Eating breakfast

Craft_queen
Craft_queen Posts: 15 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
When I first started my diet I tried to get into a habit of eating breakfast (something I didn't tend to do before).

The thing is though I find if I eat breakfast within an hour of eating it I am absolutely starving, whereas if I don't have breakfast I'll be hungry by maybe an hour of so before lunch but I can happily wait it out. I know everyone says breakfast is the most important meal of the day and you should make it your biggest meal but I struggle to find time for anything major and I feel like any kickstart it gives to my metabolism is out countered by the hunger it gives me an hour later and the amount of food I would happily eat in order to make me feel full.

Basically if I eat breakfast, I tend to go over my calorie intake because of the extra hunger. If I don't eat breakfast, I can stay within my calorie limit and enjoy a slightly larger lunch, dinner or snack which I really like.

So what I'm asking is: is breakfast really that important?

Thanks

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Replies

  • StealthHealth
    StealthHealth Posts: 2,417 Member
    Breakfast (as a morning meal rather than as yor first meal of the day - which may be lunchtime or even later) is not the most important meal of the day and the concept that it must be your largest meal is wrong.

    If you like breakfast go for it. If you don't, feel free to skip it (I rarely eat breakfasts).

    What matters is the number of calories you eat. When you eat them, may help with dietary compliance but other than that makes no difference to your weight loss or gain.
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,809 Member
    No breakfast isn't important, certainly not the most important meal (none are) and "everyone" doesn't say it at all.

    It maybe was when people had hard manual jobs and may not have got a break to eat - that's rare these days.

    Skipping breakfast is an easy way for me to lose a few hundred calories, it makes me no more or less hungry by lunchtime. You are carrying around plenty of energy and don't need to top it up first thing in the morning.
    Old motorbikes have kickstarts - your metabolism doesn't.

    Think of your overall diet and time your meals/snacks if the way that makes adherence to a sensible calorie goal the easiest for you - not for anyone else.
  • Shadowmf023
    Shadowmf023 Posts: 812 Member
    Nope. Eat when hungry. Meal timing is personal preference.

    I personally eat breakfast because I work out 1.5 hours after that. And I get nauseous if I work out fasted.
  • DebSozo
    DebSozo Posts: 2,578 Member
    I shave off 300 calories effortlessly by skipping breakfast. Actually eating breakfast makes me hungrier than if I don't eat it. So I eat a "brunch" around 11 am instead.
  • elisa123gal
    elisa123gal Posts: 4,324 Member
    I eat breakfast if Im starving..i figure my body needs it. But if I'm not hungry ... I don't eat it because i too feel like it puts me on the eating path for the day.

    I was reading a thread where some people successful in maintenance say they do so by not counting calories any longer..they just stick to eating two meals a day and it works perfectly for them. so there ya go!
  • applesandtapeline
    applesandtapeline Posts: 58 Member
    If by not eating breakfast you feel better during the day and still lose weight, keep at it. Do what works for you, everybody is different.
  • Alatariel75
    Alatariel75 Posts: 18,217 Member
    Good news! Breakfast is neither mandatory, nor does it have to be a big meal! If you're happy to wait until lunchtime to eat, go for it.
  • DebSozo
    DebSozo Posts: 2,578 Member
    edited October 2016
    elisa123gal wrote: »
    I eat breakfast if Im starving..i figure my body needs it. But if I'm not hungry ... I don't eat it because i too feel like it puts me on the eating path for the day.

    I was reading a thread where some people successful in maintenance say they do so by not counting calories any longer..they just stick to eating two meals a day and it works perfectly for them. so there ya go!

    I have found this to be my answer. I only eat two meals and hit maintenance without trying or going over. I don't have to count calories and seem to be losing a bit of weight based on my clothes fitting looser.

  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
    edited October 2016
    DebSozo wrote: »
    elisa123gal wrote: »
    I eat breakfast if Im starving..i figure my body needs it. But if I'm not hungry ... I don't eat it because i too feel like it puts me on the eating path for the day.

    I was reading a thread where some people successful in maintenance say they do so by not counting calories any longer..they just stick to eating two meals a day and it works perfectly for them. so there ya go!

    I have found this to be my answer. I only eat two meals and hit maintenance without trying or going over. I don't have to count calories and seem to be losing a bit of weight based on my clothes fitting looser.

