"Breakfast is the most important meal of the day" is the tired cliche we've heard since childhood. What may be new is the importance of what and how much to eat for the morning meal.
In French, petit dejeuner means breakfast. This means tiny. But we certainly don't think in those terms when it comes to breakfast.
On my last excursion to Montréal and Quebec City, I got an opportunity to experience the two sizes of breakfast. I chased down bagels at St. Viateur all three mornings I was there in Montréal. Yes, I tried the Fairmount. By regular bagel standards, the Fairmount was pretty good. The onion bagel I purchased was cold but pretty light. But it couldn't sit in the same room as the St. Viateur. Each sesame bagel I bought was hot, smelled wonderful, and was amazingly light. My only complaint at St. Viateur was not being able to get butter.
On the morning that I got the Fairmount, I still went over to St. Viateur.
In Montréal, I truly had a petit dejeuner. Since I was moving pretty quickly, I needed energy and one bagel was enough without being too much.
By contrast in Quebec City, I stayed at a bed and breakfast. I had crepes with maple syrup the first morning. I added blueberry yogurt and a small glass of orange juice. That morning, I felt weighed down.
On Day 2, I went a protein route with fried eggs, bacon, toast, and blueberry yogurt. I had initially used one bread slice for toast, then added another. I felt I had enough carbohydrates, but the protein wasn't ideal. Better than Day 1, but still didn't feel great.
On Day 3, I had crepes with bacon. I got fewer crepes because I got the bacon. With the blueberry yogurt and milk, I had the best of those days, but they weren't as energy efficient as one light sesame bagel in Montréal.
You could easily argue that the Quebec breakfasts wouldn't work because I wasn't used to having so much food. True, but is it better to eat tons of food to start your day or just enough to get the motor running?
I have tried huge amounts of food for breakfast and smaller amounts as well. I know what works well for me.
When I was in Montréal in 2002, I stayed at a bed and breakfast. Back then, I ate what I wanted, so I looked forward to eating a lot at breakfast. And those breakfasts were good, but now they would seem too much.
So why did I stay at a bed and breakfast in Quebec in 2009? I wanted to test my theory. And I know which breakfast worked for me: Montréal all the way.
My petit dejeuner experiences in Paris were small and beautiful. And they gave me plenty of energy.
The truth is that unlimited food can be too tempting, speaking from personal experience. And unlimited to start the day is more than I can handle. Even as much as I ate in Quebec, I cut myself far short of what I would have done under 2002 rules.
So I know now that bed and breakfasts won't do me much good any more. But if I do stay there, I will have to limit my intake if I want to be at my best.