BREAKFAST. Which, to a nutritionist or someone trying to live a healthier lifestyle, this is THE Worst meal to skip.
Why??
Your body fasts throughout the night, resting and digesting; sorting and organizing all the nutrients/waste from the prior day's consumptions. When you wake up, your body needs fuel to function, just as your car needs gas to crank over the engine. In other words, if you don't gas up your belly to rev your mind and muscles, you become the rusty car in the driveway. It also helps prevent your body from storing calories as fat: when you skip breakfast, your body is still in "fast" mode and doesn't know when it will get proper nutrients. Your body acts like a camel's hump does for water, with food. Spare Tire, anyone??
Skipping breakfast is NOT common in our house...
As a matter of fact, we all eat breakfast everyday. It's not piles of pancakes and bowl fulls of eggs and sausage, or a full-on buffet-style meal; but simple foods like cereal, yogurt, toast, etc - enough to give our bodies the jumpstart they need [without the pounds of calories and fat].
This morning started out like any other weekday morning; just as I was finishing my workout, I heard the Beep, Beep, Beep of Kaia's alarm clock, signaling the day's official beginning. Holly awoke shortly after and both girls got dressed and ready for school, before making their way to the kitchen for some Breakfast.
Their choices were small, but significant; enough for their LITTLE bellies to feel satisfied and ready for the day.
We headed off to school a few minutes ahead of schedule (unlike the rest of this week, where we left at least 10 mins late each day); so we were off to an extra good start. The girls' school provides "breakfast" every morning, if kids want to grab a bite before class. A good service for growing kids with learning minds. Since we were early, we had a few minutes to chill while we waited for Holly's classroom to open. [Kaia can just go to class; Holly has to be signed in and out each day because of her age]. We decided to head to the lunchroom to see what they had to munch on, for an additional boost to their brains and bodies.
Both girls picked to have a biscuit, no gravy; Kaia added a bowl of cereal; and each girl had a carton of milk. As we approached the cashier, the lady told Holly that she needed to put something ELSE on her plate; that just a biscuit and milk wasn't enough food to make a "nutritionally balanced" meal.
While I agree with having a balanced meal, it's not right to push a child to eat more than they are hungry for; especially if they are instilled with the "clean plate" rule at home... You learn to only put as much food on your plate as you are hungry for - enough to be satisfied and not full.
It also puts the idea in kids' heads that in order to be "healthy," you have to consume a certain amount of food at each meal, whether you are hungry for it, or not... Some kids don't know HOW to recognize when they are full; therefore putting more than they need on the plate will cause them to overeat and become part of the childhood-obesity statistic. So, while they are trying to promote healthy food balance, they are denying the child's right to know their body and when they are satisfied.
Some kids don't know when to stop.
Since I was standing right there, I told the cashier that it was okay; that she had already had something at home and this was just extra. She started to get upset with me, spouting the "balanced meal" point, failing to look at MY lean body and tone to recognize that I, as a person and a Mom, know what a nutritious and balanced meal consists of. I still said that it was okay and started to head to a seat, when she said that for the computer to show that each kid gets all the "proper" foods, Holly HAD to put something else on her plate.
[You cannot FORCE a child to put food on their plate that they don't want or have a desire to eat].
I told the cashier to charge us for "something" and pretend that we got it, and we walked away and sat down, with just a biscuit and a milk. [The cashier was befuddled at my lack of desire to please her food enforcement].
Point Proven: Holly only ate 1/3 of her biscuit and only drank half her milk, because she HAD already had breakfast at home, and was apparently easily satisfied this morning. Had she put something else on her plate, it would have been completely wasted food, because once it goes out, it can't come back into the kitchen. [They say that Americans waste enough food to feed an African tribe for MONTHS, or even a year.... let's validate that, shall we... ??].
As the girls ate, I sat back and observed the kitchen staff, reflecting on the conversation that had just occurred, nutrition, and my own fitness/weight loss journey. As my thoughts flowed, I noticed that the ladies working in the kitchen all maintained an excessively WIDER physique than that of someone who is concerned with proper nutrition, a balanced meal, and diet needs... Not that I am judging; just observing.
I slightly chuckled to myself and gave myself a mental high-five for helping MY children understand when to say NO if they don't want something, especially unnecessary calories. [Stop eating when you're full-up].
When the bell rang to go to class, I said goodbye to Kaia and walked Holly to her room; signed her in, and then jogged back to my car, the same way I do everyday, to give my heart a little burst of energy and blood-flow.
So, When is Gym class?? Let's learn about FITNESS, now that we've broached nutrition...
Did you eat your Wheaties this morning?!?
- Omegan :-D
