Stop eating breakfast. Here's why.

Acg67

There have been NUMEROUS studies on the effects of eating breakfast and weight loss.

Pretty much all of them say, statistically, you are much more likely to eat healthier choices and less calories if you eat breakfast.

Is in necessary? Probably not. If you are a 100% dedicated, self driven person that never gives into their urges you might beat the statistics. But recommending it to the masses who WON'T beat the statistics doesn't help them.

The average person should eat breakfast. Period.

The OP is simply stating that it isnt required to eat breakfast to lose weight nor be healthy.

And actually Martin Berkhan has proven studies that have showed more people have lost weight by skipping breakfast and eating higher carbs at night.

When I say studies, I mean double blind medical studies. Not broscience studies by people attempting to sell books or programs or supplements.

among others...

Taylor MA et al. Compared with nibbling, neither gorging nor a morning fast affect short-term energy balance in obese patients in a chamber calorimeter. Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord. 2001 Apr;25(4):519-28.

Verboeket-van de Venne WP et al. Influence of the feeding frequency on nutrient utilization in man: consequences for energy metabolism. Eur J Clin Nutr. 1991 Mar;45(3):161-9.

stacyjbaker1010

The only way I would be willing to give up breakfast (& lunch!?) is if I had the luxury of sleeping until 2:00. Nope, not gonna happen.

YES!

AI1108

Ok, have I got your attention now? For a long time we've been fed the idea that breakfast is important. In fact, people call it the most important meal of the day (mostly cereal companies. . .jk). I started to learn about a year ago that this wasn't true. The more I researched and read, the more I realised that we were getting bad info. 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.

I posted another article from this author the other day, but I just found this one and again feel the need to let everyone else read this. I believe strongly in the things this author believes in and they have all worked for me. Yes, he does have programs he's designed, but I'm not trying to sell anything. I just want everyone to have this information.

http://articles.elitefts.com/articles/nutrition/logic-does-not-apply-part-2-breakfast/

I really think its a matter of personal preference.

Within the last 8 months I've gone through periods where I:
1. Ate at random times throughout the day but kept my protein up. Strength trained 2 - 3 x a week. I lost weight.
2. Being Muslim, I fasted for 30 days for Ramadhan (kind of like IF .. i oould only eat after 8 pm). I kept my macros in check and left myself at 500 calorie deficit everyday. I was also only half functional in the morning... but I lost weight.
3. Started eating about 300 calories every 3 - 4 hrs, keeping my macros & calories in check... guess what? I lost weight.

I don't think telling people to stop eating breakfast is the key to their weight loss. Causation =/= correlation.

QueenCat25

Eat CLEAN foods when you are hungry. Eat less calories than you burn. It doesn't matter what time you eat. You can lose weight eating breakfast or you can lose weight eating all of your calories in one sitting once per day. Any website or program that says one way or the other is better is just BS.

QueenCat25

Eat CLEAN foods when you are hungry. Eat less calories than you burn. It doesn't matter what time you eat. You can lose weight eating breakfast or you can lose weight eating all of your calories in one sitting once per day. Any website or program that says one way or the other is better is just BS.

But I do much better when I have a healthy breakfast. So, to each his own.

nicolewho

YIKES ...so many passionate people!

Nerdy_Rose

You will have to pry the bacon from my cold, dead hands.

That is all.

ahendrix12

I read it as "blah blah blah.... magic formula.. blah blah blah...."

No thanks.

^ bahahahaha Hilarious. I also disagree. I have a screwy schedule but seriously, if I don't eat when I get up (wheither that be at 9 in the morning or 2 in the afternoon) I tend to make worse choices throughout the rest of my day. If I wake up and make a good choice with whatever I eat then, I tend to make better choices throughout the day. I also agree with whoever said that that is called starving yourself. Its more of, you're starving yourself all day and then beinging at dinner. I don't see how that could possibly be healthy for you.

Iceskatefanrn

You will have to pry the bacon from my cold, dead hands.

That is all.

MMmmmm... pass the bacon!

:drinker: :drinker: :drinker:

Ice

hypotrochoid

I found the article interesting and I like that it's backed with actual cited studies. What I don't like is the vague usage of the term 'breakfast'. Is it assuming that you're consuming food the second you get up? The closest I found was "maybe we should hold breakfast off for a bit when we get up, at least until cortisol levels return to normal and growth hormone levels fall naturally, which takes a few hours"

A few hours? Couldn't we get something a bit more solid than that for an article with so much research? I get up at 4.30, do my workout, then have food at around 8 or so, depending. That's three and a half hours in. If you're getting up at 8, then eating lunch around noon would be four hours.

So... what's the breakdown? Calling things 'breakfast' and 'lunch' is fine, but for people aren't operating on your schedule, well, it can get confusing. If it were 'don't eat until you're x hours into your day' then maybe the fallout would be less.

