Should I eat breakfast...

schmutsala

...when I'm not hungry?

I've been sticking under my caloric goal for the most part, and losing weight, but the problem is that I force myself to eat in the morning, which seems counter-productive.

I just don't want to eat right away. I usually want to wait a few hours after I get up at the earliest.

I've been following a "eat when you're hungry" approach, and it's been working really well. So I guess I'm asking if you all think that should apply to breakfast as well or if I should not and just eat when I get hungry in the morning.

XFitMojoMom

best to eat something within the first hour of waking. Break Fast implies that you are supposed to be "breaking from your overnight fasting". If you don't, your body start to use stored muscle for energy, which is not a good thing.

TeamLeela

I agree, even if you just eat something like a banana or small apple. Even something as simple as 10 grapes count as one serving of fruit. It will just jumpstart your metabolism to stay fired up all day. I start every morning with 8 ounces of water with 1 slice of fresh lemon squeezed in it. That's supposed to be a good fat burner too. But don't force yourself to eat, just keep it light.

AMSull19

I would definately eat breakfast. If your not hungry right away in the morning waiting a while might be okay. Its hard for me to imagine not being hungry in the morning, im always starving when i wake up. Keep in mind that if you starve your body it goes into starvation mode and converts the next thing you eat into fat.

StarryEyedGirl

you should eat something small at least! fruit, yogurt, toast... something small get that metabolizm going! maybe you should look into meal replacement shakes!

Phoenix_Rising

Eat when you get hungry.
If it ain't broke, don't fix it.
My two cents.

DrBorkBork

Try making (or buying) a protein shake, even something like Ensure. At least you'll get your nutrients in and get your metabolism revved up for the day.

SimonLondon

I share your problem. In my entire life I have never wanted to eat anything before 11am but I do try to eat something a couple of hours after waking up because it's the best I can do. So normally as I start work at 9am I have some muesli or a yogurt which keeps me going until lunchtime.

mandikaye

Most doctors will agree that you should not eat when you're not hungry. If you're not hungry, wait a bit. When you ARE hungry, eat small meals spaced apart by a few hours.

leavinglasvegas

I'm the same way. I follow the eat when hungry approach and it seems to be working. However, I'm under the care of an endocrinologist who wants me eating every 5 hours at the least. So I've taken the approach of grabbing a fist full of nuts, a small smootie, small piece of fruit, or just a bite or two of left overs just to get something in my tummy and get stuff moving.

The important thing to remember is, eating something upon awaking doesn't have to be a huge meal. This is my program as recommended and approved by my doctor/nutritionist. It may not work for you, but just a suggestion to consider and maybe discuss with your doctor/nutritionist.

schmutsala

I always felt that if it ain't broke, don't fix it, as well.

But I see the rest of your points.

So I ate a banana.

That's something, I hope, if only a weird compromise.

sbilyeu75

I sometimes just drink a glass of milk.

JoyElizabeth

I have taken the "eat when hungry" approach, and it has been fine for me to maintain my weight.

To lose it has meant that I have to watch it a little more, and by making better choices and recording them, I am seeing more of a pattern now - and not planning my foods has helped keep my body guessing, which keeps the metabolism up.

As far as breakfast goes, for years I used to eat as soon as I would get up - big bowls of cereal and milk, but now that I am exercising on an empty stomach first thing and I have other big stuff going on at work, I find that I am more distracted now and eating breakfast isn't really as big a priority as getting out the door.

But I've noticed that because I've been doing this and eating my breakfast hours after getting up, I am getting more tired.

The tiredness has stopped me from exercising due to health reasons, and I have recently gone back to having a banana first thing and I'm feeling a lot more focused and better in myself. It only takes an hour for a banana to move out of your digestive tract, or 20 minutes for other fruit, but it makes all the difference to keeping your metabolism working better.

I've not been logging any of my foods for the past 2 weeks, I have stopped exercising to be able to reclaim some of my core energy, and yet through it all, I have maintained my weight - the only thing that was different was the banana within the hour after getting out of bed.

I'll be returning to exercise next week, but after my run and before I'm out the door, I'll keep having my Banana Smoothie to keep the energy and metabolism up.

Hope it helps,

Kind Regards,

Joy.
:flowerforyou:

LuckyLeprechaun

maybe this is you, maybe it isn't...

a lot of people don't feel hungry for breakfast because they ate their largest meal yesterday at dinner.

breakfast as your biggest meal, then lunch as the middle meal, then dinner as the smallest meal is a good strategy for maximum fat burn. This way you aren't going to bed with your largest meal in your stomach.

leavinglasvegas

maybe this is you, maybe it isn't...

a lot of people don't feel hungry for breakfast because they ate their largest meal yesterday at dinner.

breakfast as your biggest meal, then lunch as the middle meal, then dinner as the smallest meal is a good strategy for maximum fat burn. This way you aren't going to bed with your largest meal in your stomach.

This is very true. There is a saying that goes: "Eat breakfast like a King, Lunch like a Prince, and dinner like a Pauper."

Great point.

Behavior_Modification

Yes, always eat breakfast. This particular meal isn't about being hungry, but about nourishing your body for the day to get you going. I went for years and years w/o eating until lunch because I wasn't hungry either. 5 months ago I started seeing a nutrition coach and that was one of the first habits they advised me to break. Breakfast is very important, hungry or not. Now after 5 months of eating that way, my body craves food in the mornings.

healthylyss

I'm never hungry in the mornings either, but the great benefit that comes from eating breakfast is that it jumpstarts your metabolism for the day. Your body does not start burning calories efficiently until you put some fuel in it in the morning. Try to stomach even just a banana or some nonfat yogurt. Good luck!

KarenECunningham

Most definitely eat breakfast. I had a personal trainer who insisted on it. It gets your metabolism going for the day. I would eat 1/2 ounce of almonds and 1/2 a banana before my workout and it made a big difference in my stamina (so my trainer was right)

lilmissy2

Research has shown that people who eat breakfast are much more likely to be in their healthy weight range than those who don't. This could just be because people who eat healthily and take care of themselves tend to eat breakfast (rather than some physical help of actually eating breakfast) but still, it's interesting.

I say yep, eat brekky! I agree that it doesn't have to be much. I also don't think it has to be the second you wake up to make a difference but probably within the first 2 hrs as a rough guideline.

Barneystinson

I wait a while before eating in the mornings - I work out fasted everyday. The "eat within one hour of waking" is a pretty individual thing, IMO.