Why Can't I Skip Breakfast?

Novus175

In my opinion, not eating breakfast is like attempting a long roadtrip without stopping at the gas station to fill up the tank.

I just went on a 600 mile road trip we didn't fill the tank until we went halfway (we started with 3/4th of a tank) and we were just fine.

My assumption with the analogy was that the gas tank was empty at the start of the trip - ie that in the morning your "gas tank" is empty and you have no fuel. I have been corrected to understand that some people do not have an empty "gas tank" in the morning and therefore have no problems with not eating until later in the day. I, however, need fuel first thing in the morning; my "low fuel" light is always on when I wake up.

Novus175

I am not a sock puppet.

In saying I felt better "immediately" upon eating, my basic thought process was this: you stop being active, you sit down to eat your meal, and within the 15-30 minutes it takes to consume said meal and resume being active, one feels that their energy has been replenished. In other words, when you resume activity the lethargy/sluggishness has vanished.

StacyPhillipsTSFLcoach

Studies show that more often than not, people are who overweight or obese are more apt to skip breakfast. I don't know if that is reason enough to HAVE it, but OTHER studies show that people who eat larger less frequent meals tend to add MORE body fat on them than those who don't: http://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/most-important-meal

Then to muddy the waters there is this: http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20130304-skip-breakfast-pile-on-weight

I say do what works for you. Throwing a log on the fire of your metabolism within about an hour of waking up may rev it up a little bit for a slightly higher net burn through the day, but is there concrete evidence of this association? Elisabetta Politi, RD, MPH, nutrition manager for the Duke Diet & Fitness Center at Duke University Medical School says YES.

http://www.webmd.com/diet/features/lose-weight-eat-breakfast

All in all, the WORST thing you can do is save all your calories for dinner. You go to bed and your bod has no reason to use that energy you just ate...and will simply store it as fat.

tracydr

Sometimes I wait until 10-11 in the morning. When I'm hungry, I have a combined breakfast,lunch. This is easier on days at home than on work days.
If I have a big brunch, it works well to keep me satisfied until dinner.

ironanimal

Studies show that more often than not, people are who overweight or obese are more apt to skip breakfast. I don't know if that is reason enough to HAVE it, but OTHER studies show that people who eat larger less frequent meals tend to add MORE body fat on them than those who don't: http://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/most-important-meal

Then to muddy the waters there is this: http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20130304-skip-breakfast-pile-on-weight

I say do what works for you. Throwing a log on the fire of your metabolism within about an hour of waking up may rev it up a little bit for a slightly higher net burn through the day, but is there concrete evidence of this association? This study says yes:

http://www.webmd.com/diet/features/lose-weight-eat-breakfast

All in all, the WORST thing you can do is save all your calories for dinner. You go to bed and your bod has gotten no reason to use that energy you just ate...and will simply store it as fat.

Doesn't matter when you eat your calories. If your TDEE is 2500, and you eat 2000 for breakfast and nothing else, 500 cal deficit. Same applies if you ate them all at dinner. Your body, nor calories, cannot tell the time. Metabolism doesn't drop between meals - that happens after about 72 hours of not eating.

StacyPhillipsTSFLcoach

Yes, even in a calorie deficit. Your body doesn't operate on a "24-hour diet clock" that magically resets at midnight. Enzymes and hormones are produced throughout the day in response to what you are eating or not eating, it doesn't just total everything up at midnight and reset for the next day. If you put your body in a constant "famine-then-feast" situation, it will adapt and begin to simply store the calories you ate for dinner as fat if you don't need them right away. Your body doesn't just let all those absorbed calories float around in your blood all night, insulin is produced and what you don't utilize is converted to fat and stored. She asked if it mattered, and research says it does.

But if you don't agree with me that is fine too. I look at research, I have a degree in Human Nutrition and am obtaining my Masters in Obesity Prevention and Management, but what the heck do I know? Quoting Fargo "I'm not gonna debate you Jerry...."

bethira

Personally it would kill me to not eat a morning meal. I'm definitely one of those 6 small meals a day kind of people. That's what works for me. If a morning meal doesn't work for you, don't eat it. As long as you're not going over (or significantly under) your calories for the day, and as long as you're hitting your macros, it truly doesn't matter when you eat. Enjoy your 1:00pm break fast and don't worry about "supposed to" so much.

Also, can someone please explain the sockpuppet thing? Did I miss a meme? My kids will make fun of me.

Athijade

Yes, even in a calorie deficit. Your body doesn't operate on a "24-hour diet clock" that magically resets at midnight. Enzymes and hormones are produced throughout the day in response to what you are eating or not eating, it doesn't just total everything up at midnight and reset for the next day. If you put your body in a constant "famine-then-feast" situation, it will adapt and begin to simply store the calories you ate for dinner as fat if you don't need them right away. Your body doesn't just let all those absorbed calories float around in your blood all night, insulin is produced and what you don't utilize is converted to fat and stored. She asked if it mattered, and research says it does.

But if you don't agree with me that is fine too. I look at research, I have a degree in Human Nutrition and am obtaining my Masters in Obesity Prevention and Management, but what the heck do I know? Quoting Fargo "I'm not gonna debate you Jerry...."

I have done my own research, have read multiple current articles, and have come to the educated conclusion that meal timing and frequency have no impact on weight loss or metabolic weight. People have already posted a few links of this or you can use the search feature to find more.

If you are running a calorie deficit then weight loss will happen. Period. Unless you don't obey the laws of physics.

Also, I am not some dang car. Lord, I hate that analogy.

eric_sg61

Yes, even in a calorie deficit. Your body doesn't operate on a "24-hour diet clock" that magically resets at midnight. Enzymes and hormones are produced throughout the day in response to what you are eating or not eating, it doesn't just total everything up at midnight and reset for the next day. If you put your body in a constant "famine-then-feast" situation, it will adapt and begin to simply store the calories you ate for dinner as fat if you don't need them right away. Your body doesn't just let all those absorbed calories float around in your blood all night, insulin is produced and what you don't utilize is converted to fat and stored. She asked if it mattered, and research says it does.

But if you don't agree with me that is fine too. I look at research, I have a degree in Human Nutrition and am obtaining my Masters in Obesity Prevention and Management, but what the heck do I know? Quoting Fargo "I'm not gonna debate you Jerry...."

How do you explain all the people who follow Intermittent Fasting and maintain extremely low body fat levels? Doesn't "feast and famine" happen over the course of days without food?

OysterKat

I only eat breakfast because I don't want my stomach talking to my patients while I clean teeth all day.
I wish I didn't have to
I hate eating when I wake up!!!!!

LolBroScience

Yes, even in a calorie deficit. Your body doesn't operate on a "24-hour diet clock" that magically resets at midnight. Enzymes and hormones are produced throughout the day in response to what you are eating or not eating, it doesn't just total everything up at midnight and reset for the next day. If you put your body in a constant "famine-then-feast" situation, it will adapt and begin to simply store the calories you ate for dinner as fat if you don't need them right away. Your body doesn't just let all those absorbed calories float around in your blood all night, insulin is produced and what you don't utilize is converted to fat and stored. She asked if it mattered, and research says it does.

But if you don't agree with me that is fine too. I look at research, I have a degree in Human Nutrition and am obtaining my Masters in Obesity Prevention and Management, but what the heck do I know? Quoting Fargo "I'm not gonna debate you Jerry...."

Intermittent faster here with a 6-8 hour window. Have done with successfully with both cutting and bulking. There's a handful out there with MUCH more impressive physiques and lower body fat than myself, even at my peak condition


Left Pic: 230 lbs, Right Pic: Mid 170's

Closing in on end of cut low 170's


Upper 160's

End of cut at 166 low

In4science

plzresponse

Sarauk2sf

Yes, even in a calorie deficit. Your body doesn't operate on a "24-hour diet clock" that magically resets at midnight. Enzymes and hormones are produced throughout the day in response to what you are eating or not eating, it doesn't just total everything up at midnight and reset for the next day. If you put your body in a constant "famine-then-feast" situation, it will adapt and begin to simply store the calories you ate for dinner as fat if you don't need them right away. Your body doesn't just let all those absorbed calories float around in your blood all night, insulin is produced and what you don't utilize is converted to fat and stored. She asked if it mattered, and research says it does.

But if you don't agree with me that is fine too. I look at research, I have a degree in Human Nutrition and am obtaining my Masters in Obesity Prevention and Management, but what the heck do I know? Quoting Fargo "I'm not gonna debate you Jerry...."

What research shows that you gain fat over 24 hours in a caloric deficit?

Mykaelous

Generally the benefit is that it keeps your metabolism active throughout the day. This is why they recommend that you have 5 meals a day. I used to never eat breakfast because I was always stayed up late and woke up minutes before school. Now that I graduated college and can make my own schedule I've found that eating in the morning even when I am not hungry limits my hunger urges later in the day. If I didn't have breakfast I would normally have a large lunch because I would fell hungry. We're all different and it may not apply to you, but for me it is a lot easier to make a healthy choice when I don't feel hungry.

12bfree

I’ll go out on a limb and say breakfast is completely unnecessary. However, I’m sure endless college studies will keep the debate alive long after I’m gone.

Be your own experiment. People can cite all the studies they want. I suspect most are just giving opinions on what they think they know. Regardless, it’s hard to argue against what works for you.

Document everything (food, mood, attitude, etc…). Look at the trends. If you are achieving your goals and feel good while you’re doing it; claim victory!

neandermagnon

OP: so long as you're not experiencing excessive hunger that's causing you to snack more and making it harder for you to meet your calorie goal, you can skip breakfast. It sounds like for you, skipping breakfast makes things easier for you, so go for it. There's nothing magical about meal timing. Choose the meal timing that suits you best in terms of what you're going to stick to long term. Personally, if I don't eat breakfast, I get hungrier later on and that makes it harder for me to stay within my calories. But it's about whatever suits you in terms of meal timing.

neandermagnon

Generally the benefit is that it keeps your metabolism active throughout the day. This is why they recommend that you have 5 meals a day. I used to never eat breakfast because I was always stayed up late and woke up minutes before school. Now that I graduated college and can make my own schedule I've found that eating in the morning even when I am not hungry limits my hunger urges later in the day. If I didn't have breakfast I would normally have a large lunch because I would fell hungry. We're all different and it may not apply to you, but for me it is a lot easier to make a healthy choice when I don't feel hungry.

if your metabolism wasn't active you'd be dead.

there's no evidence that eating breakfast or skipping it has any effect on the metabolism

there are some studies that show a correlation between skipping breakfast and being fatter (correlation =/= causation) - these studies were done on joe public, i.e. not on people who were eating a calorie controlled diet........ it includes all the people who skip breakfast because they're disorganised and always running late, who then get hungry around 10am and are now at work and their lunch break is not until 12 or 1 so they snack on crisps and chocolate to keep them going... then eat a normal sized lunch... or are so hungry by lunch time that they overeat at lunch time. Well, I'm sure there are other similar scenarios as well, not just that one. But the point is that skipping breakfast, for a lot of people who are not counting calories, may lead to increased hunger (and therefore overeating) later in the day, or it correlates with a lack of organisation skills which then would lead to poor meal planning generally and an increased reliance on easily available food, e.g. fast food, crisps, chocolate, etc. So anyway, with all those things going on, it basically illustrates that correlation does not automatically mean causation. For people who just want general health advice and don't want to count calories, then advice to plan and eat regular meals including something before work in the morning is good advice as this probably does prevent overeating in some people... for people who are counting calories it really does not matter at all, other than the fact that skipping meals may make it harder for them to stick within their calories - for people doing calorie counting the best advice is just to eat at whatever time is most convenient and easiest to stick to.

Sarauk2sf

Generally the benefit is that it keeps your metabolism active throughout the day. This is why they recommend that you have 5 meals a day. I used to never eat breakfast because I was always stayed up late and woke up minutes before school. Now that I graduated college and can make my own schedule I've found that eating in the morning even when I am not hungry limits my hunger urges later in the day. If I didn't have breakfast I would normally have a large lunch because I would fell hungry. We're all different and it may not apply to you, but for me it is a lot easier to make a healthy choice when I don't feel hungry.

Who are "they"?