When I wake up in the morning, I’ll admit that I’ve skipped out on breakfast a fair amount of times or have been reluctant to eat because I’m just not hungry at 7 a.m.. I know how crucial it is to start my day with a healthy meal or even something little to provide my body with some of the nutrients I need to get focused. As a high schooler, life gets busy and in the mornings I occasionally feel rushed. Over the years, I have learned that there isn’t ever a solid reason to skip breakfast.

Eating breakfast every morning is something that every high school student should do, no matter how tired they are. One concept that I have realized is that the days that I eat breakfast, I feel so much more ready for the day than the ones I skip out on the “most important meal of the day.” Breakfast meals can be as simple as a piece of toast with peanut butter and a banana, or a yogurt and granola bar, so it doesn’t have to be something super complicated to bring students the essential nutrients that they need to keep them sustained throughout the morning.

Another reason that teenagers and students skip breakfast may be because it’s an easy meal to cut out of the day if they are trying to lose weight. This is not only disappointing that some teenagers may think that they need to skip full meals, but it is actually very unhealthy and can work against weight loss. Breakfast is an easy way to kickstart students’ metabolisms and if they don’t eat anything, even something as little as a granola bar, then they lose energy easier. They are also less likely to be active, which is actually the best source of weight loss.

Finally, what I notice about myself on the days that I eat breakfast is that I feel so much more concentrated and energized during the day. I am much more energized and positive because my belly is full and I am content. When I miss breakfast, I feel crabby and starved, and then when lunchtime arrives, I stuff my face to a point where I feel even worse than before. I figure that it is better to be happy and satisfied than grumpy and hungry throughout the day. Although life gets fast and busy, it is always worth it to eat breakfast.