Register
Sign in17 October 2009
Source of calories, breakfast and skipping meals
Bookmark this page:
Food, calories and metabolism
There are three main questions that really fall under this section, each of which will be covered in turn:
- Does the source of calories matter?
- Is breakfast important?
- Does skipping meals work?
Does the source of calories matter?
Essentially, if your calorie consumption matches your calorie expenditure, and if we focus purely on weight at this stage, the source of your calories doesn't really matter. But, and this is a big but, your calories should really come from a range of sources as part of a balanced and nutritional diet.
In terms of energy, a fat calorie provides the same amount of energy as a protein or carbohydrate calorie. However, in terms of nutrition, it is no surprise that the two are worlds apart!
This does not mean that you should avoid foods with fat altogether as a degree of fat intake is required for your body to function properly. For instance, fat is required to help with the absorption of essential vitamins.
You should not ingest too much fat though, because of the serious health consequences that are related to a fat-laden diet - heart disease, furring up of arteries and other related health problems.
Most nutritionists would suggest that a maximum of 30% of your daily calorie intake should come from fat. Thus, for someone with a daily calorie intake requirement of 1,950 calories, a maximum of 585 calories should come from fat - i.e. this equates to a fat intake of 65g.
Is breakfast important?
Yes...... as it kick starts your metabolism!
When you wake in the morning, your metabolism is operating very slowly as your body has just been in 'sleep mode'. Your metabolism therefore needs a kick start to begin burning calorie resources in the body to provide you with the energy that you will need to get you through the morning until lunchtime. Eating breakfast performs this function!
Breakfast is also important as it helps to prevent you from snacking during the morning on unhealthy, high calorie nibbles!
A healthy, relatively low calorie breakfast such as bran-flakes or muesli, served with skimmed or semi-skimmed milk is an excellent choice for any dieter.
It is also worth bearing in mind that there is a lot of research in the public domain which supports the theory that those people who eat breakfast every day are generally slimmer than those people who skip breakfast!
Does skipping meals work?
Skipping meals does not help you to lose weight for reasons already discussed in the metabolism section of the site.
Skipping meals confuses the body, making it think that it is in starvation mode, causing your metabolism to slow down to burn the bare minimum calories to keep you alive. Confusing your body in this way may actually encourage your body to store as many calories as possible as fat - as a calorie bank - to keep you alive as 'starvation mode' continues. Thus, skipping meals can actually cause you to gain weight!