Stop eating breakfast. Here's why.

Ebbsies

Entirely disagree... if you decide to live a normal life with people, have children etc then you gotta eat at least 3 times a day. This will be temporary and its bad for your digestive and neural health. You need energy to think straight and sustaining a normal level will prevent any metabolism or blood sugar issues. It's not good for your muscles, brain or heart depriving them of regular essential vitamins, minerals, fats and energy.

I disagree with your disagree. I have IBS-C and it's gotten so much better since I started IF'ing, so has my skin, my digestive tract is actually having a break from working ALL the time and it seems to be helping clear me out and feel lighter, less bloated. My skin is also less oily. I have 2 kids, both toddlers, 2 and 3. I have normal blood sugars and no underlying health problems, aside from genetically predisposition to low blood pressure, and it's never affected me negatively. It is so freeing not having to constantly be cooking, prepping packing, bringing, eating food for myself alongside my kids eating schedule as a busy mother.

I'm a seasoned fitness/health veteran and have worked in health and sports nutrition, as with anything else we try, if you feel there is something underlying wrong with your health, be checked first by a doctor before attempting IF. Otherwise, give it a try and see how amazing it is to know what true hunger, will power and a clean digestive tract feels like.

PS I eat at least 1700/2400 calories a day depending on my workout routine and also have cheat days in the upwards to 3-5k worth of calories a few times per month. So I'm not even close to "starving". I highly suggest people read, and do their own research, because the people who are proponents for IF have, like Martin Berkhan, who uses real PUB MED clinical studies for his writing and where he makes assumptions from. Not just biased studies.

hamncheese67

I think schedules and habits play a large role in when and how often we eat. And there's a mental factor that can't be discounted. For some, eating breakfast everyday is important for them to lose weight. For others it's not. Personally, I've both gained and lost weight by having breaksfast on regular basis or skipping. It really did come down to what I was eating and how much over a whole day.

As for which is better from a metabolic standpoint, there's enough conflicting accounts which would say it's inconclusive. I personally don't see much truth in the claim that eating breakfast is better for your metabolism. Right now, I'm not eating breakfast and don't have my first meal until after I workout (usually late morning/around noon) but that's what works for my schedule (I work from home so I get up first thing get some of my work done and then break to workout). As a result, I do eat larger meals late in the day just so I eat enough and haven't noticed any negative affects in my health or weight loss for that matter. Also, for me, I almost never am hungry when I wake up, so I'm not motivated to feed myself when I wake up. My eating habits though is not due to taking on a certain philosophy but just came about by how my life is at the moment.

bzmom

Better stated than the original post.

When I was in High School I did the no breakfast thing and ate my butt off at dinner. I was able to maintain at a healthy BMI

Now I do the whole 3 meals a day and 2 snacks. I am still at a healthy BMI just a tad bit better.

In other words for some it work for some it may not.

I agree - for me. I just started reading about ayurvedic medicine and body types/doshas. The Kapha body type (me) has a strong and solid body but also a slow and sluggish metabolism. It is actually recommended to skip breakfast and have a large lunch, then small dinner. I have never done well eating breakfast and always felt it made me feel more tired and heavy. I have always felt better and more clear headed by skipping breakfast. When I started reading about the doshas everything rang true for me and see that - yes it is true!!! Some people are better off not eating breakfast!!

Armygirl67

I started skipping breakfast and even lunch, not eating until I got off work around 3, and I started losing weight on demand and felt great once I got used to it. There are programs that make use of this idea, such as intermittent fasting, which I've used with success.

Yea that's called starving yourself. Anorexics have been doing it for years.

I don`t eat breakfast either..The reason why, is because if i do, im hungry all day, and then i over eat..

girlypop

Sorry...never giving up breakfast! It is my favorite meal of the day!!

lol me too! I love breakfast and the fact that lots of other dieticiens and experts says its good for you is just icing on my breakfast!!!!

New_Hope

HEY guys!!! i have a belly button!!

LOL! Awesome way to break up the arguing.

hpsnickers1

Who decided that breakfast was so important? Just because you haven't eaten for a few hours (during sleep) doesn't mean that you HAVE to eat as soon as you wake up or you are going to keel over. What if you aren't hungry? Should you be forced to eat just because someone said the breakfast is the most important meal of the day?