    I maintain my weight eating 3-4 meals a day, no calorie counting. I think the important thing is eating meals, not number of meals.
    I weigh myself every day, because I can't base anything on how clothes fit, they seem to just stop fitting.
  • justinlrhodes989
    justinlrhodes989 Posts: 7 Member
    Needing to eat breakfast to lose weight has been said so often it's taken for a hard core fact/science; however, it dose not matter if you eat your daily calorie goal in one meal or five. Just eat your daily calories. Look up about interment fasting and you can find the science behind it and the other benifits that go with it. I recommend it! Good luck!!
  • misskarne
    misskarne Posts: 1,765 Member
    OP, I found exactly the same thing. So I stopped eating a solid breakfast. Now my breakfast consists of a glass of orange juice.

    On the other hand I found that a bowl of cereal makes a good dinner on days I get home really late.
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 25,598 Member
    Craft_queen wrote: »
    When I first started my diet I tried to get into a habit of eating breakfast (something I didn't tend to do before).

    The thing is though I find if I eat breakfast within an hour of eating it I am absolutely starving, whereas if I don't have breakfast I'll be hungry by maybe an hour of so before lunch but I can happily wait it out. I know everyone says breakfast is the most important meal of the day and you should make it your biggest meal but I struggle to find time for anything major and I feel like any kickstart it gives to my metabolism is out countered by the hunger it gives me an hour later and the amount of food I would happily eat in order to make me feel full.

    Basically if I eat breakfast, I tend to go over my calorie intake because of the extra hunger. If I don't eat breakfast, I can stay within my calorie limit and enjoy a slightly larger lunch, dinner or snack which I really like.

    So what I'm asking is: is breakfast really that important?

    Thanks

    I'm the same way. Breakfast flips an "on" switch for my appetite.

    Fortunately breakfast is not the most important meal of the day and does not need to be the biggest meal.

    During the week, I have a little packet of crackers and cheese at about 10:30 am. I guess that's breakfast for me. On the weekends it could be noon before I have toast with nutella and honey.
  • Krislynell
    Krislynell Posts: 38 Member
    I am so glad that someone started this discussion. I am the same way, I never used to eat breakfast and I would be fine until mid-morning--lunch. My family doctor told me I need to start eating breakfast because it's so important to metabolism, and now I'm starving and an hour after the fact. I think I'm going to try to skip breakfast, but I've started taking pills that need food taken with them, in the morning when I wake up @6. I guess I'll have to push that back to lunch, since I want to try the no breakfast approach.....
  • nosebag1212
    nosebag1212 Posts: 621 Member
    Then don't eat breakfast, it won't affect your fat loss, that will come down to your calorie deficit - meal timing is irrelevant. Lots of people do intermittent fasting where they only eat in a small window of time e.g. 12-8 pm. Breakfast being the most important meal of the day is just another broscience myth.
  • nosebag1212
    nosebag1212 Posts: 621 Member
    Krislynell wrote: »
    I am so glad that someone started this discussion. I am the same way, I never used to eat breakfast and I would be fine until mid-morning--lunch. My family doctor told me I need to start eating breakfast because it's so important to metabolism, and now I'm starving and an hour after the fact. I think I'm going to try to skip breakfast, but I've started taking pills that need food taken with them, in the morning when I wake up @6. I guess I'll have to push that back to lunch, since I want to try the no breakfast approach.....

    Time to get a new doctor.
  • workinonit1956
    workinonit1956 Posts: 1,043 Member
    Do what works for you. Nothing magical about breakfast one way or the other, it's your total calories that count.
    Personally, I don't have my first meal until 1 pm-ish. Breakfast makes me hungrier for the rest of the day and I save the calories for a larger dinner and a small treat after.
  • StealthHealth
    StealthHealth Posts: 2,417 Member
    Krislynell wrote: »
    I am so glad that someone started this discussion. I am the same way, I never used to eat breakfast and I would be fine until mid-morning--lunch. My family doctor told me I need to start eating breakfast because it's so important to metabolism, and now I'm starving and an hour after the fact. I think I'm going to try to skip breakfast, but I've started taking pills that need food taken with them, in the morning when I wake up @6. I guess I'll have to push that back to lunch, since I want to try the no breakfast approach.....

    If it was your doctor who told you that the tablets need to be taken with food I would double check that because based on their "breakfast is important for metabolism" comment I would question any advice they gave me.
  • Krislynell
    Krislynell Posts: 38 Member
    The pharmacist says taking them without food causes upset stomach, so I usually eat just an egg or cheese stick with them.

    I like my doctor but he keeps insisting eating every couple hours keeps the metabolism burning since I have a barely functioning thyroid.
  • trigden1991
    trigden1991 Posts: 4,658 Member
    Krislynell wrote: »
    The pharmacist says taking them without food causes upset stomach, so I usually eat just an egg or cheese stick with them.

    I like my doctor but he keeps insisting eating every couple hours keeps the metabolism burning since I have a barely functioning thyroid.

