Can we have a civilized debate on breakfast? To eat or not to eat!

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Replies

  • Return2Fit
    Return2Fit Posts: 226 Member
    Hornsby wrote: »
    King_Spicy wrote: »
    http://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/breaking-the-fast

    https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/2015/01/14/healthy-breakfast-can-help-you-lose-weight/

    https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/news/multimedia-article/why-should-i-eat-breakfast/

    http://www.health.harvard.edu/press_releases/a-healthy-breakfast-may-protect-against-heart-disease

    https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/news/features/skipping-breakfast-may-increase-coronary-heart-disease-risk/


    These were the top results from "harvard health breakfast." I'm sure there are others out there, but this was just a quick dig

    Okay. Those are just articles with opinions. No biggie. Was hoping for something real is all.
    ...and I'd like to see the writer's personal results related to health and fitness.
    Sometimes those with the loudest opinions have the worse results - especially when they toss around a heavy name....
    >>H A R V A R D---H A R V A R D---H A R V A R D---H A R V A R D<<
  • fr33sia12
    fr33sia12 Posts: 1,258 Member
    I love breakfasts every morning. If I didn't have breakfast, I'd be eating my lunch at 11:00am as I'm so hungry by that time. I never used to eat breakfasts and I could go till 2pm till eating, but then I would eat and eat and that helped me put on more weight.
  • caradack1985
    caradack1985 Posts: 254 Member
    Eating makes me feel all heavy and gross, I ha e far more energy and clarity during the day now I don't eat then.
  • Lounmoun
    Lounmoun Posts: 8,423 Member
    There is no most important meal of the day for every human.
    I function better spacing out my calorie intake throughout the day. Do what helps you function best.
  • BonnieP824
    BonnieP824 Posts: 7 Member
    I'm never hungry so "drink" my breakfast- carnation breakfast essentials either regular or sugar free. On weekends we do eat a bigger breakfast after church, but I do 2 meals a day (plus snacks) then anyway instead of 3.
  • minizebu
    minizebu Posts: 2,716 Member
    Hunger hormones change with eating patterns. If you usually eat two meals a day, you will be hungry twice a day. If you usually eat three times a day you'll be hungry three times a day. If you eat six meals a day you'll be hungry six times a day, and so on.

    Earlier in life, I used to not be hungry for breakfast and would regularly skip it. But the fact was I was eating an absolute *kitten*-ton of calories at night. There's no wonder why I wasn't hungry the next morning.

    I do agree with others that, all else being equal, if you eat the same number of calories as you would otherwise eat, and if you are not insulin resistant, or pre-diabetic or diabetic, then meal timing comes down to personal preference.

    But, here's the thing. A whole lot of people who are overweight and less physically active are indeed insulin resistant, or pre-diabetic without knowing it. These conditions usually have no symptoms and can carry on for years without being discovered. Having blood sugar spiking up and down wildly every day isn't doing these folks any favors.

    I haven't read the Harvard articles that the other poster linked to above, but they may be worth a read. Food for thought. Making informed decisions about how we eat is easier with more information.

  • Hornsby
    Hornsby Posts: 10,322 Member
    minizebu wrote: »

    I haven't read the Harvard articles that the other poster linked to above, but they may be worth a read. Food for thought. Making informed decisions about how we eat is easier with more information.

    Yes, but that doesn't make all information informative...

  • minizebu
    minizebu Posts: 2,716 Member
    Hornsby wrote: »
    minizebu wrote: »

    I haven't read the Harvard articles that the other poster linked to above, but they may be worth a read. Food for thought. Making informed decisions about how we eat is easier with more information.

    Yes, but that doesn't make all information informative...

    True.