I lead a low-carb (no grain, legume, sugar, milk), moderate-protein, high-fat lifestyle. I have found if I eat breakfast (usually bacon and eggs and coconut oil or butter) I am not hungry for lunch. If I don't eat breakfast then I have a nice big salad (with protein and fat) for lunch and that will last me well into the evening. I have no need to snack because once I removed the grains the constant hunger issues went away (turned out that "hunger" was just a blood sugar crash from my high-carb lifestyle).

What's so interesting is that people are blaming 'not eating' on screwing with their blood sugar. Eating high-carb every few hours is screwy on blood sugar. it goes up and as soon as it comes down you eat something to send it back up again. And again. And again. And again. That will screw up blood sugar and insulin secretion, not 'not eating' for a few hours.

And even "no sugar added" cereal just turns to sugar (glucose) in the body. Since I went grain-free I no longer get that weak, shaky feeling that I used to call 'hunger' (it was a blood sugar crash from my oatmeal and fruit breakfast). Now I just get hungry and if I decide not to eat at that point I'm fine.

hazelbliss6

Self control is key in weight loss, which includes not eating when you feel hungry, or eating even if you are not, in order to make wise choices by keeping our metabolisms active and staying in calorie goals. So no, we don't always "listen to our bodies," we intelligently guide them.

I.E.- Eat breakfst even if not hungry.

SergeantSunshine_reused

To all non breakfast eaters/IFers:

Most people here believe in the typical BS myths of having to eat breakfast, having to eat 6 small meals a day, not eating before bed....etc.

They aren't interested in science or reading leangains.com.

Convincing them there is another possible way to be successful is basically impossible.

IF is an awesome way to eat. Let these people continue to be ignorant.

Completely true.

Sorry, but it isn't ignorance if someone does something and realizes it works or doesn't work for them. Regardless of what science may or may not say.

If eating breakfast and eating every few hours works for me - I AM NOT IGNORANT. Actually, I'm quite intelligent about MY OWN BODY (which really? is all I care about!). I know that not eating regularly makes my blood sugar wonky and makes me more likely to binge eat. When I'm eating regularly, I don't have the desire to down an entire box of donuts. It works for me. Am I ignorant because it may not be what other people do? NO. I'm doing what is best for me and honestly? I couldn't care less what science says I should do. I do what is best for me and my body. End of story. There isn't a right nor a wrong answer to this topic. There really isn't.

I'm going to continue eating my breakfast, making sure I eat every couple hours and I'm going to even eat before bed. And I'm pretty certain it is working for me just fine.

It always amazes me when people decide that THEY know what works for everyone else and are more than happy to be obnoxious about informing people about how they are ignorant and don't know what they're doing and it is wrong.

That not what I meant it to come across as chevy!

I agree that if it works for you and your life style then by all means do it! Some people eat 6-7 meals some only one but if it works then thats all that matters! It just some of the bashing of the OPs way of eating that I dont like especially when they have no clue what they are talking about (not you of course)

If you lovve breakfast and dont want to give it up.. then dont! :]

Saruman_w

Nope. I like my Kashi cereal too much to let it go.

Acg67

Nope. I like my Kashi cereal too much to let it go.

you can only eat cereal in the morning right after you wake up?

AlsDonkBoxSquat

Nope. I like my Kashi cereal too much to let it go.

you can only eat cereal in the morning right after you wake up?

Isn't that the rule? Cereal and coffee may only be consumed after midnight and prior to noon.

jayliospecky

Interesting. What comes to mind for me is my husband and a lot of other farmers he knows. They are often under intense pressure to work long, crazy hours to get as much done as possible at certain seasons of the year. Some guys save time by skipping meals and eating a huge meal at the end of a long stretch of hours. My husband, if he has ever tried to skip a meal, literally gets light-headed and has even fainted from it. So, intermittent fasting would probably simply never work for him. Of course, he has never had a weight problem, either, so there may be some link there. I think our bodies are vastly complicated, and everyone is so different...if the "expert" can't agree, I don't think all of us will, either.

Oh, and my husband also eats cereal any time of the day or night. I know, it's insane.

TateFTW

Sorry...never giving up breakfast! It is my favorite meal of the day!!

lol me too! I love breakfast and the fact that lots of other dieticiens and experts says its good for you is just icing on my breakfast!!!!

See, this I have no problem with what-so-ever. If you're reason for eating breakfast is because you like it, and you feel that it sets you up for success, then thats a GREAT thing!

The problem is that there are lots of people eating breakfast only because they've been told that they "should". THIS is what I have a huge problem with.