    Metabolism cannot be "stoked" by eating it a continuous process.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    Craft_queen wrote: »
    When I first started my diet I tried to get into a habit of eating breakfast (something I didn't tend to do before).

    The thing is though I find if I eat breakfast within an hour of eating it I am absolutely starving, whereas if I don't have breakfast I'll be hungry by maybe an hour of so before lunch but I can happily wait it out. I know everyone says breakfast is the most important meal of the day and you should make it your biggest meal but I struggle to find time for anything major and I feel like any kickstart it gives to my metabolism is out countered by the hunger it gives me an hour later and the amount of food I would happily eat in order to make me feel full.

    Basically if I eat breakfast, I tend to go over my calorie intake because of the extra hunger. If I don't eat breakfast, I can stay within my calorie limit and enjoy a slightly larger lunch, dinner or snack which I really like.

    So what I'm asking is: is breakfast really that important?

    Thanks

    Old wive's tales and mythology...and there is no "kickstarting" of the metabolism
  • quiksylver296
    quiksylver296 Posts: 28,439 Member
    Craft_queen wrote: »
    When I first started my diet I tried to get into a habit of eating breakfast (something I didn't tend to do before).

    The thing is though I find if I eat breakfast within an hour of eating it I am absolutely starving, whereas if I don't have breakfast I'll be hungry by maybe an hour of so before lunch but I can happily wait it out. I know everyone says breakfast is the most important meal of the day and you should make it your biggest meal but I struggle to find time for anything major and I feel like any kickstart it gives to my metabolism is out countered by the hunger it gives me an hour later and the amount of food I would happily eat in order to make me feel full.

    Basically if I eat breakfast, I tend to go over my calorie intake because of the extra hunger. If I don't eat breakfast, I can stay within my calorie limit and enjoy a slightly larger lunch, dinner or snack which I really like.

    So what I'm asking is: is breakfast really that important?

    Thanks

    I'm the same way. I leave breakfast off until about 9:30 (wake up aroung 5:00).

    If I eat soon after waking, I'm hungry sooner than if I leave breakfast til about 9:30, and end up eating more calories throughout the day.

    Do what works for you, @Craft_queen .
  • StealthHealth
    StealthHealth Posts: 2,417 Member
    edited October 2016
    vassar15 wrote: »
    There are correlation studies out there that state those who eat breakfast are thinner and those who don't eat breakfast. Guess who paid for those studies?

    I love breakfast. But for those who can make it through lunchtime without feeling ravenous, you are doing nothing wrong. It is not the most "important" meal of the day.

    You're right on those studies.

    Plus: the correlations were associated with higher levels of satiety meaning less snacking during the rest of the day. But, if you are using MFP as designed and tracking your food, this is irrelevant. With or without breakfast you track you food and if you have no more calories left - you don't eat (or you move more or make up the short fall the following day).

    In short: eating Ad Lib is different than pre or on the spot food logging.
  • xmichaelyx
    xmichaelyx Posts: 883 Member
    Craft_queen wrote: »
    I know everyone says breakfast is the most important meal of the day and you should make it your biggest meal

    People who say that are marketers who want you to buy their breakfast products. Or they're just parroting what they heard on a commercial.
  • endlessfall16
    endlessfall16 Posts: 932 Member
    kommodevaran wrote: »
    DebSozo wrote: »
    elisa123gal wrote: »
    I eat breakfast if Im starving..i figure my body needs it. But if I'm not hungry ... I don't eat it because i too feel like it puts me on the eating path for the day.

    I was reading a thread where some people successful in maintenance say they do so by not counting calories any longer..they just stick to eating two meals a day and it works perfectly for them. so there ya go!

    I have found this to be my answer. I only eat two meals and hit maintenance without trying or going over. I don't have to count calories and seem to be losing a bit of weight based on my clothes fitting looser.

    I maintain my weight eating 3-4 meals a day, no calorie counting. I think the important thing is eating meals, not number of meals.
    I weigh myself every day, because I can't base anything on how clothes fit, they seem to just stop fitting.

    It doesn't even have to be a meal. In certain time I need to eat, I just eat a few sugar crackers + a black tea. Good for many hours. Is that even a meal?

    I like what the second poster said: Whats important is to eat when your hungry, and NOT eating when youre not hungry.

    And being empty stomach or a bit hungry-like while you're OK energy-wise is perfectly OK not to eat. Don't rush to food at the first second you feel uncomfortable :)
  • tcunbeliever
    tcunbeliever Posts: 8,219 Member
    I don't eat breakfast - no I don't think it's important.
  • jdhcm2006
    jdhcm2006 Posts: 2,254 Member
    I eat breakfast b/c I like to. It helps me get some much needed protein and be more alert in the mornings. But it's not necessary for weight loss.

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