Eat a Big Breakfast

OMG! I was so excited to read this while I finished my large breakfast!! For years, and I mean since 2002, every time I consulted a diabetic patient regarding their diet, I would always push for the 3 meals per day, only! No snacking!! And for forever, I was fought on this issue. Blah blah blah, stable blood sugar, blah blah blah, increase metabolism, blah blah. Any patient who followed my suggestions obtained a better blood sugar, and lost weight - thus making it easier to slow the progression of diabetes. The fact of the matter is that your body, unless you have Type 1 Diabetes (insulin dependent), is built to maintain your blood sugar within a healthy range. And those with Type 2 Diabetes, Metabolic Syndrome, PCOS, Insulin Resistance, etc., are more prone to running higher blood sugars - so why were all these people telling them to eat smaller, more frequent meals??? Oh, wait! Was it so their body never had any down time, and was never forced to pull fat out of storage to convert to glucose for energy? Ah wonderful plan everybody!!

On a more technical note, I would like to see a follow-up to this study. They note in the write-up that the sample size was small, with only 54 participants, so when they were divided into 2 groups that only gave 27 per group, and I like to see at least 30. But the results were still significant. There were 2 meal plans, both contained the same macronutrient (carbs, protein, fat) and calorie content, but one only included 2 meals (large breakfast and lunch) and the other divided the food over 5-6 small meals. Those consuming the 2 meal plan improved their blood sugar, and lost weight.  Oh, and halfway through, they switched the plans in each group - and still found the same results. 

This is still great information even if you don't have diabetes. Your blood sugar and HgA1C is probably not a major concern, but perhaps you have a family history of diabetes (doesn't everyone?) that you wish to avoid, or you are wanting to obtain a healthy weight to improve longevity... or soak up bikini season. I would aim for the 3 meals per day, so your calories would be spread out further, but the big thing is that larger breakfast if you are wanting to real kick your metabolism up a notch first thing in the morning. Wait, that is unless you prefer to have your body burning less calories for the first 4-5 hours of the day.