intermittent fasting and skipping breakfast myths

Anonymous_fiend

I currently eat breakfast when I first get up partially out of habit. The other reason is I've been told you need to eat breakfast in order to have energy, better brain function, and to start your metabolism. I want to try light intermittent fasting but could use some pointers? Other than ending up consuming less calories what are the benefits? Will my metabolism run slower from not breaking my fast after sleeping? Anyone have recomp progress while doing this?

lulalacroix

I use IF to keep my calories in check. I do not notice any other benefit of intermittent fasting. Meal timing has no relevance in weight loss, if that is what you are trying to do. I still have great energy without eating breakfast, although I do consume caffeine as soon as I get up.

Ready2Rock206

Eat your calories at whatever time works best for you. Your body doesn't care about what time it is.

tlflag1620

Your metabolism never stops. If it did you'd be dead

I like IF because I'm not much of breakfast person anyway, and it allows me to eat more when I'm actually hungry (also I find when I do eat breakfast I tend to be hungrier durning the day). It's really a matter of personal preference. If you like eating breakfast and feel better doing it, there is nothing wrong with it. There does seem to be some emerging evidence of (possible) benefits to periodic fasting, be it daily IF (usually a 16:8 or 14:10 split), or a weekly 5:2 split (eating very low calorie two days a week, and at maintenance the other 5). But I'm not very UTD on that.

I think it can be a useful tool if you find it helps you better adhere to your calorie goal. There is a pretty cool graphic floating around here on the importance of these things for weight loss and training (from most important to least), putting calories as the most important, then macros, micros, meal timing, and finally supplements. I'm sure someone will post it. Fasting would fall under meal timing, and not nearly as important as calories.

ninerbuff

miritikvah wrote: »

I currently eat breakfast when I first get up partially out of habit. The other reason is I've been told you need to eat breakfast in order to have energy, better brain function, and to start your metabolism. I want to try light intermittent fasting but could use some pointers? Other than ending up consuming less calories what are the benefits? Will my metabolism run slower from not breaking my fast after sleeping? Anyone have recomp progress while doing this?

I can see it to help provide more energy and yes to brain function, but starting your metabolism is a myth. As soon as you roll up out of bed and physically move, your metabolic rate rises.

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

livingleanlivingclean

You do break your fast after sleeping.... You just wait a few hours (unless you choose to eat early in the day and fast until the next morning)

You also don't eat less calories, you just have a smaller window to eat your calories in.

I do IF a lot as I like eating bigger meals, and I like eating at night. I also train in the evening, so it makes sense to me to eat more around training.

I spent years eating 6 meals a day because I thought it was what I was supposed to do - I was constantly hungry and never satisfied eating piddly little meals. Ignoring hunger is easy for me when doing IF and I also feel like I have more even/consistent energy levels.

SusanMFindlay

tlflag1620 wrote: »

be it daily IF (usually a 16:8 or 10:14 split),

Is that a typo, or am I confused? Doesn't everyone have close to a 10:14 split? Just under 10 hours asleep; eat when you're awake. I wouldn't have thought that counted as IF?

tlflag1620

SusanMFindlay wrote: »

tlflag1620 wrote: »

be it daily IF (usually a 16:8 or 10:14 split),

Is that a typo, or am I confused? Doesn't everyone have close to a 10:14 split? Just under 10 hours asleep; eat when you're awake. I wouldn't have thought that counted as IF?

Ha! Yes, transposed numbers - 14:10 split (14 hours fasted, 10 hours eating)... I must be tired (10 hours sleep? I'm lucky to get six, and they're usually interrupted by teething toddler ). Went back and fixed it!

albertabeefy

ninerbuff wrote: »

... but starting your metabolism is a myth. As soon as you roll up out of bed and physically move, your metabolic rate rises.

Before that, even. We wake up because our brainstem and hypothalamic neurons start producing norepinephrine, acetylcholine, seratonin and more ... Our liver releases some glucose into the bloodstream ... this gets our metabolic rate moving before we even open our eyes.

Dalceridae

I always used to eat breakfast because I thought you needed to - "most important meal of the day" etc. Once I started logging my food, I struggled with a deficit because I like to eat in the evenings, but I wouldn't have many calories left for dinner. I also started noticing that eating small bits here and there left me feeling even hungrier (I would bring fruit into work for mid-morning and mid-afternoon snacks). Several small meals left me feeling constantly unsatisfied and wanting to eat more, so I would often go over my calories in the evening for dinner.

