Skipping breakfast...thoughts?

mikethegrate

I'd always taken it as an article of faith that you need to eat breakfast if you want to lose weight (jumpstarting metabolism and all that). I've recently read some articles that indicate that the studies that supported that belief aren't as good as they were reported to be and that it really makes little significant difference whether you skip breakfast or now. Does anyone here skip breakfast on a regular basis? How does it affect your calorie consumption the rest of the day? My worry is that skipping breakfast will encourage me to over-do lunch. My breakfast now is typically a 190 calorie granola bar and some water. I think my diary is open if you want to check.

DemoraFairy

Meal timing doesn't matter at all, eat when you want.

There are a lot of threads on this.

DeguelloTex

Eat it if you want. Don't if you don't. Makes no difference to your metabolism. What's important is how it fits into your calories for the day and how it affects your eating for the rest of the day.

peleroja

"Jumpstarting metabolism" is silly broscience, quite frankly.

Eat breakfast if you want to and if it helps you make smarter choices for the rest of the day. Don't eat breakfast if you don't like it, don't miss it, or would prefer to eat those calories at another point in the day.

It's up to you and it will only make a difference to your weight loss if it affects the choices you make for the rest of the day. If you're logging your calories correctly you can track that and see.

I never used to eat breakfast and it made literally no difference to weight loss or gain; however, I find that I feel more alert in the morning if I've eaten something, so now I have a protein bar with my coffee. Whether or not I eat breakfast, I still track my daily calories so I don't eat more than I should.

SimoneBee12

I rarely eat before noon because of my schedule, I sleep late most days. And I'm not massive on a lot of food at night so this means I only eat between 12pm and 10pm, so I really like having all 1500 calories in ten hours because I snack less in between my five meals. It works great for me unless I'm having a hormonal super hungry day.

However, if I get up at 7am, I have to eat something then because I know I'll be starving by midday if I don't, so I really think it depends on you and how you feel. Try it for three days and if you like it keep going, if not, stop eating breakfast. It's really up to you.

idrinkalotofwater

I'd say you should eat something in the morning. Most things I've read say that breakfast is important

sashayoung72

I also do a bar around 190 and coffee, I get up at 4 am, so by 9 i'm actually hungry so I eat 2nd breakfast, then later a light snack or light lunch, dinner is my BIG one, I eat what I've got left with sometimes an evening snack. I only eat the bar because I know I would be all HANGRY by 7 and I cannot eat on the job.

2wise4u

Because I have a desk job so I eat on a pretty regular schedule but what I eat varies a lot. Sometimes, I try to consume everything and other times, I'm just not hungry. My advice is, eat when you're hungry and make better food choices overall and you'll be fine.

ruqayyahsmum

im not a morning person, if i eat upon waking i feel ill so i wake up at 7am, have a milky coffee around 8am and then eat lunch between 12 and 1pm

i dont feel the need to overeat to make up for breakfast, i log my food so i can see what ive had and what calories i have left, often i need to have something before bed to bring up my calories if anything

DemoraFairy

idrinkalotofwater wrote: »

I'd say you should eat something in the morning. Most things I've read say that breakfast is important

Eating breakfast is generally recommended to try to stop people from snacking later on and eating more calories. If you're calorie counting, this is irrelevant.

mikethegrate

DemoraFairy wrote: »

Meal timing doesn't matter at all, eat when you want.

There are a lot of threads on this.

Thanks for the link! I didn't run the right search, because I didn't find all those threads.

spanderholic

I only eat breakfast when I am on day shift for my job because I have to be up around 5:30am to be ready at work for 6:45 start. This is because otherwise I am ready to eat my arm by lunchtime. I have day shift twice every ten days, so j have breakfast twice every ten days. Otherwise it's just lunch and dinner with some snacks, or brunch and dinner with snacks. I say do whatever works for you. If you like it and have no problem fitting it in calorie wise then no issue, but if you want to stop them go for gold

Kalikel

I used to skip it, now I eat a high-fiber breakfast most mornings. I like having a bunch of little meals throughout the day and then not eating late. It works well for me.

But if you don't want to eat breakfast, don't eat breakfast! It's your diet and you get to make the rules.

hstylesishot

Personally, I try to eat something even if I'm not super hungry. If I end up getting full, I just stop eating and pack my bfast, or I keep going. I like to eat something because if I wait too long, I might get way too hungry and if I don't have access to lunch at that very moment, I get hunger headaches and may feel inclined to eat past my hunger levels once I do eat lunch! Try it out, experiment a little and find what works for you!

afatpersonwholikesfood

I eat breakfast on days where I wake up feeling hungry and like I really need it. On most days, I like to skip it because it helps me keep my calorie total down for the day.

ncscott11

Eat if you are hungry. I don't tend to eat until I have been up for about 3-5 hours. I found if I eat too early I end up eating way more in the day or sometimes it makes me feel ill. I've never been big on breakfast though either. Weekends I rarely eat until after 1 regardless of what time I get up

