Breakfast, is it ok to skip it?

2

Replies

  • AnvilHead
    AnvilHead Posts: 18,343 Member
    Cyndiaquino wrote: »
    Thanks for the replies. I'm definitely still learning all about this, going on 7 1/2 months. I have lost 50 lbs, maybe the eating breakfast works for some and not so much for others.

    Absolutely. It's entirely personal preference. Some find it helps them make better choices later in the day, others find it makes it harder to control their intake for the rest of the day. There's certainly nothing wrong with eating breakfast if that's one's personal preference, but there's nothing wrong with skipping it/eating it later either.


    Cyndiaquino wrote: »
    I'm going to read more on how our metabolisms work and fasting. Sometimes I feel I should wait a little longer to eat breakfast, but then I worry if I wait too long.

    No worries about waiting too long. Meal timing is irrelevant except for very few people under very specific circumstances (which 99.9% of us don't fall under - pre-contest bodybuilders, etc.). Contrary to the oft-quoted woo about "jumpstarting your metabolism in the morning", your metabolism is hard at work 24 hours a day and doesn't need "jumpstarting".

    There are people who practice Intermittent Fasting, with various fast/feed windows - 20/4, 18/6, 16/8, etc. Again, entirely a matter of personal preference.
  • freakymistkd
    freakymistkd Posts: 586 Member
    Christine_72 wrote: »
    The "breakfast is the most important meal of the day " was coined by Kellogs :wink:

    Another one of those childhood things that we took for gospel. Just like the advert stating that the heart foundation tick couldn't be bought but then we find out that McDonald's dropped the tick a few years back because they decided it was too expensive.
  • freakymistkd
    freakymistkd Posts: 586 Member
    Thanks everyone for the replies it definitely does seem to be a benefit for some and not so for others. I might have yo look back through my food logging and see if there's a trend on snacking more or snacking less after eating breakfast
  • Mavrick_RN
    Mavrick_RN Posts: 439 Member
    Depends on who you want to listen to. Giant cereal manufacturing company, strangers on the internet or your own body.

    I love breakfast food (bacon, eggs, biscuits, gravy etc.) but don't normally want to start eating until later in the day. Once I start eating I wake the munchie monster up and keep wanting to snack. I'm not really hungry, I just want to eat. So, unless I can occupy myself with some activity I put off eating.
  • hko718
    hko718 Posts: 85 Member
    Absolutely.
  • one235
    one235 Posts: 70 Member
    I have never eaten breakfast since I started elementary school. I'm so glad to hear I don't "have" to eat it now. I'm just not up to food in the morning.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,903 Member
    Cyndiaquino wrote: »
    I haven't read all the replies, but what I have read is that breakfast is a great way to get your metabolism going. Also, when you skip breakfast, "they say" you are more likely to overeat. I have also read that eating a nice sized breakfast will help with how much you consume for the rest of the day. It's also good to eat breakfast within 2 hours of waking up.
    Metabolism is always going. It "kickstarts" the moment you get out of bed and physically move.
    ALL of the information about breakfast and weight gain/maintenance and loss are correlations. Breakfast isn't the reason for weight loss. A calorie deficit it.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
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    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
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  • cryssybaby77
    cryssybaby77 Posts: 22 Member
    I personally never skip breakfast, But if I eat a huge breakfast I will skip Lunch, and if I eat a huge lunch I will skip dinner.. But its whatever you feel you can do. If I skip Breakfast I tend to overeat the rest of the day.
  • Owlie45
    Owlie45 Posts: 806 Member
    Skip it if it works for you.
    I personally can't I'll be starving by lunch. If I eat breakfast I'm good until dinner.
  • Alluminati
    Alluminati Posts: 6,208 Member
    Yes you can. It's all personal preference.
  • Rick_Nelson81
    Rick_Nelson81 Posts: 205 Member
    It's better to eat 4-5 small meals throughout the day to regulate your metabolism. Skipping breakfast makes that difficult, and some people will likely eat more at lunch to make up for it. If you feel energized throughout the day with no breakfast and you are managing your weight the way you want, than kudos to you, but I doubt many people are like that, I know I'm not. Even just a piece of fruit and a glass of milk is better than nothing; you can drink the milk before you go to work, school or whatever, and eat an apple or banana or something in the car.
  • elphie754
    elphie754 Posts: 7,574 Member
    Rick_Nelson81 wrote: »
    It's better to eat 4-5 small meals throughout the day to regulate your metabolism. Skipping breakfast makes that difficult, and some people will likely eat more at lunch to make up for it. If you feel energized throughout the day with no breakfast and you are managing your weight the way you want, than kudos to you, but I doubt many people are like that, I know I'm not. Even just a piece of fruit and a glass of milk is better than nothing; you can drink the milk before you go to work, school or whatever, and eat an apple or banana or something in the car.