I only really started Intermittent fasting ~2 weeks ago, skipping breakfast. I still feel in some ways like I "should" eat breakfast, but I think IF is working better for me. Now I can have a decent lunch and a nice big dinner (or smaller dinner + treat) rather than spreading out my calories throughout the day. I am sticking to my deficit much easier now because I can actually feel satisfied after eating. Skipping breakfast isn't too difficult as I discovered I don't actually get that hungry first thing in the morning, and water keeps me happy until lunch (and knowing that I have a decent sized meal ahead of me helps as well).

laur357

With 16:8 IF, you're still going to need to watch your calories. I don't like to eat early in the day, and I like larger meals, so it works pretty well for me. One of the benefits of short fasts seems to be improved insulin response, but it won't change how many calories your body burns.

(I do 16:8 or 18:6.)

singingflutelady

Never eat breakfast. I do 20:4 and sometimes 21:3

TavistockToad

miritikvah wrote: »

I currently eat breakfast when I first get up partially out of habit. The other reason is I've been told you need to eat breakfast in order to have energy, better brain function, and to start your metabolism. I want to try light intermittent fasting but could use some pointers? Other than ending up consuming less calories what are the benefits? Will my metabolism run slower from not breaking my fast after sleeping? Anyone have recomp progress while doing this?

what is 'light intermittent fasting'?

crzycatlady1

lulalacroix wrote: »

I use IF to keep my calories in check. I do not notice any other benefit of intermittent fasting. Meal timing has no relevance in weight loss, if that is what you are trying to do. I still have great energy without eating breakfast, although I do consume caffeine as soon as I get up.

This. I use IF as a way to help keep my calorie intake in check. I've also found that if I eat in the morning then I'm hungrier during the rest of the day and that leads to more snacking /going over on calories.

Domomallow

Like many of the other people responding before me have said- I fast through breakfast and have a late lunch (usually 1 or 2 in the afternoon)
I find that the biggest benefit is that it keeps me from eating so much.
If I eat early in the day like that, it wakes up my food cravings or something and I end up being hungry all day long. Whereas when I start eating at 2, I eat a small lunch and go home and cook a larger dinner... I can have a small dessert and still leave a pretty good caloric deficit.
I would much rather that to eating three small meals and a few snacks.

Keep in mind, I do drink green tea with stevia all morning... so I am hydrating and getting a little bit of caffeine also.

ilovesweeties

The public health advice to eat breakfast (i.e wholemeal cereal and/or toast with some fruit, not a full, fried English) is sound, as you would generally get useful nutrients (macro and micro) from these foods. The theory is that if you eat something healthy and filling just after you wake up, you would be less susceptible to a less healthy mid-morning snack, perhaps avoiding choosing something with potentially fewer micronutrients. This is fine for a general population, who are not focused on the fine detail of their diets, but still need to consume a wide variety of foods to meet their nutritional requirements. The meal timing is arbitrary- foods like cereal and toast are typically consumed in the early am and they would (hopefully) prevent less healthy choices later in the morning. However! General population advice is not the same as advice for individual circumstances. If you are a person who is focused on weight loss (or another specific goal) where, as others have noted, calories in vs. calories out is the overriding factor, an important thing would be to arrange your calorie consumption to suit your appetite. If having breakfast shortly after you wake works, have breakfast then. If not, whenever and whatever you eat later is your "break fast" and should be whatever satisfies you and meets your calorie goal.

crzycatlady1

ilovesweeties wrote: »

The public health advice to eat breakfast (i.e wholemeal cereal and/or toast with some fruit, not a full, fried English) is sound, as you would generally get useful nutrients (macro and micro) from these foods. The theory is that if you eat something healthy and filling just after you wake up, you would be less susceptible to a less healthy mid-morning snack, perhaps avoiding choosing something with potentially fewer micronutrients. This is fine for a general population, who are not focused on the fine detail of their diets, but still need to consume a wide variety of foods to meet their nutritional requirements. The meal timing is arbitrary- foods like cereal and toast are typically consumed in the early am and they would (hopefully) prevent less healthy choices later in the morning. However! General population advice is not the same as advice for individual circumstances. If you are a person who is focused on weight loss (or another specific goal) where, as others have noted, calories in vs. calories out is the overriding factor, an important thing would be to arrange your calorie consumption to suit your appetite. If having breakfast shortly after you wake works, have breakfast then. If not, whenever and whatever you eat later is your "break fast" and should be whatever satisfies you and meets your calorie goal.

This is an interesting idea considering many people do IF because they've found that eating in the morning actually triggers feeling more hungry during the day /needing to snack more. By eliminating eating in the morning I've also eliminated needing a mid-morning snack all together

It would be interesting to see what would happen if not eating in the morning became a widespread practice?

ninerbuff

Eating for people is a HABITUAL BEHAVIOR. Unless you're willing to change the behavior, one will keep gaining/maintaining the weight they are currently at.
That said, really all one has to do to lose weight is EAT LESS than they currently are. That's a change in behavior. One doesn't have to add or reduce meal frequencies if it too hard to do. Just make whatever meals they make smaller and or less calories.