Monklady123

I rarely eat breakfast at breakfast time. I start the day with coffee sweetened using the flavored coffee creamers. I think the sugar in that keeps me from being hungry. If I'm not working I rarely eat anything until mid- to late-morning. So then I'll often eat "lunch" in the late afternoon and then just nibble for dinner. If I do eat breakfast it has to be protein or else I'll be starving by 9:30. Then I will eat anything and everything. So it's best for me just not to eat, unless I have to go to work (I'm on call at a hospital and do substitute teaching, so I rarely have a predictable schedule).

girlviernes

So, breakfast is something I think many have assumed is important because people who eat breakfast tend to be thinner than those who don't. However, causality (i.e., eating breakfast MAKES you thinner) isn't actually well established in the literature. But, from what I know about circadian rhythms and the chronobiology of obesity, I think it's likely that eating breakfast is a helpful practice. But it's a little bit like majoring in the minors - the main thing is to have a calorie deficit and have a good balanced intake. Work on those first. If eating breakfast fits with that for you, go for it, on the other hand, if skipping breakfast works for your lifestyle right now, probably should not be your first focus. Either way, I'd recommend if you have breakfast it be a bit more substantial and have some fat, protein, carb mix (a granola bar will be mostly fairly refined carbs, perhaps not the best start to the day). Good luck!

Need2Exerc1se

I only eat breakfast on weekends if I know we will be working outside all day and I'll have to skip lunch. I'm never hungry in the mornings.

jeepinshawn

I don't often eat breakfast anymore. When I did it was a 100 calorie thing of oatmeal, a teaspoon of sugar, sprinkle of cinnamon, and typically would also have 24ooz of coffee with a 1/3cup whole milk in it, so breakfast ended up being like 190 calories. I found that I wasn't significantly fuller, and was actually more hungry by lunch time, I take lunch about 1130, so I stopped eating breakfast.

Much to my surprise I was fine. Wasn't starving all morning, didn't need a huge lunch to compensate, and it enabled me to have a decent snack in the evening, so it just worked out better for me that way. Sometimes if I wake up and I'm oddly starving I will eat some oat meal or something, but thats happening less and less.

malibu927

idrinkalotofwater wrote: »

I'd say you should eat something in the morning. Most things I've read say that breakfast is important

For diabetics, yes...for others, not so much. I have to eat in the morning or I'll snack later on, but someone else may get sick if they eat early.

daniwilford

I do eat breakfast, pre-diabetic here. It is definitely my smallest meal, sometimes lower calories than my bedtime snack. I am not hungry in the morning, and like eating more in the late afternoon and evening. I was so relieved when the research showed that it doesn't matter for weight loss if you skip breakfast or eat right before sleep!

mbaker566

I didn't used to but now that I'm more active, I wake up starving

misskarne

Nope, not necessary. My breakfast is literally a glass of orange juice. Then I have a nice big lunch, and a medium sized dinner. It took a lot of adjustment for me to figure out the best way to not be ravenously hungry, but this is what I ended up with.

ninerbuff

idrinkalotofwater wrote: »

I'd say you should eat something in the morning. Most things I've read say that breakfast is important

Depends on the source. There lots and lots of peer reviewed clinical studies out there that show that eating breakfast doesn't "jump start" metabolism as purported by many diet and fitness claimants.

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

Liftng4Lis

I like breakfast on Sundays and sometimes for dinner. Otherwise, I find most days, I wake at 3:30ish, gym at 5 and eat usually around 10:30ish.

ninerbuff

Personally I don't eat breakfast. My first meal is at noon and my last snack is around 11:30pm. And I get up at 6:15am each morning.

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

pjoenix

I've found I tend to get hungrier more often, and for more food, on days when I have breakfast. I don't usually feel hungry until after I've first eaten something, so holding off until lunch is no issue and then I enjoy bigger lunches and dinners, and don't feel as snackish in the evening.

It keeps me on track better if I skip, and medically there's no reason not to, so as long as there aren't any issues pressing you to eat breakfast/you don't wake up ravenous, just do what works best for you.

earthnut

My husband doesn't eat breakfast and he's always been skinny. I *must* have breakfast and I'm fat. There are so many other far more important factors. If skipping breakfast works for you, then do it. If you need breakfast, then eat it. It's the total calorie intake that's important.

booksandchocolate12

I never skip breakfast, not because it's "the most important meal of the day" or because it "jump starts your metabolism" or any other myth. I just love breakfast! It's my favorite meal of that day and the one I spend the most calories on.

Having said that....if you don't want to eat breakfast, don't. It doesn't matter at all.

Asher_Ethan

As soon as I found out timing of when you eat doesn't matter, 7 pounds just fell off. I probably only eat 300 - 400 all day until dinner and then have a huge dinner.