Stop eating breakfast. Here's why.

agent300

yeah, until you read leangains.com, dont even comment because you are not informed.

nat102

I do agree with you. I usually do intermittent fasting -- eat from around 11am to 7pm and it works for me. If I am starving then yes I will eat outside those times, but I try my best to eat 2 meals a day between those times. I found myself forcing myself to eat breakfast because it was instilled in my brain that the 3 meals a day was the only healthy way to be. I think what works for some may not work for others, but for me I would rather eat 2 big meals a day, meaning I only have to prepare 2! lol anddd it is just what my body has always wanted. I am rarely hungry in the morning and since getting used to intermittent fasting, I am rarely ever hungry outside of those hours. I also find I make healthier choices for lunch and dinner too. But that's just me. It works for you and I, may not work for everyone, but if you find yourself not hungry during breakfast then it is definitely worth a try.

Agreed! Breakfast is propaganda by the cereal companies aka government who made an f-Ed up food pyramaid to keep us consuming grains. Haahaha to the havoc this thread has created!

Btw I am about to graduate college with a background in nutrition and kinesiology!

LisaKyle11

interesting blog.... i especially like the most current entry... '****arounditis' lol.

i am hardly ever hungry in the morning.... and even traditional breakfast foods are far from my list of favorites. starting to think that my preference for lunch and dinner (and their offerings) isn't that 'far off'.

i will have to read some more of this guy's stuff.

nat102

Might I add, to whomever made the comment of skipping breakfast and lunch being comparable to anorexia.. Shame on you for your lack of tact and offensiveness. I forgive you, but only this once.

mideon_696

I'm struggling to comprehend the motives of about 95% of the responses to the OP.

I've been following an IF lifestyle (it is a lifestyle, not a "diet plan") for a few months now.
I've never felt better.

My energy levels would yoyo all day while eating "normally". Yes i was eating well.

Now they are constant. I'm never tired.
And i have More than enough energy for my workouts. and whatever else life throws my way.

To knock something like without first trying it, is VERY ignorant.
I was sceptical at first (like all of you so obviously are).

A friend of mine kept at me for a while with subtle hints here and there to "just try it out".
Eventually i caved. And farout am i glad i did!

I have SO MUCH MORE TIME to do So Much More Stuff.
I dont just eat once a day either...I spread the foods throughout the "eating window", largely depending on whats doing that day.

If not working out, i'll just eat when i want to, usually two meals on those days.
if working out, i'll eat a couple of smaller meals before gym, ~4 hours into the eating period, then once done, i will freaking destroy an amount of food that most of you ~1200 cals' crazy's would die thinking about.
How does 1lb of meat and a bunch of yams(.5lb) and two heads of broccoli sound? BAM! all at once!

Then sleep like a baby for 8 hours easily.

One way of looking at this fasting stuff is this:

I dont eat between 10pm and 2pm.=16 hours.

You dont eat between say 7pm and 9am = 14 hours. Whats another f*cking 2 hours going to do to you???

lodro

The OP refers to intermittent fasting and that's what this is: shift breakfast to a later moment of the day, to extend the nightly fast.

mideon_696

One more thing, amongst the pages of **** we could spit in favour of this.

yeah, until you read leangains.com, dont even comment because you are not informed.

This.

mandeiko

Kashi Go-Lean with yogurt in the morning, FTW.

iishnova

If it works, more power to you. I don't know that I could do it and, frankly, I'm not willing to try with my lifestyle the way it is right now. I'm not a doctor or a nutritionist so I couldn't begin to speak to if it is healthy or not. I can say, as others have said, when I don't eat breakfast (which I'll admit, I sometimes forget to) I'm grumpy, to put it politely. The thought of packing in an entire day's worth of calories in one or two sittings actually makes me sick a bit, but then again I don't enjoy eating large meals. When my stomach takes in that much at one time I get lethargic.

To the OP! Grats, you really know how to get a thread going and blow up in a short amount of time. (Do not blast me on this, I say it with a light and jesting air)

We all know everyone's body works differently. Find what works for you and is healthy. I'm still looking.

YogiGirlLucy

I work with a guy who follows the intermittent fasting program, and it works for him.

I personally am not a breakfast eater, my first meal is usually mid-day or more likely early afternoon. This is party due to thyroid medication, work workout schedule, and the fact that I'm not hungry until then and I eat when I'm hungry.

My energy is highest before I eat, too. On the rare occasion that I do eat breakfast, I am like one of the previous posters, I am unusually ravenous all day.

I like my routine, it works for me.

servilia

I almost never eat breakfast or lunch. It makes me sluggish even if I'm eating the right foods. My eating window starts around 4-6pm and ends when I go to bed, usually around midnight. I love it and it works for me And yes I usually get all the calories MFP tells me to have unless I don't feel hungry.
I'm not trying to push this on anyone, but people please don't be ignorant and assume that others don't know what's right for them. There is definitely a science behind IF. Not that I follow it perfectly, I do drink my coffee with a bit of sugar and milk during the day.

