Skipping dinner: Is it as bad as skipping breakfast?

Icebunny33

I know that countless nutritional advice says that skipping breakfast is bad and should never happen and that there is some info out there that suggests the breakfast should be your biggest meal of the day. But for me personally... I cant eat first thing in the morning. For some reason it makes me nauseated. So I'll have something like a breakfast bar or a quick homemade breakfast sandwhich on the go. My biggest meal is usually lunch and if its big enough, I will sometimes skip dinner entirely. Is this a bad thing to do?

sarbear112084

You will probably get a lot of different opinions on this. I personally don't think so. I mean, if you aren't hungry when dinner time comes around...then why force yourself to eat?? I would say it is only bad if you are ignoring your body signals. If you had a big lunch, and find yourself hungry for dinner, dont skip dinner but instead just have something light. Some veggies, or fruit, a hard boiled eggs, or homemade light popcorn. I personally have found better success is paying attention to actual hunger pangs instead of eating because it's dinner time. Hope that helps! Good luck

tammyc226

for weight loss timing of meals makes no difference.

joneallen

Bad? No. Meal timing is irrelevant. Total daily calories are what counts.

Icebunny33

sarbear112084 wrote: »

You will probably get a lot of different opinions on this. I personally don't think so. I mean, if you aren't hungry when dinner time comes around...then why force yourself to eat?? I would say it is only bad if you are ignoring your body signals. If you had a big lunch, and find yourself hungry for dinner, dont skip dinner but instead just have something light. Some veggies, or fruit, a hard boiled eggs, or homemade light popcorn. I personally have found better success is paying attention to actual hunger pangs instead of eating because it's dinner time. Hope that helps! Good luck

Thanks for the advice! Im still trying to master good eating habits and really understand the difference between when my body is physically hungry and when its just emotionally hungry. I try not to force myself to eat when im not hungry while also trying not to eat until im full. Its a delicate balance that I dont always get right but I want to make sure that no matter what I do, Im being safe. Thanks for the advice!

SwankyTomato

Eat when you are hungry is my opinion.

Of course this is assuming you are eating proper nutrition/calories day to day.

I like to EAT so I try and keep my meals at 300-500 cals per meal. Do what works for you.

PRMinx

I think it totally depends on your schedule. Meal timing isn't important.

I've skipped dinner sometimes. No biggie. BUT, I can't if I plan on hitting the gym the next morning. Nope nope nope. I would pass out!

MB_Positif

joneallen wrote: »

Bad? No. Meal timing is irrelevant. Total daily calories are what counts.

This. Keep it simple. Just eat food. I personally...could not skip dinner. I am a very hungry girl.

hortensehildegarde

for me personally, eating soon after I first wake up has the same effect. Some days I'd go all day without eating and then eat my 1700 calories (or whatever my target was that day) in the last few hours before bed.

It took me a long long time to stop worrying about silly advice regarding when to eat. I eat whenever I feel it works to eat to facilitate me staying within my calories goals and keeping me not miserable.

It was hard to learn to stop overcomplicating what really is a pretty simple process!

Foxgym

This is interesting: (in regard to the 'should we have breakfast question that is).
http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2013/08/06/a-beginners-guide-to-intermittent-fasting/

VeryKatie

Technically, the whole breakfast thing is based on correlation, not causation - meaning experts have seen a trend that people who eat breakfast are better at managing their weight. However, there is no proof that they are better at managing their weight BECAUSE they eat breakfast. Just because there is a trend does not mean it is cause and effect. At least that's my take.

If you feel more comfortable with one big meal a day, and maybe some light snacks at other times, I say go for it. However, it will be important to make sure that one big meal has all your calories (that you're not under eating), as well as all your daily macro (protein, carbs, fats) and micro (calcium, iron, fibre, B12, folate, copper, vitamins C, A, K, E, D, etc....) nutrients. I think some people might find that easier to plan if it's in several meals, but that doesn't make it impossible. This is to make sure your body is well nourished and doesn't become deficient in anything essential.

(Edited to rearrange the vitamin letters to spell "Caked". Just because.)

LavenderLeaves

Like the others said already, do what helps you eat what you need to be eating to meet your goals for the day. If eating a lighter/no breakfast in the morning doesn't contribute to you overeating later in the day, then don't eat breakfast. I myself just hate going to bed on a full stomach so I eat very light if I end up eating after 7pm. Typically I'm pretty hungry an hour after waking up, and eating breakfast very much helps me regulate my eating for the rest of the day. If it doesn't make a difference for you, it's fine

Icebunny33

Wow you guys, thanks so much. This is a wealth of info to look into. Like I said, my overall goal is to have better eating habits (not overeating, not constant snacking, eating healthier, etc) and I just want to make sure Im doing this right. Thanks so much for the input!

honeybee739

I don't eat dinner. Usually. I usually eat between 7 and 4ish then stop. I don't even count calories, just eat what I feel like eating and I lose weight. Some people think you have to eat every 3 hours and so many calories or your body will go into "starvation mode." When in reality, the human body doesn't really NEED as much food as we have come accustomed to thinking we need.

AllonsYtotheTardis

The only reason that skipping meals is a problem is that, for many people, is causes them to be super hungry at the next meal and they then overeat.

If you want to eat your entire day's worth of calories in a 4-hour window, or eat only 2 meals, or spread it out over the whole day and 6 mini-meals, it makes no difference to weight loss.

Time it however it makes most sense for you.

Evenstranger

There's an old proverb that one should eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, dinner like a pauper, the logic being if the majority of your calories are earlier in the day, there's more time to burn them before sleeping. May not make any difference at all, but worth trying if you aren't that hungry in the evening anyway.