate for two weeks and then we looked at it together. One of his first questions was: Are you hungry when you wake up in the morning? I said, “No. Who is?” without missing a beat. He apparently is hungry every morning the minute he wakes up. Here’s how he explained it:
Any calories you eat at the end of the day when you are done with your usual activity (may it be daily work or a late night work out) you are not going to burn many calories. You do not burn calories while you sleep. Therefore, if you eat a huge meal at the end of the day and dessert, you’re body doesn’t burn those calories and they just sit there. Through the night, your body then considers them ‘left over’ calories and stores them. If you eat a light meal for dinner and cut off your eating at a certain time, you’ll wake up hungry the next day.
This took me a long time to figure out and agree with. I decided to cut my eating off at 8:30 since I’m usually in bed at 10:00 or so. After a few days, I would wake up hungry in the morning. My morning meal then helped to fuel me for the morning instead of making me feel heavy. Turns out Frankie was right. I now wake up hungry or get hungry within the first 30 minutes of waking up. It helps me get started and on track for the day. Some mornings I’ve even planned what I’m going to eat that day before my feet hit the floor. It gets me focused on my choices right away.
Are you waking up hungry? Are you wanting to eat breakfast? If not, then look at how you are eating at night. This will definitely help with weight loss!