Staying Energized Throughout The Day Starts in the A.M.
             
Story Highlights

• Breakfast is the most important meal of the day for lasting energy and health.

• Breakfast jump starts the metabolism and energizes the body.

• Eating a balanced breakfast of carbohydrates, proteins and fats is essential for maintaining healthy weight and overall well-being.

• A balanced breakfast should contain mainly complex carbohydrates and some fats and protein.

Wake up and fuel your body the right way

Every morning millions of young adults jump out of bed and race to work or school forgetting to do one of the most important activities, to eat breakfast. Eating a balanced breakfast after waking up jump starts the body’s metabolism and provides lasting fuel the body needs to stay energized throughout the day, kinesiology senior Lacey O’Connor says.

California Polytechnic San Luis Obispo’s student athletes, Chris O’Brien and Ane McPike, have learned throughout their time as athletes how to sustain lasting energy, eat healthy and maintain a desired weight through diet and exercise.

“Eating a healthy breakfast starts my day off right. For playing sports and being physically active it starts my metabolism and allows me to get proper nutrients after eight hours of sleep when my body is striving for nutrients and food. Even eating enough protein and carbs will last me for a few hours and help avoid a craving around 10 or 11 o’clock,” business marketing senior and Cal Poly men’s basketball shooting guard Chris O’Brien says.

O’Brien cracking a third egg onto a frying pan as he cooks a protein-packed breakfast for lasting energy throughout his day.

For young adults who are always on the go, eating a balanced breakfast can be crucial to their health, weight and well-being of an individual. A recent study from the Neuroscience 2012 conference explained that people who skipped breakfast were more drawn to unhealthy, high-calorie foods and consumed 20 percent more calories during lunch than those who ate a good breakfast in the morning.  

“When you wake up, your body doesn’t really have anything within it to get energy from, so if its just going off of stored energy it’s a lot harder for your body to make energy out of stored energy, so your metabolism slows down a lot, causing you have low energy, not as much fuel, and eventually lead to weight gain. You need fuel in your body if you’re physically active to run off of and get your metabolism going. Having a good carbohydrate for breakfast makes it easier to burn fat throughout the day,” O’Connor says. 

Student-Athlete breakfast choices

O’Brien’s go-to breakfast meal is eggs, an English muffin and some fruit, while McPike’s is oatmeal topped with dried cranberries and a banana. Both of these meals contain complex carbohydrates, protein, healthy sugars and fats. A balanced breakfast should consist of around 60 percent complex carbohydrates, 20 percent protein and 20 percent fats, O’Connor says.

O’Brien enjoying a balanced breakfast of protein from the eggs and carbohydrates from the English muffin and Granny Smith apple.
           
For McPike eating something healthy that is quick and easy to prepare is a big factor for how she chooses as her morning meal.

“I usually eat cereal or oatmeal for breakfast because it’s the fastest to make and is pretty nutritious. I’m usually on campus very early, so I like it because I can just wake up and make something really quick, then run out the door,” parks and recreation senior and Cal Poly women’s tennis player Ane McPikes says.

McPike pouring water into her bowl of dried oats to create nutritious breakfast containing a complex carbohydrate.

Eating healthy starts with unprocessed foods

Healthy Breakfast Choices According to O’Connor:

• Oatmeal topped with nuts and fruit (for more protein add milk)

• Eggs or egg whites (less cholesterol) with wheat toast

• Whole-wheat bagel with light cream cheese

• Greek or regular yogurt topped with fruits or nuts

• Natural, low-sugar cereal with skim milk

• Whole wheat pancakes with an organic or sugar-free syrup

“You want to eat a good balance of foods with nutritional value because its better for your body to break down nutritious foods over processed foods since your body is not used to processed foods and they aren’t natural occurring foods,” O’Connor says.

McPike’s carbohydrate-packed breakfast of oatmeal, dried cranberries and bananas, that gives her the fuel to stay energized through her morning practice and classes.

Eating good carbohydrates is a necessity

Many fad diets today suggest eating zero carbohydrates to lose weight or maintain a desired healthy weight, but many studies show that carbohydrates should not be left out. Eating carbohydrates is essential to creating body fuel to stay energized throughout the day and are the easiest and quickest substance for the body to break down into energy, O’Connor says. 

Good Complex Carbohydrates to Eat All Day According to O‘Connor:

• Brown rice

• Wheat bread

• Whole-wheat pasta

• Fruits and vegetables

• Sweet potatoes

• Oatmeal

• Whole-wheat pita

• Lentils

“If your body is lacking something that you’re not getting from a either a supplement or food its going to slow down the metabolic process overall. But if you’re eating a balanced diet of carbohydrates, protein and fats, it boosts your metabolism as well as make your body a lot more efficient for burning fuel and getting energy throughout the day.,” O’Connor says.