breakfast - to eat or not?

UK34

I have always been one to skip breakfast most of my life. But I have been forced into it now (due to medical issues) but I can't face it for several hours after waking.
I wake up at 7am and eat breakfast at 10ish (sometimes 11), then lunch at 1 and dinner at half 6. The worst time for me is afternoons, especially at work.
But I know what you mean about starting off your hunger, that is spot on!!! That is why I wait as long as I think is reasonable and not too far from lunch that I am tempted to munch again before it.

One more thing to add is that I always stay away from toast, it has way more calories than cereal and doesn't even start to make me full.

nxd10

Three thoughts . . .

When you eat is not critical for weight loss compared to just hitting your goals.

I used to skip breakfast. When I started eating breakfast (because I was making it for my kids), I found I ate significantly less at dinner. I know now that eating meals regularly decreases my snacking and makes it less likely that I overeat at night.

As I met my goal and have few extra fat resources, I absolutely need to eat regularly. I don't get hungry, but I know I need to eat. Your body does what it is used to. It has a clock. I also know that I get headaches when I don't eat. My son gets serious migraines. His neurologist told him eating breakfast (and sleeping a regular schedule) are the two most important things in prevention.

princessbessica

Wow, thanks for al the help and advice. Think I'll go with what my body tells me and eat when I'm hungry. I will also keep reading and listening to advice given to me by fellow MFP users.

Still feeling nervous but optimistic. I have entered my details and have been given 1247 calories a day (arghhh!!!) this is going to be a large shock to the system.

I have tried many diets/healthy eating plans in the past and have never succeeded for more than a few weeks then i gain whatever iv lost plus a stone on top. I feel so unhealthy and need to do this for me and my family. They are all worried I am killing myself with food, which I suppose they are right but I cant see the light at the end of the tunnel.

If you can stick to that calorie level that's great - if not don't be afraid to up it a bit. Better to find something you can stick to long term, and lose slowly - than initially lose loads, but not be able to keep it up (and feel bad when you give up). My level is set to 1200 and mostly I can stick to that, but I sometimes up it to 1400 if I'm struggling for a while.
Even when I get to my limit for the day I will eat something if I'm genuinely hungry (rather than boredom or thirst) but I choose something healthy - otherwise I end up eating rubbish later.

riffraff2112

For every study that claims 'breakfast' boosts your metabolism, or helps in weight loss...you can probably find one that claims it has no effect.

I have to eat breakfast, I am starving when I wake up so for me skipping breakfast just is not going to happen. I have lost 40+ lbs by just focussing on the daily calories and not when/where they are coming from.

If you can handle not eating, and learn to control your overeating later in the day....you will succeed. The answer to losing isn't tied to breakfast.

johnnylakis

Breakfast is not only the most important meal of the day, but it is also a double edged sword.

On the one hand, If you skip it, you will be much hungrier later.

On the other hand, Eating a big breakfast will keep you from snacking mid day.

The best answer is to eat small meals all day long. And when you say breakfast it doesn't have to be traditional (eggs, toast, cereal, etc). You can have pasta or beans or nuts or salad.

DerekVTX

In My Opinion based on my results it doesn't matter when you eat. Your weight loss is based on a calorie defecit. If you want to eat them in the morning or spread out throughout the day or all at night it doesn't make that much difference. Eating a breakfast makes me hungry but if I don't have breakfast then I can go until noon before eating. I tried the eat 6 small meals a day and found that harder to stay within my limits as well. Typically in a day I consume 500 to 600 calories prior to dinner and workout in which the workout cancels out my 500 to 600 calories and then some (I have tons of energy at the gym by the way). I have a good dinner, and at night maybe a couple of beers and a snack like some popcorn. I carefully ensure that my calorie defecit around 1000 a day (&7000 per week) and guess what????? Ive been consistantly losing 2 pounds a week.

I have no idea how people can come on this site and offer scientific advice on the "Fact" that eating multiple meals a day or the "Fact" that eating breakfast will make you lose weight...............without quoting reputable actual real studies.

Even with my sucess I still find people in my life need to offer their silly advice and quote them as facts...such as: If you want to lose weight then.......
1. You have to not eat fruit. (I disagree)
2. You have to eat several small meals a day (I disagree)
3. You can not eat anything after dinner (I disagree)
4. You have to cut out your carbs (I disagree)
5. Take Garcinia Cambogia, or Xendadrine, or Hydroicuts....blah blah blah. (I disagree)
6. You have to have a cheat day. (I disagree)
7. You can not drink any alcohol (I disagree)

Read the community post, seek out the guys and gals (Like Vismal, Resolve, Markink81) that are super fit now that have lost 100 plus pounds and you should follow their advice. People should be offering advice on thier experiences and not on what others have told them.

tamawamara

Breakfast does not "boost" your metabolism. Any time you eat food you require energy to process/digest the food, but this is essentially a percentage of what's eaten. Whether you eat X amount of food over 6 meals or eat it in 2 meals the difference in thermic effect is basically negligible.