    No. Meal timing and number of meals has nothing to do with weight loss. When you eat is a personal preference.
  • Rick_Nelson81
    Rick_Nelson81 Posts: 205 Member
    Oh so If I eat 2,000 calories in one meal and nothing else all day, it won't be any different than eating the same number of calories spaced throughout the day huh? ok. I guess the extra calories will just sit in my blood and wait for the end of the day, cause your body doesn't produce insulin or generate glycogen.
  • paradi3s
    paradi3s Posts: 343 Member
    I just have a small breakfast after my morning walk to fuel my run/brisk walk on the treadmill.
    But if I'm not going to the gym that day, I usually skip and have a glass of water instead.
  • AnvilHead
    AnvilHead Posts: 18,343 Member
    Rick_Nelson81 wrote: »
    Oh so If I eat 2,000 calories in one meal and nothing else all day, it won't be any different than eating the same number of calories spaced throughout the day huh? ok. I guess the extra calories will just sit in my blood and wait for the end of the day, cause your body doesn't produce insulin or generate glycogen.

    Got any science that suggests otherwise? Larger meals take longer to digest, so the net effect of TEF is the same. Google "Intermittent Fasting" if you want to learn more about people who don't adhere to the old broscience of eating multiple small meals a day to "rev up your metabolism".

    Read the first post in this thread for plenty of links to research about meal/nutrient timing.
  • Rick_Nelson81
    Rick_Nelson81 Posts: 205 Member
    If you eat smaller meals more often, your body will have a more regulated metabolism, which is why it's recommended to people with diabetes. It's better for long term health. I guess the American Diabetes Association are just a bunch of "bros" though.
  • Matt200goal
    Matt200goal Posts: 481 Member
    Christine_72 wrote: »
    The "breakfast is the most important meal of the day " was coined by Kellogs :wink:

    I have modified that cliché to "Breakfast is the most important meal of the day before lunch."


  • AnvilHead
    AnvilHead Posts: 18,343 Member
    edited March 2016
    Rick_Nelson81 wrote: »
    If you eat smaller meals more often, your body will have a more regulated metabolism, which is why it's recommended to people with diabetes. It's better for long term health. I guess the American Diabetes Association are just a bunch of "bros" though.

    I must have missed the post where the OP mentioned she had diabetes.

    People with cancer take chemotherapy drugs too, that doesn't mean it's better for long term health for people who don't have cancer.

    Still waiting to see a link to a study proving the benefits of smaller, more frequent meals.
  • paradi3s
    paradi3s Posts: 343 Member
    In the end all what matters is how you feel. Taking smaller and frequent meals may be ok for some, while one big meal is ok for others. I have done one big meal (skip bfast, small lunch and huge dinner) and frequent meals (equal meals 4-5x a day), and my weight maintenance/loss is just the same. It's all about calories in calories out. As for health matters, what I prefer is somewhere in the middle: three semi large meals a day. Sometimes two large meals a day if I choose to skip breakfast. That way I have energy throughout the day and avoid overeating at night.
    It's all about preference op. Just try both out and see how you feel and which you like better. Timing doesn't really matter
  • missyfitz1
    missyfitz1 Posts: 93 Member
    Christine_72 wrote: »

    Eating breakfast usually means I will over eat. Eating switches on the hunger monster for me, the later I "break" my "fast" the better.

    As for your metabolism comment, it is always going, you cant bump it into action.

    This has been my experience too. Based on some research I read about circadian cortisol peak and insulin release in the morning, I started to delay my breakfast from when I first wake up (around 6:00 am) to around 9:00 am. It took me about a year to get used to it, but I am so much less hungry in the morning and it makes it a lot easier for me to restrict my daily calories without feeling like I'm going to pass out from hunger.

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