Which is the most critical meal of the day?

Before deciding which is the most critical meal of the day for you, it would be good to understand at which points in the day are you the most energetic, capable of making sound logical decisions and when you feel a bit drained and lack focus.

Observe your own habits for at least a week.

As a practicing nutritionist since a decade, I always did not fit the bill of breakfast should be your heaviest meal. Below are some observations:

1. Breakfast: While I require this meal to start my day, I cannot have a heavy one for sure. It simply slows me down especially on days of travel, it would result in severe motion sickness.

2. Lunch: A meal I really looked forward to as it broke the work day and allowed a complete recharge.

3. Snack: Definitely entices me but has to be light and not anything too elaborate.

4. Dinner: The time of the day that is the most relaxed, sharing a meal with family or post walk high protein munching that gives a boost to all the feel good hormones.

Now contrary to research that emphasized on breakfast being the most critical

meal of the day, for me my lunch and/or evening snack is what mattered the most. It typically coincides with the work I indulge in. In the morn, I enjoy analytical tasks that mainly involved improving product designs, fixing technical concerns, making decisions on strategic projects and creating new ideas. Most of my focus work involving detailed analysis of product checks, reviewing excels takes place at late noon and early evening. How well balanced my lunch is, decides how long I take for my focus tasks. In my case, lunch is always heavier than breakfast. And when lunch was not satisfying enough, snacking was imperative.

This reality check made sense to me since I have never really been a morning person. My circadian rhythm clearly complimented my work style as well as what I put on my plate. How then does one decide which is the most important meal of the day? Firstly, do not follow breakfast cereal brands and release research to support their claims but serve you high sugar for a start of the day. Secondly, do not blindly follow fad diets like intermittent fasting and skipping a breakfast altogether without understanding what your body needs.

Each of us has an optimal functioning time of the day, post which our energy levels drop. Whether they then rise again or further decline depends on if we get a good break to rest and nourish ourselves. Identify your body clock and work on the meal that is just before the time you usually notice the decline in metabolism kickstarting and focus to make it complete.

Long story short, only you can decide what is best for your body if you pay attention to it. It does not mean that you have to skip meals or food groups, but you have to work on making each meal a source of protein and fibre along with the carbs. There ratios and portions of macronutrients can be altered in each meal to make your meal compatible with your lifestyle. Get rid of the guilt of not doing it right and start working on aligning with your body’s natural rhythm which will also change with age, time of the day, illness and sleep patterns. Own your meal!