TateFTW

If it works, more power to you. I don't know that I could do it and, frankly, I'm not willing to try with my lifestyle the way it is right now. I'm not a doctor or a nutritionist so I couldn't begin to speak to if it is healthy or not. I can say, as others have said, when I don't eat breakfast (which I'll admit, I sometimes forget to) I'm grumpy, to put it politely. The thought of packing in an entire day's worth of calories in one or two sittings actually makes me sick a bit, but then again I don't enjoy eating large meals. When my stomach takes in that much at one time I get lethargic.

To the OP! Grats, you really know how to get a thread going and blow up in a short amount of time. (Do not blast me on this, I say it with a light and jesting air)

We all know everyone's body works differently. Find what works for you and is healthy. I'm still looking.

Definitely no blasting from here! I actually love your post. Honestly, I had no clue this was going to get so out of hand.

One thing I like is that you admit, just like I do, that you aren't a doctor. I'm not either. All I ever wanted to do was to get people to read an article that would challenge the crappy information we've heard for so long.

TateFTW

Wow, you guys have been busy while I've been sleeping!

First I'll touch on my caloric intake, as a response to those who wondered.

My intake changes day to day. When I did strict IF'ing, I actually fasted 3 weekdays a week, which were also my weight training days. On these days I didn't eat until 4 and my total intake was 1200 calories, very low. the other 2 weekdays my intake was 16-1700, and on weekends my intake was maintenance calories, around 2400. This meant my weight fluctuated, peaking Monday Morning then dropping through the week. I worked it out to where I would have a 3500 calorie deficit every week, and I lost almost exactly 1lb every week.

Currently my intake still fluctuates day to day, but in an even more extreme way. I'm currently fasting every weekday until I get off work at 3, then consuming around 15-1800 calories with less than 30 net grams of carbs. On the weekends I won't be fasting per se, but I'll be attempting to keep calories under 2k while still keeping carbs under 30 net grams. Once a week I have my carb up meal, which is no holds barred. It's a free for all, I just have to make sure I get a ton of carbs. The original plan was for the carb up to be on a planned day once a week, but that wasn't working for me. I found I needed a carb up more often, so now I'm going by weight. Last time I did a carb up I was 205 that morning, so now my goal is to be 204, at which time I'll do my next carb up.

I'm going to say, once again, that I've never said that anyone else should do this diet. It's extreme and not meant for most people. I designed it for me.

It was never my intention to get anyone to eat like me, or even to change to IF. Just STOP believing things just because you hear it over and over. Breakfast is not "key". Breakfast won't affect your metabolism negatively. If you're tracking your calories, why would it matter if studies show that people who skip breakfast eat too much later? You won't have that problem, because you're awayre of your intake. You're also too smart to be one of those people who says "I skipped brekfast, so I can have half a cheesecake for lunch", aren't you?

Don't just believe anything. Ever. Research, study, come to some conclusions of your own, or find someone elses conclusions that make sense to you then research them yourself to see if what you THINK is right really is.

And by the way, the studies that showed that breakfast was the most important meal of the day WERE funded by cereal companies.

heyjude1358

And you think your metabolism stops when you go to bed?

Well, I personally am not tossing and turning enough to be considered active while sleeping. So yes it SLOWS. Thankfully doesn't stop, or else I would probably be dead. :huh:

hah!

CouleeRunner

There is nothing wrong with IF. There is nothing wrong with eating breakfast either. Do what makes you happy if it is working for you.

Everyone supporting eating breakfast is getting sh*& on saying that they are closed minded. All of you who are supporting IF as the only way are just as closed minded.

The whole arguement is going nowhere.

joseph9

Because if you went back to the ORIGINAL POST you would see that the author mentioned NOTHING about getting his caloric requirements in one day, he ONLY mentioned skipping meals. SIMPLE ANSWER HERE.

Hmm. He didn't say that he WAS or WASN'T hitting his numbers for the day, but the articles that he cited were pretty clear that they were comparing the same number of calories per day, just with the calories front loaded or back loaded. To the extent that TateFTW was unclear, it looks like that has been clarified.

Do we all agree that:

1) Eating too few calories or not getting your nutrients is bad for you, but

2) As to when you eat your calories, protein, fat, whatever, if it's working for you, great.

3) On the other hand, if you're having trouble sticking to your diet, getting enough energy, not yelling at your kids, and/or seeing the weight change you want, then maybe try something else.

HMonsterX

TateFTW

3) On the other hand, if you're having trouble sticking to your diet, getting enough energy, not yelling at your kids, and/or seeing the weight change you want, then maybe try something else.

YES!

That, and don't believe everything you hear. Yup, that's pretty much it.

Kikilicious84

I've read through the article and the entire thread and went and read "****arounditis" and I must say... Thanks for posting this and starting this debate.

I'd never heard of IF until this thread but I've never really eaten breakfast until about 1000-1100ish and by then it's lunch. You've (and a lot of others) have given me more things to read up on and I thank you!

strawberryromper

I pretty much never eat a 'traditional' breakfast. I'm not hungry when I wake up and I highly doubt that it's doing me any harm. I don't eat until well after noon most days. That said, I don't really care what anyone else does and I hope it works for them.