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

trigden1991

singingflutelady wrote: »

Never eat breakfast. I do 20:4 and sometimes 21:3

I have been known to do 23.5 : 0.5 before and rather enjoyed eating a 2500 calorie meal in one sitting.

kshama2001

ilovesweeties wrote: »

The public health advice to eat breakfast (i.e wholemeal cereal and/or toast with some fruit, not a full, fried English) is sound, as you would generally get useful nutrients (macro and micro) from these foods. The theory is that if you eat something healthy and filling just after you wake up, you would be less susceptible to a less healthy mid-morning snack, perhaps avoiding choosing something with potentially fewer micronutrients. This is fine for a general population, who are not focused on the fine detail of their diets, but still need to consume a wide variety of foods to meet their nutritional requirements. The meal timing is arbitrary- foods like cereal and toast are typically consumed in the early am and they would (hopefully) prevent less healthy choices later in the morning. However! General population advice is not the same as advice for individual circumstances. If you are a person who is focused on weight loss (or another specific goal) where, as others have noted, calories in vs. calories out is the overriding factor, an important thing would be to arrange your calorie consumption to suit your appetite. If having breakfast shortly after you wake works, have breakfast then. If not, whenever and whatever you eat later is your "break fast" and should be whatever satisfies you and meets your calorie goal.

I agree with the benefits of a filling first meal, but for many people, including myself, the high carbs and low protein provided by cereal, toast, and fruit is not in the least bit filling.

CasperNaegle

It makes no difference when you eat your calories.. If you want to save them for later in the day and fast longer give it a shot. I personally like to get some food in the morning. I do save the vast majority until later just because I'm more inclined to snack at night so I save my calories to fit that in.

Anonymous_fiend

I'll have to try it one day soon. I tend to get hangry in the morning tho

hokiemom14

I came across IF a couple days ago on here and starting reading about it. I'm basically on my 1st full day. I ate breakfast yesterday but then didn't eat again until 1 and stopped at 9. I'm holding out until 1 to eat today and so far it's not too bad.

There were a few things that I liked when I was reading about this. Please tell me if I have it wrong because I'm just hearing about this for the first time. It seems as though your body is burning actual fat during the fasting hours and then building muscle during eating times (if you are working out and trying to do that). That is basically my goal for this year so I thought I would give this a shot and read a few articles that stated this. Also, there is the idea that it's easier to eat less because you are doing it in a shorter time frame. That does not seem to be the case for others who posted above, but it did work out that way for me yesterday. We'll see what happens today.

I'm not sure I could do more than 16:8, but I'm just over an hour away from eating and so far it's not too bad.

Do you all eat like this daily or do you do it for a certain amount of time (like 30 days) and then take a break? I told myself I would give it 30 days to see how I feel. I eat a mostly whole food/paleo diet and wasn't interested in making diet changes, but was intrigued by changing the hours of eating.

cwolfman13

miritikvah wrote: »

I currently eat breakfast when I first get up partially out of habit. The other reason is I've been told you need to eat breakfast in order to have energy, better brain function, and to start your metabolism. I want to try light intermittent fasting but could use some pointers? Other than ending up consuming less calories what are the benefits? Will my metabolism run slower from not breaking my fast after sleeping? Anyone have recomp progress while doing this?

With IF you're still supposed to hit your calorie targets...IF is used by people with variable weight management objectives, not just weight loss...I know people in maintenance who are doing IF and well as people bulking, etc. You still hit your calorie targets.

Check this out...

http://www.leangains.com/

Personally, it doesn't work for me as I can't fit in that much food in a smallish window. I like eating three squares and a couple of snacks, but a lot of people do well with it. It really comes down to what you're going to adhere to on a consistent basis.

ilovesweeties

crzycatlady1 wrote: »

It would be interesting to see what would happen if not eating in the morning became a widespread practice?

It would! I wonder if it is to do with workers needing fed before a morning of manual labour? Before most of us were just sitting at desks all day. I am a public health nutritionist in the UK, so while I know the science behind public health recommendations, it has been interesting while losing weight to see what has worked for me and for others (and how that differs from general public health advice).

annaskiski

I IF during the week, then on weekends usually have brunch with my hubbie. Often this ends up being my normal break-fast time anyway (11), but if we have stuff to do and eat earlier, I don't sweat it.

IF is great if you'd rather save calories for two satisfying meals, rather than constantly pecking on small ones.

And here's some reading on the hormonal effects of IF. This is Fung, who is a little crazy about the CICO theory (ignore that, calories DO matter)

https://intensivedietarymanagement.com/fasting-and-growth-hormone-physiology-part-3/