The science of skipping breakfast - WaPo

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Replies

  • DeguelloTex
    DeguelloTex Posts: 6,652 Member
    If I eat oatmeal and brown sugar four hours after I get up is it breakfast?
  • suruda
    suruda Posts: 1,233 Member
    BACON!!! Yum...any time of day.
  • Athijade
    Athijade Posts: 3,300 Member
    I just can't eat in the mornings. It takes a few hours before I can even stomach the thought of food. I have always been that way. Every so often I wake up hungry and will indulge, but that is very very rare.

    Plus, not eating breakfast helps me control my calories better. I don't feel as stressed about what I have left.
  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,151 Member
    kkenseth wrote: »
    But breakfast is like the best meal, ever! Why would anyone ever want to skip it?

    Only at night!
  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,151 Member
    zyxst wrote: »
    Can I come over?
    candied_bacon_belgian_waffles_2.JPG

    GIMME!
  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
    Liftng4Lis wrote: »
    zyxst wrote: »
    Can I come over?
    candied_bacon_belgian_waffles_2.JPG

    GIMME!

    Everybody is invited. I'll fire up the griddle.
  • 970Mikaela1
    970Mikaela1 Posts: 2,013 Member
    zyxst wrote: »
    jemhh wrote: »
    Breakfast for dinner is the best. Yum. My husband is not a big fan so we don't have it often. When he's out of town, the #1 meal my daughter requests for dinner is waffles and bacon and strawberry sauce.
    Can I come over?
    candied_bacon_belgian_waffles_2.JPG

    Them there waffles are the only thing I've not yet figured out how to fit them in.....makes me sad.. But binge worthy....
  • CSARdiver
    CSARdiver Posts: 6,252 Member
    Wife must have been stalking me yesterday - came home to over 4lbs of bacon!
  • gaborszollosy
    gaborszollosy Posts: 70 Member
    jemhh wrote: »
    This Washington Post article/blog entry about how the idea that skipping breakfast causes weight gain was written into the US dietary guidelines came across my feed today. It's an interesting read.

    I barely eat anything for breakfast and I'm losing about 200-250 g daily. I began on the 20th of July, and I've lost 6 kgs so far, so I guess it works out for me pretty well.
  • kdoodlethug
    kdoodlethug Posts: 24 Member
    kkenseth wrote: »
    But breakfast is like the best meal, ever! Why would anyone ever want to skip it?

    For me it's because skipping breakfast means I get to sleep just a little bit later! Also because I have a meal plan at school and tend to need to budget it out for about two meals a day. In high school I rarely ate breakfast too, but that was mostly in favor of sleep.
  • canary_girl
    canary_girl Posts: 366 Member
    No thanks to breakfast as in eating first thing in the morning, but if you're talking omelets for dinner....I'm in.

    WSS^^^
  • Ruatine
    Ruatine Posts: 3,424 Member
    I used to skip breakfast so I could have more later in the day, but I found that I felt really tired mid-morning. Now I generally have a packet of oatmeal and some kind of protein (at least during the work week) and my energy level stays quite high throughout the day.
  • Kexessa
    Kexessa Posts: 346 Member
    I never eat breakfast. I get up between 5-7am and don't eat until 11am - noon because I'm not hungry until then. Usually I go out and skate around 9ish so after that and showering that's about right for me. And then I have a big spinach salad with chicken and cheese and stuff.

    But eggs for dinner are a go!
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
    vismal wrote: »
    kkenseth wrote: »
    But breakfast is like the best meal, ever! Why would anyone ever want to skip it?
    Because many people find it far more satisfying to eat less often but bigger meals. Any time I eat in a calorie deficit, I eat all of my calories between 4pm and midnight. I have skipped breakfast for years. I would simply rather have more calories later in the day. In reality, breakfast is irrelevant as far as weight loss is concerned. It's totally about calories in vs out, not the time of day you consume them. If eating a breakfast helps you stick to your calorie deficit, than by all means, eat breakfast. If you are like me (and just about anyone else who does intermittent fasting), you might find skipping breakfast is actually the key to sticking to your deficit.