  • nickisa28
    nickisa28 Posts: 116 Member
    This one seems pretty simple to me....if I'm hungry I eat. If I'm not I don't. I find patterns as you have and just go with them. I skipped breakfast and seen what it does, I've eaten breakfast and seen what that does. I'm still fighting with some habits and learning about my body every day. Weight loss isn't about starving yourself or sticking to some crazy strict plan. I personally feel that although you'll lose weight, it isn't sustainable so what's the point in going through all that pain to just put the weight straight back on again. Do what works for you.
  • DanerTee
    DanerTee Posts: 263 Member
    Such great insights on this forum, you guys rock!
  • robininfl
    robininfl Posts: 1,137 Member
    Always breakfast, always lunch. If i skip a meal, it's supper. I can sleep hungry no problem; I cannot work well when hungry.
  • claraoswold
    claraoswold Posts: 89 Member
    I have to eat breakfast, and it HAS to include meat or dairy. Otherwise I get the munchies until I eat, and if I don't get meat I get super depressed.

    Now it used to be I could just do green tea and a banana, or skip entirely. As I get older that doesn't work so much. My dad never eats breakfast. My husband eats tons of carbs in the morning. Everyone's body is different.
  • BrettWithPKU
    BrettWithPKU Posts: 575 Member
    I wake up at 5 a.m. starving, regardless of when/how much I eat the previous evening. Breakfast is absolutely necessary for me to function in the morning.

    But everyone is different. To anyone who doesn't "need" breakfast to function I see absolutely no problem with skipping it. (I've heard but have no evidence that breakfast is necessary to start one's metabolism in the morning.)

    I shoot for 2400 cal per day (plus exercise, but I don't eat back those calories), roughly broken down like so:
    Breakfast 6:00 a.m.: 800 cal
    Lunch 12:00 n.: 500 cal
    Dinner 6:00 p.m.: 800 cal
    Snacks/Extra: 300 cal
  • Sabine_Stroehm
    Sabine_Stroehm Posts: 19,263 Member
    Hornsby wrote: »
    King_Spicy wrote: »
    I would take Harvard's opinion well above my own. lol

    Those aren't Harvard's opinions. They are just the publisher.

    Bingo.
  • Cortelli
    Cortelli Posts: 1,369 Member
    RelevantGains wrote: »
    The title makes it seem like this is a hot topic. Typically I just see that it's personal preference. If you like breakfast, have it, if not, don't :)

    I find that pretty civilized!

    You missed all the fireworks then. A few years back there was a regular poster who focused on one topic and basically one topic only: "How breakfast killed my parents, kicked my dog, got me fired, and made me fat (and assuredly will do the same to you)." Always entertaining on a Friday forum day.
  • ogmomma2012
    ogmomma2012 Posts: 1,520 Member
    I really don't eat breakfast, I might have a fatty coffee but usually I can go until 4-6pm before really feeling the need to eat... except lately... sharkweek T_T
  • Kellyfitness128
    Kellyfitness128 Posts: 194 Member
    If skipping breakfast works for you, then I say do it! I'm not hungry right when I wake up either and so I wait till I am hungry. Plus, fasting can be beneficial for weight loss. 12-16 hour fasts cause gluconeogenesis to occur (the making of new glucose when your body runs out) which uses ATP and thus uses energy (calories). I like to try and wait at least 12 hours between last night's dinner and breakfast.
  • almostanangel21
    almostanangel21 Posts: 143 Member
    When I get up, I have to wait an hour for my thyroid meds to absorb before I can eat anything, but I still eat breakfast when that hour is up. It's got nothing to do with a weight loss strategy; I need to eat in order to think straight and I start studying/class at 7.
  • sunnybeaches105
    sunnybeaches105 Posts: 2,831 Member
    DanerTee wrote: »
    So, I dunno what to think about the whole, breakfast is the most important meal of the day vs CICO, doesn't matter what or when, but matters how many calories you consume.

    Reason I ask is, I have a fairly low target of 1330 cals per day, and I find that if I skip breakfast I have more calories for lunch and dinner. My trigger craving time is the evening, so if I am forced into a light dinner because of breakfast and lunch, I am much more prone to binge eating. If I skip breakfast, which is a time of day I'm legit not hungry, so I don't miss it, I can eat more in the evening and avoid having a craving AND hunger to contend with.

