To Lose Weight, Don’t Munch On The Run Each Morning

November 26, 2018 Ashley 0 Comments

Oatmeal too cumbersome to suck down in the car?

Why not turn it into a disgusting hockey puck you can crunch on the run?

(Not sure if she’s about to eat it, or just laughing at how inedible it looks.)

Really.

It’s getting kinda tired – this whole “I don’t have time for myself” culture. You have time for a shower. You have time to get dressed. You have ten minutes you can take for yourself to enjoy breakfast. And, if not, then wake the fluff up earlier and make that time. Let breakfast cook while you do your makeup or hair or pluck that errant chin hair that you’re wondering how many people saw before you got to it.

And why? Why should you bother?

Well, if you’re genuinely happy eating en route to work, you shouldn’t. If that’s a happy and comfortable routine that secretly brings you peace, click the x up top now. But if your morning munching is more of a martyr role you play so you can win some mom of the year award, it’s time to cut it out meow. It’s so easy as a parent to get sucked into the stress competition. Whoever’s got it the worst wins. Protip: there’s no stress ceremony parallel to your kids’ graduation day. No one’s handing out trophies for the tired life givers’ litany of wrinkles, tufts of grey hair, gained weight, or all the hours they spent playing uber driver in their Chrysler to their squad of thankless spawns.

So take your time. Take that time for yourself.

And make it start with breakfast.

See, the pros say that the way you start out your day sets the tone for the rest of it. If you’re rushed and anxious, the rest of the day goes the same way. This affects work performance. It rubs off on your kids who may form disordered behavior. And, for you, it leads to either stress eating, drinking (each glass’ve wine’s around 320 cals), and cortisol packing on that holiday paunch past the holidays.

Worse, though, is the habit you’re ingraining by rushing your morning meal.

When we prepare or consume food in a state of stress, we’re making an association. Our brains are linking up anxiety and eating. This is bad for three reasons. The first is that, in such a state, we suck down food quickly, not giving our bodies a chance to let satiation signals reach our brain. This means we still think we are hungry and eat past what we should. The second is that, the stress association becomes a positive feedback loop. For those of us who tend to comfort munch, being in a state of stress will make us eat even more. The problem is, our mere association with food now brings on that stress, seeing as we’ve made that association. So the act of having a normal meal can trigger that cascade alone. Then, finally, is the fact that our brains don’t distinguish between breakfast or any other meal when it comes to this stress connection. And that means there will be anxiety surrounding supper, lunch, and everything else we eat as well. Worse yet, when stressed, that overeating rarely comprises healthy choices.

By simply reserving some breakfast time for yourself, you can not only enjoy the whole day feeling satisfied and energized while losing weight; you can also set a good example for your wee ones about self care and be your best self for them. Stressing yourself out doesn’t have to be where your worth at work lies or how you show your love to others. So, really, just take a whopping extra ten or fifteen minutes for yourself to nourish your body in the morning.

’cause you can’t go far – with weight loss and general wellness alike – if you don’t fuel your tool first.