Never skip breakfast

A nutritious breakfast helps you stay alert and awake throughout the day.

It is quite clear that nutrition can have a major impact on exercise performance as well as training adaption.

In fact, without proper nutrition, exercise goals will not be fully realized.

Recent research, however, indicates that when one eats may have as much influence over achieving exercise goals as what one eats. In other words, timing of nutrient consumption or "nutrient timing" can significantly impact exercise performance, recovery and training adaptation.

These responses to nutrient timing are built into our DNA and therefore not limited to the elite athlete. Everyone, young and old, male and female, untrained and trained will respond to nutrient timing.

While most nutrient timing programs designed for athletes and individuals who exercise regularly are centered on nutrient intake prior to and after workouts and competitions, timing of daily meals and their composition are also of importance.

Of the three basic meals of the day, breakfast, lunch and dinner, breakfast is by far the most important.

Breakfast is a critical meal because it influences practically every dimension of our being during the course of the day, including how we perform physically and mentally.

Breakfast immediately raises the body's energy level and restores the blood glucose level to normal after an overnight fast. It also raises the muscle and liver glycogen stores. Carbohydrate is the preferred fuel for muscle and the nervous system (2, 3).

Low carbohydrate levels result in poor performance and rapid fatigue during training and other physical activities (4, 5).

Perceived exertion is also elevated when blood glucose and muscle glycogen levels are low making exercise mentally challenging (5, 6).

Therefore, starting a training session with low carbohydrate availability can significantly limit the quality of one's training session and adversely impact training adaptation. A well-designed breakfast can provide an adequate amount of carbohydrate and other essential nutrients to raise the blood glucose levels and get a morning training session going with vigour and vitality, and without being overly filling.

Second, breakfast immediately lowers the blood level of the stress hormone cortisol, which peaks during the early morning hours (7, 8).
John L Ivy, PhD
University of Texas at Austin