    Am I screwing myself in some way? Is this an OK thing to do? Has anyone out there skipped breakfast and continued to lose weight just as fast as with breakfast?

    Thanks!

    You found something that works for you. Go with it. For the record, I'm the same.
  • Samanthor
    Samanthor Posts: 85 Member
    I'm with everyone else saying that if it feels good to you, keep doing it. We have a similar calorie goal (I'm at 1350) and I do eat breakfast every day, but just a small one: two hard boiled eggs and a banana (on Fridays I mix it up a little with two eggs over easy, a piece of toast, and a banana). But my preference is for three small meals/snacks throughout the day and a bigger dinner. I say whatever works for you!
  • Aaron_K123
    Aaron_K123 Posts: 7,122 Member
    CICO just means exactly what it says...that your weight loss, and everyone elses, is a function of your caloric intake versus expenditure. It says nothing about what you personally should do with your eating habits to establish that deficit comfortably.

    In other words CICO says nothing at all about whether you personally would benefit from eating breakfast or not. Frankly the only person fit to answer your question is you.
  • PamWOhio
    PamWOhio Posts: 120 Member
    About a week ago I stopped doing breakfast because I wasn't really hungry and thought I could have better lunch and dinner and I have enjoyed doing it this way. I do all my eating between noon and 6 pm and have loved doing it that way.
  • booksandchocolate12
    booksandchocolate12 Posts: 1,741 Member
    edited August 2016
    robininfl wrote: »
    Always breakfast, always lunch. If i skip a meal, it's supper. I can sleep hungry no problem; I cannot work well when hungry.
    ^^This is me as well. Breakfast is by far my favorite meal of the day. So I guess that makes it most important to me, but for everyone? No.

    airigami wrote: »
    Not to mention most breakfasts have sugar on it. Unless you're eating mostly fruit and good eggs; Bacon, Pancakes with Syrup, Coffee, Cereals (if not the good kinds), etc. are usually full of sugar and are not the healthy kind anyways.

    Bacon is full of sugar? Hmm. The package of Oscar Mayer Thick Cut Bacon in my fridge says "not a significant source of....sugars". *shrugs*

  • lightenup2016
    lightenup2016 Posts: 1,055 Member
    I have found, through IF, that I'm less hungry during the day if I skip breakfast, and it helps keep my overall calorie intake down. It used to be difficult for me to spread my 1600 calories out over the whole day. It's so much easier now that I don't eat until noon or 1:00pm. I do have 2 cups of coffee with a total of 1tsp of sugar, and a square of 85% dark chocolate prior to that, and I look forward to that everyday
  • DrenRigs
    DrenRigs Posts: 448 Member
    I don't eat breakfast make me more tired so I skip it and enjoy a big Lunch
  • NancyYale
    NancyYale Posts: 171 Member
    edited August 2016
    Personally, I need a solid BK with a good amt of protein and good carbs to avoid being hungry later in the day and bingeing. I just don't understand why there is a debate. If you do this diet thing long enough and are successful, you figure out what works for you. What others think or do is irrelevant.
  • PaulaWallaDingDong
    PaulaWallaDingDong Posts: 4,645 Member
    NancyYale wrote: »
    Personally, I need a solid BK with a good amt of protein and good carbs to avoid being hungry later in the day and bingeing. I just don't understand why there is a debate. If you do this diet thing long enough and are successful, you figure out what works for you. What others think or do is irrelevant.

    Word.
  • Shana67
    Shana67 Posts: 680 Member
    DanerTee wrote: »
    If I skip breakfast, which is a time of day I'm legit not hungry, so I don't miss it, I can eat more in the evening and avoid having a craving AND hunger to contend with.

    This is me, exactly. I am just not hungry until about 12:30/1:00 in the afternoon. I wake up, workout, have coffee and then I am in the (work) zone until it's time for lunch, which is fairly light for me (300 calories usually). Dinner is much more robust, and I save room for a nightly cocktail. Works for me! I'm down 38 lbs since January :)

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