Now, breakfast may have a profound effect on your dietary compliance, but that can go both ways. There are people who prefer to skip (delay may be a better term) breakfast because in doing so they have an easier time adhering to their calorie intake. There are also people who experience better satiation throughout the day by eating breakfast (eating breakfast basically makes it easier for them to not overeat later in the day).

Consequently, this is one of those topics where "do what's best for you" really makes the most sense.

I couldn't agree more, with everything said here. I work weird mid shifts, most days, and "delay" breakfast, until most might eat lunch. Lunch later in afternoon.. It is a matter of finding what works for you and your special circumstances. I , like others say, snack on nuts, KIND or Luna bars, or serving of trail mix. I Also bring in Greek yogurt , fruit or Cut up veggies and low fat dip ,and keep them in fridge at work, for Quick snacks when I only have a short 15 min. break.

_benjammin

Breakfast is not only the most important meal of the day, but it is also a double edged sword.

On the one hand, If you skip it, you will be much hungrier later.

On the other hand, Eating a big breakfast will keep you from snacking mid day.

The best answer is to eat small meals all day long. And when you say breakfast it doesn't have to be traditional (eggs, toast, cereal, etc). You can have pasta or beans or nuts or salad.

^This may be true for you but not for me or everyone. If I eat when I wake up, whether it be a big meal or snack, I'm hungry in a few hours. If I eat small meals I'm always hungry and snacking, never satisfied.
You got to do what works for you. I skip breakfast, eat a big lunch, afternoon snack and big dinner. I've done that to lose weight and gain. The only difference is the total number of calories in the day.

lemurcat12

You've gotten some great advice already. I definitely agree with what SideSteel said on breakfast.

I wanted to respond a little to the problem of conflicting advice (which you've also gotten here, and will whenever you post something in the forums), which I know can be a stressor when you may already feel like you aren't sure what to do.

Weight loss is one of those things where so many people (often people who just talked to their doctor once or read fitness or women's magazines or bought some recent diet book or just who lost weight themselves) think they are experts and have pet theories on how things must be done. (And maybe I'm doing the same thing, heh.)

I'll just say that consistency and sticking with a program is what really matters, as well as of course the program being decent to start with. You've chosen MFP, which IS a good program, so you'll want to maximize your ability to be consistent and stick with it. IMO, the easiest way to do that, at least at first, is don't over-complicate it. If you follow the program--eat at a calorie deficit--you will lose weight. People may say that you'll do better for one reason or another if you eat 6 mini meals or start eating breakfast or cut out this or that, etc. I don't personally believe that, but the bigger point is that that's all just noise. Maybe in a perfect world you'd lose slightly faster, but if you try to do too much and get confused or frustrated with conflicting advice, it will become hard to just do the main thing--have a calorie deficit.

So I think just focus on calories first. Then, you can figure out if adjustments (increasing protein, trying more meals or breakfast, figuring out when you are hungrier and how to fix that, etc.) are needed and try them out. But don't make it harder at the beginning than it needs to be. If you feel better or less hungry or have an easier time sticking to your calorie goal if you don't eat breakfast, don't eat breakfast. If that changes later or you want to try adding it in, you can do that later. You will lose weight without it or with it, so long as you eat at a calorie deficit!

I also really struggle when I am working as I work 12.5hr shifts in a hospital. When i am on nights I am more of a nibbler than a meal eater but fruit just doesn't cut it. What are the best nibbles and snacks that I can just leave on my desk?

Hmm. Nuts, if you can eat them in moderation, but they can be easy to overeat. Greek yogurt is great (you'd want to bring it each day). I really like smoked salmon as a snack. Maybe a hardboiled egg (again, you'd need to bring it with you each day). Raw veggies are about as obvious as fruit, but mixed with some of these other ideas could be good. String cheese seems to be popular with many, although I don't care for it. Maybe try some of the protein bars?

Cardio4Cupcakes

I only eat breakfast after I go to the gym. Otherwise it's just coffee and water until lunch.

40andFindingFitness

If you wake up at 6am and eat a noon, is that not breakfast ... for you?

RebeccaP1972

It's simple for me... I've done better by eating breakfast therefore I eat it. It's really just what works for you. (simple answer I know)

NWalerys1

If i don't eat breakfast, then I feel so weak throughout the day. But I also don't get hungry until later in the day. So I am probably like you. So what I do is sometimes i will just have an egg, which is like 100 calories. And then I have enough energy to get through until later in the day. Try that. Or have one of those slim 80 or 100 calorie yogurts.
Some snacks you can keep with you are carrots, corn, fruit. Filled with fiber, low calorie, crunchy, and tasty. Or just some gum. I really like gum and it satisfies my sweet tooth.

parsonsk64

Wow, thanks for al the help and advice. Think I'll go with what my body tells me and eat when I'm hungry. I will also keep reading and listening to advice given to me by fellow MFP users.