TateFTW

Eat CLEAN foods when you are hungry. Eat less calories than you burn. It doesn't matter what time you eat. You can lose weight eating breakfast or you can lose weight eating all of your calories in one sitting once per day. Any website or program that says one way or the other is better is just BS.

I agree with the principle of your post, but how is attempting to scientifically study which method of eating might be preferable BS?

This article is research based, and the conclusion which the author reached was that eating breakfast might actually hinder fat loss. Beyond that, his point was that what we've been told for a long, long time might not be entirely true. That's all.

adrian_indy

To each their own. This is why weight loss tips are so hard, because people have such dramatically different life styles and genetics, advice is often meaningless. That being said, if breakfast was making you sluggish, try changing what you eat or doing a quick 2 minute exercise drill before eating. For ME and me alone, I have noticed that when I skip meals, even if I have a huge calorie deficit, my fat seems to get more stubborn and my performance in the gym drops off. Hind sight is 20/20, and although there might have been other contibuting factors, when i was in the Army I weighed roughly 190 and was completely lean, except for love handles (slight). I would skip breakfast after PT and sleep. It wasn't until I was deployed to Kososvo I began eating a more balance diet.

I dropped to about 185 ish and came home with my first and only 6 pack. The way I look at it is like this. The main thing to do when losing weight is count your calories and exercise. Little things like 4-6 meals a day, a morning 2 minute drill, a lean source of protein with every meal, doing an exercise with every commerical break when watching TV at night, ect, are all great tips to help stimulate your metabolism. By themselves, you probably won't see results. But all of these little tricks combined with the regular exercise and diet will not only hasten weight loss, help bypass plateaus, but will help maintain long term goals instead of yo-yoing. That's my take after reading up on it and watching myself.

reneelee

sumo wresters eat this way!

TateFTW

I found the article interesting and I like that it's backed with actual cited studies. What I don't like is the vague usage of the term 'breakfast'. Is it assuming that you're consuming food the second you get up? The closest I found was "maybe we should hold breakfast off for a bit when we get up, at least until cortisol levels return to normal and growth hormone levels fall naturally, which takes a few hours"

A few hours? Couldn't we get something a bit more solid than that for an article with so much research? I get up at 4.30, do my workout, then have food at around 8 or so, depending. That's three and a half hours in. If you're getting up at 8, then eating lunch around noon would be four hours.

So... what's the breakdown? Calling things 'breakfast' and 'lunch' is fine, but for people aren't operating on your schedule, well, it can get confusing. If it were 'don't eat until you're x hours into your day' then maybe the fallout would be less.

I totally understand what you're saying, but I think the point is not to tell us exactly how to eat, but rather to suggest ways we can change our eating plan to take advntage of how our bodies work. Responsability of implementation lies with the user of the information.

123456654321

This thread.

TateFTW

sumo wresters eat this way!

They also eat over maintenance calories. Way over.

heathersmilez

Eating 1200-2000+ cals after 3:00pm is bound to cause stomach aches, discomfort, difficulty sleeping b/c of so much digestion late in the day and diarrhea which yes, would contribute to weight loss.

Not everyone NEEDS breakfast but eating more often in the day is proven to reduce binge eating and also may help keeping your metabolism going.

Acg67

Eating 1200-2000+ cals after 3:00pm is bound to cause stomach aches, discomfort, difficulty sleeping b/c of so much digestion late in the day and diarrhea which yes, would contribute to weight loss.

?????

hypotrochoid

I found the article interesting and I like that it's backed with actual cited studies. What I don't like is the vague usage of the term 'breakfast'. Is it assuming that you're consuming food the second you get up? The closest I found was "maybe we should hold breakfast off for a bit when we get up, at least until cortisol levels return to normal and growth hormone levels fall naturally, which takes a few hours"

A few hours? Couldn't we get something a bit more solid than that for an article with so much research? I get up at 4.30, do my workout, then have food at around 8 or so, depending. That's three and a half hours in. If you're getting up at 8, then eating lunch around noon would be four hours.

So... what's the breakdown? Calling things 'breakfast' and 'lunch' is fine, but for people aren't operating on your schedule, well, it can get confusing. If it were 'don't eat until you're x hours into your day' then maybe the fallout would be less.

I totally understand what you're saying, but I think the point is not to tell us exactly how to eat, but rather to suggest ways we can change our eating plan to take advntage of how our bodies work. Responsability of implementation lies with the user of the information.

Actually, after reading your response and thinking, "crap, he doesn't get what I'm saying." I re-read the article and found what I was looking for.

"Growth hormone levels peak roughly two hours after waking without breakfast"

So, based off what's being stated in the article, one should delay eating at least two hours after getting up to maximize fat burning.

That sounds a lot less controversial than "don't eat breakfast", no?

shellbell525

I can't believe how closed minded people are. I am a believe in intermittent style fasting. But every person is different just because you don't think you could follow it or that it wouldn't work for you doesn't mean that it's wrong. Open your mind and read the studies.