Breakfast: Yes or No?

13

Replies

  • sheepysaccount
    sheepysaccount Posts: 608 Member
    I am on the fence with this one. I love a good hearty breakfast if I get a late start to my day, i.e. not being in school for first class because those days kill me and thank God teachers get free coffee. But sometimes I skip it in favor of sleeping 15 more minutes :)
  • jec285
    jec285 Posts: 145 Member
    Still pretty new to MFP but it doesn't take long browsing the forums to learn a few simple facts:

    -It doesn't ''kickstart'' your metabolism
    -It's not any more important (from a metabolism/diet/nutrition standpoint) than any other calories you put into your body
    -As has been stated many times, if you feel hungry, or can't operate mentally/physically without it, then yes of course, eat it
    -If you can get by without it, you're probably better off saving your calories for later

    I'm down nearly 60 lbs (from 320) since Christmas, I don't eat breakfast unless I absolutely feel the need to.
  • Go_Mizzou99
    Go_Mizzou99 Posts: 2,628 Member
    Yes...every day. A hot one is best.

    If I run late, Lean Cuisine and Atkins have a couple of really good scrambled egg frozen meals.
  • deksgrl
    deksgrl Posts: 7,237 Member
    Sometimes I eat breakfast, sometimes I don't. As long as I get the right amount of calories somewhere throughout the day, then I lose weight.
  • badbcatha05
    badbcatha05 Posts: 200 Member
    The only thing you should do with regard to breakfast is listen to your body. If your body is hungry, feed it. If it's not, don't just because someone says you should. I have done IF a few times, and as long as I planned out my lunches and dinners I was fine. The days I didn't plan were the ones where I personally had a "put all of the food in my mouth" feeling and ended up eating way too much.

    Sometimes I eat breakfast, sometimes I only have a cup of coffee. It all depends on how I am feeling for the day... sometimes it ends up being more like brunch. As long as you are eating the number of calories you SHOULD be, it really won't make a difference when you consume them... unless you get hangry when you skip a meal. :)
  • Lola2248
    Lola2248 Posts: 126 Member
    Yes I eat breakfast, even If just cereal and coffee.
  • tmauck4472
    tmauck4472 Posts: 1,785 Member
    Breakfast is the most important meal of the day! If anything, you should eat the least at dinner (but obviously no one does that haha)

    If you eat in the morning, it kick starts your metabolic rate and therefore helps you burn more calories throughout the day! :)

    Not true, as you can see by my ticker, I don't have breakfast a lot of days and it doesn't hurt me at all.
    OP it's all in how you feel, if your hungry then eat, if your not then don't. As with everything there are so many different opinions out there including doctors. Blah blah do what you want. I love fasting and I'm currently doing the 5:2 expanding it some to 4:3 finding it works for me.
  • Chezzie84
    Chezzie84 Posts: 873 Member
    I always eat breakfast. I can't eat anything before 8:00 because it makes me feel yukky and since I am on the motorway at that time, I wait until I get to work.

    I dont have a lot of time in the morning to prepare breakfast so I do it the night before.
  • mitchiejo
    mitchiejo Posts: 179 Member
    Definitely a breakfast person, always have been!
  • smc864
    smc864 Posts: 570 Member
    I eat brunch :bigsmile:

    I wake up around 7:00 am but I don't eat breakfast until around 10:30. If I eat any earlier than that I'm starving all day and I run out of calories.
  • btsinmd
    btsinmd Posts: 921 Member
    If you interpret breakfast as when you "break" your "fast" then obviously it's the most important meal of the day, because if you never have a first meal (whatever time you eat it) then you aren't going to be able to have a second or third meal and you'll likely starve if you keep it up for too long.

    I found it funny that someone posted that they don't have breakfast because they don't get hungry until 2 hours after they wake up. I love breakfast and look forward to it, yet I am never able to fit it into my day until 2 or 3 hours after I wake. I'm usually up by 5 or 5:30 am and finally manage to eat by 7:30 or 8 am, sometimes it's 10 or 11 am. I never knew until reading this post that I'm not actually eating breakfast.
  • Grumpellina
    Grumpellina Posts: 49
    Some people report increased mood and focus when they eat breakfast.