Still feeling nervous but optimistic. I have entered my details and have been given 1247 calories a day (arghhh!!!) this is going to be a large shock to the system.

I have tried many diets/healthy eating plans in the past and have never succeeded for more than a few weeks then i gain whatever iv lost plus a stone on top. I feel so unhealthy and need to do this for me and my family. They are all worried I am killing myself with food, which I suppose they are right but I cant see the light at the end of the tunnel.

You can do this! and you are so worth it! Remember, it is just one day, one choice, at a time.

seltzermint555

Eat it whether you want to or not! Lots of protein....egg beaters and turkey sausage, it jump starts your metabolism. Read/search "fueling metabolism"......need protein steadily throughout the day. You should be hungry in the morning provided you didn't eat too much the day before!

No it does not jump start your metabolism. You are not a car your metabolism works 24 hours a day. Meal timing is just personal preference

Just find eating times that work for you and fit within your day activity

+1

btw OP...a lot of people will give you their theories on this. I tend to believe in different things working for each of us when it comes to mealtimes. Although I am a breakfast person, I'm not a snack person. Many people tell me "mini meals every 2 hrs is the key to weight loss" but for me that just leads to dissatisfied snacking all day and never feeling full. If I eat 3 regular meals at roughly 7, 12, and 6, I feel my best. Go with what works best for you :-)

Jesyka_Gee

Ok, taking metabolism out of the picture for a quick second - aren't we all here trying to maintain a healthier lifestyle? Whether you'd want to debate about your metabolism or not, being healthy should be priority. Although there are studies and research and all types of debate on increasing the speed of your metabolism which than helps burn calories, the bottom line is food is needed for nourishment, energy - to essentially live. There are those who eat 6 large meals a day and lose weight and those who do 3 meals and 2 snacks in between with the same outcome. Since calories are the concern in this particular topic, just know that calories = energy aka joules if you want to get fancy. So my advice would be to get your breakfast in, whether it be 100 calories to 400 (it all depends on the person). Keep yourself healthy with the energy you need to get through the day. After a long 8 hour sleep, wake up with that boost of energy you need.

Good luck!

gkaffen338

Nutrition is an area of study that has an almost equal amount of conflicting information. A cursory Google "positive impact of breakfast" and "negative impact of breakfast" will result is numerous studies that have contradictory findings.

Even googling "is a calorie a calorie" will result in the true representation that anything that is 10 calories is the same because its an actual unit of measure. Its the same as 1 pound of lead is the same is one pound of feathers. Contrasting studies dive into the theory that humans respond differently to proteins, fats, etc.

I truly believe that you have to take a reasonable approach and then trial and error your way to success. I personally have found that eating a ultra low carb high protein breakfast is the catalyst to my wait loss. It could be psychological or chemical... it doesn't matter to me.

If you start tracking your calories here you will start to gather data in a fun way while interacting with others. You can then use that data to make decisions or ask your friends here to take a look and give their opinion. Set one goal to start.. Log everything and resist the urge to "forget to log" embarrassing items.

I hope this helps. I am certainly no expert but i'm here with you on the same journey.

Good luck
Greg

kikityme

As with anything regarding our bodies everyone is different and you have to find what works with you. Here's my story:

I was exactly the same, although usually I'd get hungry around 10. But if I ate breakfast, I couldn't stop eating all day. When I got the diabeetus it became important to level my blood sugar, which for me, meant 3 meals and 2 snacks a day. The first couple weeks, my eat all day pattern was still there, and I was starving for most of the day. Then, it abruptly changed. I woke up starving, and I started to lose weight consistently. Since April this year (my stats say 2013, but really, I just had an account, I wasn't doing anything, not even logging in) I'm down 40 pounds.

For me, I directly attribute it to the 2 snack 3 meal, calorie deficit, exercise plan.

There are other diabetics who don't follow the same plan and it works for them. But you can train your body to do what you want it to. Try it your way, and if it doesn't seem to work, change the plan.

nicoleromine

When I started on my journey to be healthier, I was like you - I wasn't hungry until 12 pm or 1pm even though I woke up at 6 am every morning. I decided to just work with this and only eat between the hours of 12 pm and 8 pm. This worked great from me, and I lost 48 pounds in 5 months. I feel like my metabolism has finally been reset or something, because within the last month - I now NEED breakfast.

Again, my practical advice is experiment, document results, listen to your body, and be willing to change it up depending on what your body needs.

freckled_belle

I hate breakfast, still managing to lose weight. :drinker: