Breakfast for Athletes [5 Reasons It’s Essential]

Is breakfast really the most important meal of the day?

YES. Breakfast is the most important meal for athletes.

We’ve heard this from moms, dads, coaches, teachers and everyone in between. 

Do athletes need to eat breakfast?

YES. Breakfast, is the most important meal for athletes because it sets you up for success for the rest of the day. Skipping breakfast may be one of the biggest nutrition related mistakes an athlete makes. (1)

What is breakfast?

Breakfast is the first meal of the day, eaten within 2 hours of waking up and before you start daily activities. It should contain about 25-35% of your daily calories needs.

There’s no specific “breakfast” food. Rather, you just need to eat something within 2 hours of waking up.

Preferably, athletes choose one of the healthy choices we’ll discuss later. And check out our post on what to eat before soccer practice in the morning or the best foods to eat on game day. 

What’s the importance of breakfast for athletes 

The importance of breakfast for athletes is that athletes need to maintain and replenish energy stores and nutrients consistently for optimal performance.

By starting off with a good meal at the start of the day, you’ll make sure to get the energy you need to fuel your performance.

Therefore, you need to develop a routine of eating well balanced meals and snacks throughout the day.

In fact, skipping breakfast reduces your endurance for an evening practice. This happens even if you eat a hearty lunch or squeeze in a snack. (3)

Since your energy stores don’t get fully replenished, you’re more likely to be slower and tired.

And it’s harder to make up for that missed fuel. In fact, eating breakfast improves insulin sensitivity which helps your muscles store energy for activities throughout the day (and practice or games!) (4)

This can continue supporting any recovery from intense bouts of exercise the day before.

Why should athletes eat breakfast?

There are 5 key reasons that athletes should eat breakfast: helps to meet nutrient needs, provides an energy boost to improve performance, maintains attention and focus, builds and maintains muscles and creates satiety.

Read below for more details on these reasons:

• Helps you meet your nutrient needs. Athletes have an increased need for key nutrients to support energy use, muscle growth and overall health. Eating breakfast regularly tends to result in a nutrient profile rich in fiber, calcium, vitamins A and C, riboflavin, zinc, and iron. (5)

• Provides an energy boost to improve performance. After many hours of sleep and “fasting” your muscle energy stores are depleted. Breakfast boosts your energy stores to get you through your morning routine. Additionally, you’ll get a jump on meeting your energy needs for the day, so that you are ready for your sports performance. 

• Maintains attention and focus. Breakfast provides your brain with nutrients to maintain your focus. In children, an adequate breakfast improves attention, problem solving and memory performance. (6, 7). As you know, an athlete needs this for success  on the field and in the classroom. 

• Builds and maintains muscles. Eating breakfast has been shown to help prevent muscle protein breakdown.(8) It helps to maintain your muscle mass. In fact eating protein at breakfast is associated with higher muscle strength. (9)

• Creates satiety. Eating breakfast provides a feeling of fullness. This helps you eat steadily and balance your energy needs throughout the day. You’ll be less likely to overeat at later meals (10) and more likely to eat healthier since you won’t be starving and reaching for the first thing you can find. 

What if you’re not hungry?

Some athletes say they don’t eat breakfast in the morning because they don’t feel hungry. Mostly this happens because your body adapts to not being fed. Or perhaps extra snacking late at night causes you to feel full.

You don’t need to eat right when you wake up, but within a couple hours, you’ll want to have something. Start with smaller portions or perhaps a smoothie. 

What if there’s no time? 

Lack of time has been shown to be one of the biggest barriers to eating breakfast, both for parents and kids alike. (11) Also, check out this post on what athletes can eat before an early morning practice.

Follow some of these tips and create a routine to give yourself time. 

What should an athlete eat for breakfast

An athlete should eat a breakfast that meets about 25-35% of daily calories needs with a mix of high carbohydrate, moderate protein and low fat.

Breakfasts that give the most energy are high in carbohydrates like oatmeal, pancakes, fruit and granola, toast with fruit and high fiber cereal.

You can pair an energy rich carbohydrate with protein to create a high protein breakfast that can also help to build and repair muscle.

• Carbohydrate serves as the primary fuel source for muscles and most important for energy and performance.
• Protein provides the building blocks for muscles, ligaments and tendons. In addition, protein provides staying power to the meal because it takes longer to digest.
• Fat provides fuel for prolonged activity. It takes longer to digest and helps with satiety. And fat has another important role of helping to better absorb some vitamins.

Additionally, many of the “standard” breakfast foods, like high fiber cereal provide a good source of fiber and may be enriched with iron, calcium and other vitamins and minerals important in overall health.

What are some good breakfast ideas

Consider pairing the following carbohydrate and protein recommendations to make a “breakfast of champions:”

Breakfast Basics

Breakfast meal ideas

• Leftovers-thick crust pizza, Chinese food, burrito
• Breakfast burrito and fruit
• Smoothie with nut butter, fruit and kale
• Waffles with fruit and nuts, topped with greek yogurt
• Pita with hummus, falafel and veggies
• Omelette stuffed with veggies and a side of lean or plant based sausage
• Turkey sandwich with side of fruit
• Toast with avocado and fried egg
• Baked oatmeal with nuts, dried fruits and topped with greek yogurt
• Burrito bowl with lean or plant based breakfast sausage, salsa, avocado

Final thoughts

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day especially for athletes. If you want to have higher performance, train more effectively and have sustained energy throughout an activity, eat breakfast.

If breakfast hasn’t been part of your routine because you haven’t had time or it’s not been your thing, don’t worry. Start taking small steps to build healthy habits and pay attention to how much better you feel.

Use the suggestions for carbohydrates, protein and fat to build a meal that will fill you up and provide the energy you need to perform.

Check out our post on breakfast ideas for athletes for even more ways to fuel your day.

Let us know in the comments what you like for breakfast.