    This is me.
  • jec285
    jec285 Posts: 145 Member
    If you interpret breakfast as when you "break" your "fast" then obviously it's the most important meal of the day, because if you never have a first meal (whatever time you eat it) then you aren't going to be able to have a second or third meal and you'll likely starve if you keep it up for too long.

    I found it funny that someone posted that they don't have breakfast because they don't get hungry until 2 hours after they wake up. I love breakfast and look forward to it, yet I am never able to fit it into my day until 2 or 3 hours after I wake. I'm usually up by 5 or 5:30 am and finally manage to eat by 7:30 or 8 am, sometimes it's 10 or 11 am. I never knew until reading this post that I'm not actually eating breakfast.

    So you're saying if you have a granola bar when you wake up, don't eat anything else all day, then have a 3 course meal for dinner, the granola bar was more important?

    :laugh:
  • sstolii123
    sstolii123 Posts: 205 Member
    I drink my breakfast in the Morning. I have a serving of Barn Dads Fiber DX (chocolate) and a serving of Isopure Protein (chocolate) .

    I find that having some sort of breakfast in the morning gets my metabolism revved up and I feel better. The fiber helps keep my blood sugar stable and is good for cholesterol and a host of other good things.
  • elyelyse
    elyelyse Posts: 1,454 Member
    If you interpret breakfast as when you "break" your "fast" then obviously it's the most important meal of the day, because if you never have a first meal (whatever time you eat it) then you aren't going to be able to have a second or third meal and you'll likely starve if you keep it up for too long.

    I found it funny that someone posted that they don't have breakfast because they don't get hungry until 2 hours after they wake up. I love breakfast and look forward to it, yet I am never able to fit it into my day until 2 or 3 hours after I wake. I'm usually up by 5 or 5:30 am and finally manage to eat by 7:30 or 8 am, sometimes it's 10 or 11 am. I never knew until reading this post that I'm not actually eating breakfast.
    Oh come on, you know exactly what people mean when they say they "don't eat breakfast".
    It's just easier to say "I don't eat breakfast" than it is to say " I don't have my first meal until several hours after I wake up and once I do eat, it's usually not typical breakfast food"
  • leggup
    leggup Posts: 2,942 Member
    You won't fail to lose weight because you do or don't eat breakfast. However, there have been some recent studies that indicate there is some sort of correlation between people who eat breakfast and weight gain over time. Correlation does not imply causation, of course. It's just interesting.

    There are a few other reasons to eat breakfast, some mentioned here: http://www.businessinsider.com/13-habits-of-fit-and-lean-people-2014-4

    For the link-phobic: If you are hungry in the morning and you skip breakfast, you may make poorer choices later in the day/binge.

    I wake up at 6:20 am and I eat breakfast at work at 8:30 am, usually a banana with a cup of coffee/tea or a single serve veggie frittata.
  • GBrady43068
    GBrady43068 Posts: 1,256 Member
    I know many argue against meal timing but to me it makes sense: If I'm going to eat a larger meal, it should be the earliest in the day when I have the most time available to work it off before I lie down to sleep at night and my metabolism slows.

    Now "breakfast" doesn't necessarily have to happen at 6-8AM...depending on your schedule, if you're working a second shift 2PM-10:30PM, 3PM-11:30PM type shift then breakfast might happen at 11AM or Noon or even later if you're working third shift/overnights.

