CHAPTER 4

The New Abs Diet Breakfasts

IF YOU’RE LIKE MOST PEOPLE, here’s what a typical workaday breakfast

looks like.

6:30 A.M.: Stumble from bedroom into kitchen.

6:31 A.M.: Turn on light.

6:31:01 A.M.: Ouch! Curse light.

6:35 A.M.: Press button on coffee machine. Feel around in pantry for

something that feels vaguely like a cereal box. Dump contents into

bowl.

6:37 A.M.: Open fridge. Ouch! Curse light again. Grab milk.

6:38 A.M.: Pour milk into bowl.

6:40 A.M.: Spoon into mouth. Chew and swallow.

Ten minutes of boring repetition—the same coffee, the same cold

cereal, the same milk stains on your bathrobe, week after week, month

after month. It’s no wonder so many of us just skip breakfast altogether.

It’s hard to get excited when you’re eating the same meal in December

that you were eating last January.

But while you may think that skipping breakfast is a way to cut

calories, you’re wrong. It’s actually one of the best ways to add pounds

to your frame. In fact, people who skip breakfast are 450 percent more

likely to be obese than those who eat it on a regular basis, according to a

study at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. Why?

Because eating breakfast wakes up your metabolism and starts your