I run 3.5 to 5 miles each day at 6:30 a.m., followed by a breakfast of two hard-boiled eggs and a piece of toast. By 10:30 a.m., I needed to eat lunch and by 2:00 p.m., I was falling asleep at my desk.

During the pandemic, I decided to make changes and registered for the Suppers Breakfast Challenge. I was not expecting much, but during the challenge, I realized that I had been starving myself for years. My doctor told me I wasn’t eating enough, but I blew her off.

The Breakfast Challenge has changed the way I look at food. I learned how important the right foods and the amount of those foods are for energy and cognitive function. I am not eating lunch at 10:30 a.m. anymore and I am not falling asleep at my desk because I am eating a proper nutritious breakfast. My running time has definitely improved. My ability to concentrate and focus has improved greatly. I assumed that these decreases were part of getting old, but in my case, it was actually the lack of good food.