    And also if morning is when you do your workout, you want to try and get something into you about an hour before you begin so you have some energy to power it. My two cents...
  • districtsoul
    districtsoul Posts: 6
    The studies have shown that eating breakfast is highly necessary to get your metabolism started. If you were to rank the 3 main meals, breakfast should have to most calories, then lunch, then dinner. It takes energy to digest the food. So if your body has to get to work right away, it is already working as your day gets started. If your body is scared it will not get food, the metabolism will naturally be slower as a self protection mechanism. That's why any sort of "starvation" method is ineffective. The body always fights to stay alive and survive INCLUDING slowing down all metabolism in the absence of food.
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  • eric_sg61
    eric_sg61 Posts: 2,925 Member
    Just LOL@ the responses in this thread. If your metabolism needs "kickstarted",then bad news, you died and are being resuscitated.
  • elyelyse
    elyelyse Posts: 1,454 Member
    I know many argue against meal timing but to me it makes sense: If I'm going to eat a larger meal, it should be the earliest in the day when I have the most time available to work it off before I lie down to sleep at night and my metabolism slows.
    Your body burns X number of calories every day based on activity, no matter what time you eat and what time you sleep. Eat fewer calories than you burn in a regular basis, and your body doesn't care when you eat, you will be at a deficit. All that food you think you don't burn because you go to sleep...it doesn't magically become fat just because you go to sleep.
    Ask all the people who successfully follow Intermittant Fasting and consume most of their calories between noon-8pm or later (and have a typical sleep schedule) if eating large meals at night disrupts their rate of loss.
  • RToland45
    RToland45 Posts: 57 Member
    Same in my house! I don't want to eat as soon as I wake but my husband is a "bear" if he doesn't.
  • LFDBabs
    LFDBabs Posts: 297 Member
    Breakfast is the most important meal of the day! If anything, you should eat the least at dinner (but obviously no one does that haha)

    If you eat in the morning, it kick starts your metabolic rate and therefore helps you burn more calories throughout the day! :)
    No, no, no..........no ^^^^^^^ Oh yea, not that^^^^
    Some people report increased mood and focus when they eat breakfast. Others react the opposite. Some people find that they stay fuller longer when they eat breakfast. Some are hungrier after eating in the morning.

    Meal timing will not affect your weight loss. It may affect your gym performance, concentration, and hunger levels throughout the day. Eat it if you want. Skip it if you want.
    Perfectly stated ^^^^ It's as good as any answer that will come along in this thread.

    +1
    Couldn't have said it better or more precise.

    I will add that I have just started with an IF 16:8 experiment. Honestly didn't think I could do it. It was so easy for me to transition into IF. I skip breakfast (I have white tea and water) and begin to eat between 11 and noon. I actually have found that I am no where near as hungry throughout the day since starting IF. When I was eating a big breakfast I was ready to eat my arm by 10:30am. I'm only in day 4, but I see this as a sustainable lifestyle for me.... Oh, and the scale is moving downward again! To each their own.
  • summertime_girl
    summertime_girl Posts: 3,945 Member
    It's usually a protein shake, protein bar, and pre-workout.
  • Beckilovespizza
    Beckilovespizza Posts: 334 Member
    They say eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a pauper...

    I chose to ignore this and prefer the extra half hour in bed, I've lost successfully so it didn't seem to matter for me. I eat most my allowance in the evening.
  • BigGuy47
    BigGuy47 Posts: 1,768 Member
    I usually eat breakfast because I'm hungry in the morning.
  • asdowe13
    asdowe13 Posts: 1,951 Member
    I eat breakfast, I like breakfast, I don't need to eat breakfast. Not everyone will eat breakfast, or like breakfast.

    Find what works for you.
    If you want to eat it, eat it, if you want to skip it skip it.

    No right or wrong way to decide when to eat, just make sure to eat!
  • princessmommy122
    princessmommy122 Posts: 135 Member
    Absolutely, I eat breakfast. If I skip breakfast I end up hungry late at night when my defenses are down.
  • RadioactivePirate
    RadioactivePirate Posts: 212
    I've been reading a new book, Dr. Yoni Freedhoff's "The Diet Fix" and one of his recommendations is to eat a breakfast that is at least 1/5 of your total daily calories, with a minimum of 20g of protein. He promises that this will decrease my hunger and urges to snack later in the day, and especially at night which is when I have issues. Trying it today for the first time! I always eat breakfast, just not usually this much.
  • weather_nerd
    weather_nerd Posts: 93
    As soon as I wake up, I have to have a coffee. I will eat breakfast/early lunch around 10:30 am or so. I'm just not hungry first thing in the morning, but I sure do crave a coffee!

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