Shadowing Practice: Is Breakfast Really the Most Important Meal of the Day? | Easy English Conversation for Beginners 03 - Learn English Speaking with YouTube
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Do you wake up late and run to work without eating anything?
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Do you wake up late and run to work without eating anything?
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Or do you skip breakfast because you think it will help you lose weight?
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Welcome back to Everyday English Talk.
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I'm Ben.
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And I'm Anna.
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Hello everyone.
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Today we are talking about a very interesting health topic.
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It is a big question for many people.
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Exactly.
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We are looking at morning habits.
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Is breakfast really the most important meal of the day?
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I am always too busy for breakfast.
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And I want to lose fat,
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so I just drink black coffee.
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Is that bad, Ben?
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Oh, I definitely think you need to change that habit.
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Let's get into it.
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So, let's talk about the problem first.
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Every morning, my alarm rings and I am already late.
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I have no time to cook.
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That is a very normal morning for many people.
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So, what do you do about food?
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I do not eat anything.
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I completely skip my breakfast.
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I just drink a large cup of black coffee and run out the door.
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To skip something means you choose not to do it.
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You choose not to eat your morning meal.
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Exactly.
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I skip it because I am busy,
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but also for another reason.
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I read on the internet that not eating in the morning is a great way to burn fat.
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Ah, yes.
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Many people talk about intermittent fasting right now.
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It is a very popular trend to lose weight.
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Right.
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So I think, this is perfect.
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I save time and I get thin.
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But there is a big problem.
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What happens when you get to the office?
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How do you feel?
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For the first hour, I feel okay because of the coffee.
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But around 10 or 11 o'clock, I feel terrible.
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How exactly do you feel terrible?
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Tell me the symptoms.
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I feel incredibly hungry.
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My stomach makes loud noises.
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I feel very tired.
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My hands start to shake a little bit,
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and I cannot focus on my work at all.
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That sounds awful.
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Your brain is basically shutting down before lunchtime.
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Yes.
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I look at the clock and wait for lunchtime like a crazy person.
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Why does this happen?
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I thought skipping breakfast was a healthy hack for my body.
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That is a very big misconception.
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A wrong idea.
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People think they can trick their bodies.
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They think, if I eat less often,
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I will automatically lose weight and look great.
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That is exactly what I thought.
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I thought my body would just use my belly fat for energy.
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It sounds logical, but your body does not work like a simple machine.
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When you do not eat for a very long time, your body panics.
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It thinks you are starving
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so my body thinks there is no food in the world yes
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and because of this panic you actually create more problems for your weight
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and your health wow so my morning coffee habit is actually making me tired
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and not helping me lose weight exactly we need to look inside the body to see what happens
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when you go to work with an empty stomach let's find
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out the truth welcome back everyone let's look at the facts first we need to carefully understand what happens
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while you are sleeping at night
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well i am just resting in my bed my body is doing nothing at all not exactly your body is resting
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but it is also fasting that means you are not eating
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or drinking anything for seven or eight hours
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that is true i definitely do not eat while i am asleep
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so when you wake up in the morning your blood sugar is naturally very low blood sugar what does
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that phrase mean blood sugar is the main energy floating in
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your blood it comes directly from the food you eat it is the essential energy
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that makes your brain think and your muscles move.
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Okay, I understand that.
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So in the morning, my blood sugar is very low because I haven't eaten food for a very long time.
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Yes, think about your mobile phone.
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When you wake up, your phone battery is at 100% because you plugged it in all night.
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But your human body's battery,
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your blood sugar, is completely empty.
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Oh, so my body battery is almost dead when I wake up.
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Exactly.
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And what do you do?
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You go straight to the office.
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You use your brain to read complex emails.
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You use your body to walk around.
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But you do not give your body any new energy.
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No wonder my hands shake at 11 o'clock.
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My poor brain has zero energy to work.
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Right.
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This brings us to fact number two, the dangerous overeating trap.
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The overeating trap?
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But I am trying to eat less food so I can lose weight.
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I know you are trying to be healthy,
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but when your blood sugar is extremely low, your brain panics.
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It sends a very strong emergency signal to your stomach.
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What kind of emergency signal?
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The signal makes you crave bad food.
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To crave means to want to eat something very, very badly.
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You cannot stop thinking about the food.
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That is so incredibly true.
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At 11 o'clock, I don't want a healthy green salad.
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I crave a huge greasy hamburger,
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or a big slice of pizza, or three chocolate donuts.
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exactly When you are starving,
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you do not make smart, healthy choices.
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You just want fast energy right now.
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So, when lunchtime finally comes,
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you eat way too much food.
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You eat many more calories than if you had just eaten a normal breakfast.
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Oh no. So I skip breakfast to lose weight,
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but then I eat a giant lunch and gain weight instead?
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That is terrible.
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Yes, that is the trap.
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So, what is the best solution?
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How do we fix this morning problem easily?
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Please tell me, Ben.
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I want to have good energy,
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and I do not want to crave donuts every day at my desk.
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Solution number one is very simple.
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You must fuel up your body in the morning.
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Fuel up?
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Like putting gas in a car at a gas station?
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Yes, exactly.
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To fuel up means to give your body the energy it needs to start the day.
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If you want to drive a car,
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you have to put gas in it first.
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If you want to use your brain,
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you must put food in your stomach first.
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That makes perfect sense to me.
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I cannot drive an empty car,
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so I need to fuel up.
