Breakfast has been dethroned. Two recent studies confirmed that makes no difference when it comes to weight loss, weight gain, blood-sugar profiles, cholesterol levels, or cardiovascular health indexes. But if breakfast isn鈥檛 the all-important morning meal we鈥檝e been told it is, then what (or who) is it really necessary for?
Athletes. For people who tend to do more than just shower and head to work, breakfast should not be trifled with. 鈥淚s being in the fed state necessary to optimize physical and perhaps mental performance?鈥 asks Dr. James Betts of the University of Bath and lead author of the , which openly questioned breakfast鈥檚 value. 鈥淥n that front, I would definitely say yes. For performance,鈥 he adds, 鈥渋t certainly does matter what people eat.鈥
And it matters, too, whether you鈥檙e breakfasting to train or to perform. Either way, by the time you wake up after eating dinner the night before, you鈥檝e spent anywhere from 10 to 14 hours in a fasted state, and your liver can be nearly 70 to 80 percent depleted of glycogen (liver breaks down glycogen to maintain blood glucose levels). What that means: you鈥檙e okay to go for a short ride or run, but you鈥檒l suffer through a long training session or race, explains UAB鈥檚 Dr. Gordon Fisher.
Breakfast, then, is clearly important for optimal performance. However, if you're doing short runs or rides, skipping breakfast likely won't slow you down. And it might even make you a faster athlete, in the long run. 鈥淒ay-to-day training in the unfed [unbreakfasted] state,鈥 adds Dr. Fisher, 鈥渕ay actually lead to more favorable improvements during prolonged exercise in which glycogen may be limiting.鈥
By training on empty, you prepare your body to perform well on empty, too.