    sarcasm fail...
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,973 Member
    kkenseth wrote: »
    But breakfast is like the best meal, ever! Why would anyone ever want to skip it?
    According to whom? I skip it daily. Best meal is usually the one I look forward to that particular day.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

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  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
    ninerbuff wrote: »
    kkenseth wrote: »
    But breakfast is like the best meal, ever! Why would anyone ever want to skip it?
    According to whom? I skip it daily. Best meal is usually the one I look forward to that particular day.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

    9285851.png

    I think you are taking that post too literally...
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,973 Member
    kkenseth wrote: »
    vismal wrote: »
    kkenseth wrote: »
    But breakfast is like the best meal, ever! Why would anyone ever want to skip it?
    Because many people find it far more satisfying to eat less often but bigger meals. Any time I eat in a calorie deficit, I eat all of my calories between 4pm and midnight. I have skipped breakfast for years. I would simply rather have more calories later in the day. In reality, breakfast is irrelevant as far as weight loss is concerned. It's totally about calories in vs out, not the time of day you consume them. If eating a breakfast helps you stick to your calorie deficit, than by all means, eat breakfast. If you are like me (and just about anyone else who does intermittent fasting), you might find skipping breakfast is actually the key to sticking to your deficit.

    It wasn't really a serious question... I'm well aware of why people choose it, and that's their choice. But....bacon.
    Lol, I eat bacon whenever I can. Had a BLT for lunch yesterday.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

    9285851.png

  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,973 Member
    edited August 2015
    MKEgal wrote: »
    According to the National Weight Control Registry, a large percentage of people who have successfully lost weight & kept it off eat breakfast.
    According to IHOP, there are lots of people who eat breakfast and are overweight.
    It's great for correlation, but eating breakfast isn't the cause. Eating the right amount of calories daily is.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

    9285851.png

  • ki4eld
    ki4eld Posts: 1,213 Member
    Breakfast is of De Debil! Repent.

    No really, breakfast usually makes me barf. I'm eating sunflower seeds this morning less than 6 hours after waking. It's a banner day for early eating for me.
  • CSARdiver
    CSARdiver Posts: 6,252 Member
    The key element in all these "studies" that is continually lost is that those who maintain a healthy weight follow a routine. Doesn't really matter so much what the routine is, just as long as people follow it and it doesn't result in caloric surplus.

  • jmac4263
    jmac4263 Posts: 245 Member
    Funny that this post came up today because on my way to work I was listening to the radio and their topic was also about breakfast. A study was done about those who ate a light breakfast-fiberful, and those who skipped.... proclaiming that those who skipped breakfast lost weight compaired to those who didnt. I had to shake my head because of two reasons

    1. How do we know their diets the rest of the day were the same, unless this was the case its not really a valid study to say those who didnt eat breakfast lost weight.

    2. skip breakfast or not its CICO

    Oh the things we hear and read are just silly sometimes!!! I for one had breakfast this morning and enjoyed all 300 calories :)
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    edited August 2015
    I don't understand the whole breakfast debate. I really don't.

    I eat my last meal at 7pm on good days. Typically, it's around 6pm. I have breakfast at 7am. So it's 13 hours without food.

    My husband often skips breakfast, but he snacks until 11pm. So he has lunch at noon... and it's, guess what, 13 hours without food.

    WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE?

    I just don't get it at all.
    Kalikel wrote: »
    I'm a fan of breakfast. Wasn't always - I converted.

    Except for one former poster who was obsessed with the elimination of breakfast, I haven't really seen anyone with a strong opinion on whether or not others should eat breakfast.

    Lol I know exactly who you are talking about.

    And yeah, I'm in the 'I love breakfast food' camp but I have no problem having any kind of food at any time of the day, really.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    kkenseth wrote: »
    But breakfast is like the best meal, ever! Why would anyone ever want to skip it?

    For me it's because skipping breakfast means I get to sleep just a little bit later! Also because I have a meal plan at school and tend to need to budget it out for about two meals a day. In high school I rarely ate breakfast too, but that was mostly in favor of sleep.