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But Ben, what should I eat?
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Can I just eat a sweet cookie with my coffee?
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No, that is the worst thing you can do for your body.
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A sweet cookie will give you energy for 20 minutes and then you will crash and feel tired again.
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This is solution number two.
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You need a protein-rich breakfast.
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Protein-rich?
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What kind of food is that?
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Is it hard to find?
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Not at all.
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Protein-rich food simply has a lot of protein in it.
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Protein is the strong stuff that builds your muscles and keeps your stomach feeling full for a very long time.
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Great examples are eggs, milk,
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plain yogurt, chicken, or nuts.
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Oh, I see.
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So a protein-rich meal is much better than a sugary sweet meal.
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Much better.
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If you eat two boiled eggs and an apple,
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your blood sugar will go up slowly and stay perfectly steady.
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You will have great, calm energy all morning.
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You will not feel hungry at all until lunchtime.
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That sounds absolutely amazing.
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But Ben, we still have a big problem.
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What is the problem, Anna?
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I told you, I am always late in the morning.
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I do not have time to cook eggs or fry chicken.
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I only have 5 minutes before I have to leave my house.
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That is a very common problem for busy people.
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And that is exactly why we have solution number 3.
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Prepare your food the night before.
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Prepare it at night?
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Like, cook my breakfast after I eat my dinner?
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Yes, it is so incredibly easy.
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You can boil three or four eggs on Sunday night and keep them safe in the fridge.
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In the morning, you just take one egg,
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peel the shell, and eat it.
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It takes one minute.
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Wow, that is really fast.
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And an egg is a great protein-rich food, right?
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Yes, it is perfect.
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Or, you can put some dry oats and milk in a glass jar before you go to sleep.
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Put it in the fridge overnight.
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In the morning, you have a delicious,
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cold meal, completely ready to eat.
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That is brilliant.
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I do not have to cook anything in the morning.
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I can just open the fridge,
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take my prepared food, and fuel up my body.
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Exactly.
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It only takes five short minutes of planning at night to save your entire morning.
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You will have more steady energy,
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you will work much better,
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and you will not gain weight from eating fast food at lunch.
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This is wonderful, practical advice, Ben.
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I am going to boil some eggs tonight.
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Tomorrow morning, I will definitely not skip my breakfast.
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So, let's quickly recap today's episode.
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Skipping breakfast can make you very tired and cause you to eat too much junk food later in the day.
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Exactly.
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Listen to your body and give it good energy in the morning.
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Now, let's review five important words from today's talk.
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Ben, what is number one?
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Number one is skip.
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To skip means to choose not to do something or not to have something.
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For example, skipping breakfast means you choose not to eat it.
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Number two is blood sugar.
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This is the main energy in your blood that comes from food.
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It gives your brain and muscles the power to work.
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Number three is crave.
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To crave means to want to eat something very badly.
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When you are starving, you often crave unhealthy, sweet foods.
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Number four is fuel up.
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This is a great phrasal verb.
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It means to give your body the energy it needs,
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just like putting gas into a car.
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You must fuel up in the morning.
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And the last one, number five, is protein rich.
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This describes food that has a lot of protein, like eggs and meat.
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It keeps you feeling full for a long time.
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That is all for today's episode of Everyday English Talk.
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We hope you learned something new and useful for your busy mornings.
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So what about you?
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Tell us, what did you eat for breakfast today?
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Do you usually skip it?
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Leave a comment below and let us know.
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Thank you so much for listening.
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We will see you in the next episode.
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And always remember, keep moving, keep smiling.
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About This Lesson
In this lesson, you will practice English conversation skills centered around the topic of breakfast and morning habits. The discussion features Ben and Anna, who explore the importance of breakfast, common excuses for skipping it, and the effects on health and productivity. By engaging with their dialogue, you will enhance your listening skills, vocabulary, and speaking fluency, making it a great opportunity for English speaking practice.
Key Vocabulary & Phrases
- Skip: To choose not to do something; in this context, not eating breakfast.
- Intermittent fasting: A popular eating pattern that alternates between eating and fasting periods, often used for weight loss.
- Symptoms: Physical signs or feelings indicating a problem; here, it refers to feelings of hunger or fatigue.
- Focus: The ability to concentrate on a task or activity.
- Terrible: Very bad or unpleasant; describing how one might feel when skipping breakfast.
- Burn fat: To lose body fat, often discussed in relation to dieting and metabolism.
- Cup of black coffee: A common morning beverage that does not contain cream or sugar.
- Morning habits: Routine actions taken in the morning, such as eating breakfast or drinking coffee.
Practice Tips
To make the most of this lesson, consider using the shadowing technique while listening to the dialogue. This involves listening to Ben and Anna and immediately repeating what they say, mimicking their tone and pacing. Focus on their delivery, as it reflects natural English spoken at a conversational speed. You can start by repeating short phrases before attempting longer sentences. This will not only help improve your English pronunciation but also enhance your listening comprehension and speaking fluency through shadowspeak.
Be mindful of pauses and intonation; by imitating how they express feelings about breakfast, you can better understand how emotions are conveyed in English. Additionally, try recording yourself while you practice. Comparing your pronunciation to theirs will allow you to identify areas for improvement. Regular use of this technique in your English speaking practice will significantly develop your language skills, making you feel more confident in conversations. Remember, the goal is to be comfortable and natural in your speech!
What is the Shadowing Technique?
Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.
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