It's obvious from the posts here that some people find that a healthy breakfast helps them follow their diet, while others find that skipping breakfast helps them follow their diet. As far as I'm concerned, if it helps you follow your diet and eat healthy, than it's a good thing.

agent300

To all non breakfast eaters/IFers:

Most people here believe in the typical BS myths of having to eat breakfast, having to eat 6 small meals a day, not eating before bed....etc.

They aren't interested in science or reading leangains.com.

Convincing them there is another possible way to be successful is basically impossible.

IF is an awesome way to eat. Let these people continue to be ignorant.

Completely true.

Sorry, but it isn't ignorance if someone does something and realizes it works or doesn't work for them. Regardless of what science may or may not say.

If eating breakfast and eating every few hours works for me - I AM NOT IGNORANT. Actually, I'm quite intelligent about MY OWN BODY (which really? is all I care about!). I know that not eating regularly makes my blood sugar wonky and makes me more likely to binge eat. When I'm eating regularly, I don't have the desire to down an entire box of donuts. It works for me. Am I ignorant because it may not be what other people do? NO. I'm doing what is best for me and honestly? I couldn't care less what science says I should do. I do what is best for me and my body. End of story. There isn't a right nor a wrong answer to this topic. There really isn't.

I'm going to continue eating my breakfast, making sure I eat every couple hours and I'm going to even eat before bed. And I'm pretty certain it is working for me just fine.

It always amazes me when people decide that THEY know what works for everyone else and are more than happy to be obnoxious about informing people about how they are ignorant and don't know what they're doing and it is wrong.

first of all, i believe in calories in-calories out. eat 30 meals for all i care. you will lose if you are a calorie deficit. i never once claimed not eating breakfast is for everyone. but, most people jumped all over the OP spewing the typical myths that are believed. so yeah, it is IGNORANT to think you cant lose weight if you dont eat breakfast. it is IGNORANT to say that fasting for 16 hours puts your body into starvation mode and you cant lose weight.

once again, until people read leangains.com, you should not even comment.

Saruman_w

Eating breakfast foods in the middle of the day or evening is not something I normally do. Feels weird to me.... Besides, if I skip breakfast I will eventually get very uncomfortable hunger pains within about an hour or so of not eating at my normal time. So no, I won't skip my breakfast.

sinclare

I love breakfast. I just usually don't feel like eating it until 2 pm.

TateFTW

Self control is key in weight loss, which includes not eating when you feel hungry, or eating even if you are not, in order to make wise choices by keeping our metabolisms active and staying in calorie goals. So no, we don't always "listen to our bodies," we intelligently guide them.

I.E.- Eat breakfst even if not hungry.

WHY? Please, tell me, WHY do we need to eat breakfast if we aren't hungry? I look forward to hearing what you have to say, since you've spoken so definitively.

TateFTW

Eating breakfast foods in the middle of the day or evening is not something I normally do. Feels weird to me.... Besides, if I skip breakfast I will eventually get very uncomfortable hunger pains within about an hour or so of not eating at my normal time. So no, I won't skip my breakfast.

Sounds good to me, and congrats of reaching your goals! (no sarcasm here, just referencing the fact that you reached the goal in your signature.)

SergeantSunshine_reused

Sorry...never giving up breakfast! It is my favorite meal of the day!!

lol me too! I love breakfast and the fact that lots of other dieticiens and experts says its good for you is just icing on my breakfast!!!!

See, this I have no problem with what-so-ever. If you're reason for eating breakfast is because you like it, and you feel that it sets you up for success, then thats a GREAT thing!

The problem is that there are lots of people eating breakfast only because they've been told that they "should". THIS is what I have a huge problem with.

It's obvious from the posts here that some people find that a healthy breakfast helps them follow their diet, while others find that skipping breakfast helps them follow their diet. As far as I'm concerned, if it helps you follow your diet and eat healthy, than it's a good thing.

Also I need to add... Dietitians telling you to eat breakfast? Im almost half way through my 3rd year as a dietetics major and they DO NOT teach you anything that says breakfast is mandatory. We learn how the body works and how metabolism works in detail.

The reason you see so many dietitians and such telling you to eat breakfast is becuase they look out for public health. Its because the majority of breakfast skippers eat higher than their TDEE, has nothing to do with the magic breakfast time. Its just correlation not the cause. The cause is EATING ABOVE YOUR CALORIES. Breakfast does not boost the metabolism.