Big Breakfast v. Small Dinner – Burning Calories v. Nutrition [VIDEO]

Food Health

All of our lives, we have been told that eating a big breakfast is the best way to start the day. They say it has to do with breaking the fast that occurs from dinner to the morning, hence the origin of the word – break – fast. We’ve been told that eating a good healthy breakfast helps get the body started and working for the day.

As a wildlife biologist, I have always contended that eating a big breakfast and then going off to work defeats the purpose of eating the big breakfast. All you have to do is take a look at any animal to see what I mean. When most animals eat a large meal, the next thing they do is rest and there is a very good reason why. When the stomach fills with food and begins to digest it, the body automatically draws as much of the blood supply from the arms and legs as possible and diverts it to the digestive tract. This helps the body to be able to absorb the nutrients from the digested food.

However, if someone eats a big breakfast and then goes to work, the body is unable to divert the extra blood supply from the extremities (arms and legs), making it less able to absorb vital nutrients the body needs to function.

A recent study claims that eating a big breakfast helps a person lose more weight as reported:

Eat up! A new study says enjoying a big breakfast in the morning can actually help you burn more calories throughout the day.

The new research published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism studied a group of healthy young men with a normal body mass index and found the number of calories burned was much higher when they ate a bigger breakfast and a small dinner.

Test results showed they burned more than twice as many calories than those who ate a small breakfast and a large dinner.

Scientists concluded “diet-induced thermogenesis,” the amount of energy it takes to process a meal was higher in the morning than at night.

The researchers did point out that what a person ate at breakfast also played an important role in the amount of calories burned. That means that it’s not just eating a big breakfast but eating a healthy breakfast is just as important as eating the big breakfast.

Additionally, I have to point out that eating a big breakfast, healthy of not, may help burn more calories but eating it and then going to work, especially a job that is physical, will still prevent a person from obtaining all of the benefits of the big healthy breakfast. Furthermore, eating a big breakfast, even a healthy one, will tend to make some more tired and sleepy by the time they get to work, which will hinder productivity. It’s the same reason so many people gets the ‘afternoon drowsies’ after eating lunch. It’s the body’s natural reaction to eating.

Studying the natural functions of the body also explains why it is recommended to eat a small dinner. Generally, most people tend to relax and rest after dinner, again following the prompts of the body wanting to pull the blood from the extremities. Eating a small dinner will help prevent the extra storage of fat obtained from the meal.

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