Breakfast

sjrutherf

I am finally taking the step and getting serious about trying to get healthier! I am very overweight and want to change that.

The question I have is about breakfast. I have always heard that breakfast is a must. I am trying to stay under the calories MFP has outlined for me, and it feels great getting to lunch and not having had any calories yet for the day. It also allows me to have a larger lunch. Is this detrimental to the weight loss process? I'm wondering if this is something I should work on changing.

Thank you for your time!

LAWoman72

If you do a search, you'll see lots of posts on this. Personal experience: No, I don't eat breakfast and yes, I'm losing. I have never been a big breakfast person. When I force it in because some conventional wisdom says I "have to", I'm more hungry than usual the rest of the day.

I believe the "breakfast is the most important meal of the day" bit was started by either Kellogg or Graham - can't remember which - somebody correct me. It was a marketing ploy, IIRC.

sjrutherf

I'm sorry. I tried searching it, but didn't find anything on the first few pages. Thank you for your input!

esjones12

I'm a believer that you can train your body to want food when you want to eat. I never used to eat breakfast, now I do. Personally it helps me feel more awake and gives me energy to get through my morning. I don't drink coffee or soda like some people to wake up. I eat food.

Honestly trial and error with when to eat, how much to eat, what to eat, etc. will be your best teacher on your journey.

Best of luck!

Leana088

You can consume your calories whenever and from whatever you want. If you are in a deficit, you will lose weight regardless of that.

A caloric deficit means there is an overall shortage of energy received from food, and it forces your body to use its reserved fat for energy to make up the shortage. It doesn't matter when you eat, day, night, even if you overeat one day and severly under eat the next, that shortage will still be there.

Wether you fill a cup of water halfway in the morning, in the evening, or in the afternoon, it will still just remain half full.

crystal8208

I don't think it really matters if you eat breakfast or not. Personally I eat something small for breakfast because I take a lot of vitamins in the morning and otherwise, I get a bit nauseous. That's the only reason. Otherwise, I didn't really do breakfast. I'm a fan of eat when you are hungry. Normally I'm not really hungry in the mornings, so I didn't eat breakfast regularly.

Phoenix_Down

Totally personal preference

For me, if I break my fast at noon, Im better satiated then if I had ate right when I woke up. I'm more of a volume eater, in that, if I graze all day, I'm always hungry but 3 or 4 large meals satiate me much better. Just have to play around with what works for your schedule and what makes you happy

KBurkhardt08

I think its definitely a personal preference. I'm one of those people that wake up hungry and I have to eat almost immediately. Its a bad situation if I don't. But if you don't feel the need to eat then don't. You could always have something small too if you tend to find yourself hungry way before lunch time.

Bella0531

Totally up to you. I used to do Intermittent Fasting (on a 16/8 schedule), but others go 20-22 hours before eating again and have had great results. I went back to eating breakfast to break a plateau (it worked!). Just do whatever works for you, that you can stick to.

diannethegeek

I'll add my vote to the personal preference answer. I tend to eat breakfast because it gives me more energy in the mornings, but I don't mistake that for a boost to my metabolism. And a lot of people feel worse after eating breakfast. If you want to skip breakfast, feel good doing it, and don't have any medical things that would make breakfast a must, then go for it.

TimothyFish

You don't have to eat breakfast, if you don't want to. For that matter, you could eat one meal a day, if that's what you want to do. Or you can graze all day, if you like. You just need to make sure you don't eat too many calories.

poetgirl115

The term breakfast literally means "the meal that breaks your fast." It's whichever meal is the first meal you consume in any given day, breaking the fast of the hours you sleep, when you are not eating or drinking. Personally, if I eat in the morning I feel nauseated for hours. The most I can do is drink something. I tend to have a fair-sized lunch and a large dinner, so I'm rarely hungry before noon.

In the end, if you want breakfast, eat it! If not, save the calories for lunch or a really good snack. No one body is exactly like another, and it won't react to food the same as another, either. Good Luck!

noaddedsugarx

I never eat breakfast and I'm totally fine. I have a black coffee before my workout and my first meal around lunch time. Again I think it's totally personal preference but I hate exercising with any food in my stomach my body just does not like it! Also I find it makes me hungrier for the rest of the day if I eat early therefore making my calories more and I just find it unnecessary. Do whatever suits you!