    I never ate breakfast in high school or really through my 20s (I didn't gain weight til my late 20s, and I gained in periods when I was eating breakfast and not, just as I was thin/lost weight in periods in which I've eaten breakfast or not).

    Anyway, the reason I didn't before was precisely that, I preferred to sleep later (to the extent possible).

    Weirdly in my mid to late 30s I started getting up around 6 without an alarm clock and now it's usually around 5. This converting to a morning person thing is so strange.

    Anyway, now I like breakfast. (By which I simply mean a meal before I go to work. Those saying everyone in English speaking countries eats breakfast in that everyone breaks their fast at some point are, of course, correct.)
  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
    edited August 2015
    I was curious as to what percentage of the general population eats breakfast--is it higher or lowr than the percentage of breakfast eaters with long term weight loss success per the National Weight Control Registry?

    I found this food market research study that indicated that between 72% and 89% of males and 82% and 90% of females (depending on age group) ate breakfast during the study's time period.

    Then I found this , which found that 80% of Americans eat breakfast on any given day.

    It doesn't seem like 78% of long term weight losers who eat breakfast is significantly higher/lower than breakfast eaters in the population at large.
  • msharrington315
    msharrington315 Posts: 199 Member
    kkenseth wrote: »
    But breakfast is like the best meal, ever! Why would anyone ever want to skip it?

    I agree. I love breakfast too! Though I don't always eat "breakfast" foods. Sometimes I eat my lunch first!
  • snikkins
    snikkins Posts: 1,282 Member
    lemurcat12 wrote: »
    kkenseth wrote: »
    But breakfast is like the best meal, ever! Why would anyone ever want to skip it?

    For me it's because skipping breakfast means I get to sleep just a little bit later! Also because I have a meal plan at school and tend to need to budget it out for about two meals a day. In high school I rarely ate breakfast too, but that was mostly in favor of sleep.

    I never ate breakfast in high school or really through my 20s (I didn't gain weight til my late 20s, and I gained in periods when I was eating breakfast and not, just as I was thin/lost weight in periods in which I've eaten breakfast or not).

    Anyway, the reason I didn't before was precisely that, I preferred to sleep later (to the extent possible).

    Weirdly in my mid to late 30s I started getting up around 6 without an alarm clock and now it's usually around 5. This converting to a morning person thing is so strange.

    Anyway, now I like breakfast. (By which I simply mean a meal before I go to work. Those saying everyone in English speaking countries eats breakfast in that everyone breaks their fast at some point are, of course, correct.)


    See, I like to sleep in AND eat breakfast. I'm lucky enough to have a Hubster who will help me accommodate that.

    Though, I really need to try the overnight oats thing.

  • krystleLD25
    krystleLD25 Posts: 21 Member
    I LOVE breakfast but I rarely get up in time to have a decent one. however, I don't like not eating something either bc I get really tired. Im also starving by lunch so I would tend to over indulge. what I do now, I either make smoothies (not large ones bc I cant do that much when I 1st wake up) or I get the pureed fruit packs and I drink those on my way to work. not too heavy on the belly either. now.... I will kill some BAE (bacon and eggs) for dinner time. im a HUGE fan of brinner
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    jemhh wrote: »
    I was curious as to what percentage of the general population eats breakfast--is it higher or lowr than the percentage of breakfast eaters with long term weight loss success per the National Weight Control Registry?

    I found this food market research study that indicated that between 72% and 89% of males and 82% and 90% of females (depending on age group) ate breakfast during the study's time period.

    Then I found this , which found that 80% of Americans eat breakfast on any given day.

    It doesn't seem like 78% of long term weight losers who eat breakfast is significantly higher/lower than breakfast eaters in the population at large.

    That's always been my suspicion, so thanks for doing the actual research.
  • beemerphile1
    beemerphile1 Posts: 1,710 Member
    No matter what time of day, everyone without exception eats breakfast. You fast when you sleep and your first meal 'breaks' the 'fast'.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,973 Member
    Go with statistics: 65% of US people are overweight or obese. If 80% are eating breakfast, can we correlate that eating breakfast may be making them fat too?

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

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