4 reasons why you need to eat breakfast

Silverkittycat

I think part of the problem, McKayMachina, is that most of us probably get a lot of condescending and fairly inaccurate advice related to weight loss. At this point I'm so tired of being told that I need breakfast, can't eat peanut butter, can't eat at night, can't eat all of my calories in one meal or twenty if I please, must eat "3-5 small meals" per day, can't drink my calories, can't grocery shop when I'm hungry... you get the point. I am personally pretty quick to speak out against things like that. While I did not take the advice as a command from engineman, it seems like something that is too often an unsolicited and condescending suggestion.

Well said.

Yes, it was.

MikeSEA

So when when people publish "studies" we really should take it with a grain of salt.


Did you go to the link to the article on the study? It goes on to say that " it is not yet clear to researchers whether the relationship between breakfast and obesity is causal (i.e., breakfast consumption directly influences weight) or merely associational. Breakfast may play a supporting role in weight management, rather than a starring one. "

It could just be that it is a habit that tends to go along with other healthy habits.

I'm not sure why this is such a hot button issue here. I had no idea people would get so worked up over the topic...or is it just that we get defensive when people post things that don't correlate with our diet?

I am not a person that believes 'one size fits all.' I don't feel that the same diet works for everyone or the same healthy lifestyle fits everyone. However, for me, this fits. I'm cranky without my morning fuel and espresso alone won't do the trick. If I don't eat early, I eat late and when I eat late, I make bad choices. That's all.

I suppose I was referring more to the phrase from your original quoted text, " A study from the American Journal of Epidemiology found that people who skipped breakfast were 4.5 times more likely to be obese."

It's academically disingenuous to use that statement without acknowledging the fact (in someplace other than the conclusion) that you can't actually extend that math out to a general population. I'm sure the study did find those numbers to be the case, but they're not really that important to people who didn't actually participate in the study.

And getting more general here, I guess my underlying concern is the overall tone of the text the OP quoted. There's lots of generalizations made, inappropriately so. The OP didn't make them, his stance seems to be very open, but the text did.

And if people really didn't know that eating to fend off hunger and hunger-related problems throughout the day is beneficial, then I suppose spreading the information has a use. To be honest, the entire topic seems like ti should be common sense, but we know what common sense isn't.

rachemn

So when when people publish "studies" we really should take it with a grain of salt.


Did you go to the link to the article on the study? It goes on to say that " it is not yet clear to researchers whether the relationship between breakfast and obesity is causal (i.e., breakfast consumption directly influences weight) or merely associational. Breakfast may play a supporting role in weight management, rather than a starring one. "

It could just be that it is a habit that tends to go along with other healthy habits.

I'm not sure why this is such a hot button issue here. I had no idea people would get so worked up over the topic...or is it just that we get defensive when people post things that don't correlate with our diet?

I am not a person that believes 'one size fits all.' I don't feel that the same diet works for everyone or the same healthy lifestyle fits everyone. However, for me, this fits. I'm cranky without my morning fuel and espresso alone won't do the trick. If I don't eat early, I eat late and when I eat late, I make bad choices. That's all.

I suppose I was referring more to the phrase from your original quoted text, " A study from the American Journal of Epidemiology found that people who skipped breakfast were 4.5 times more likely to be obese."

It's academically disingenuous to use that statement without acknowledging the fact (in someplace other than the conclusion) that you can't actually extend that math out to a general population. I'm sure the study did find those numbers to be the case, but they're not really that important to people who didn't actually participate in the study.

And getting more general here, I guess my underlying concern is the overall tone of the text the OP quoted. There's lots of generalizations made, inappropriately so. The OP didn't make them, his stance seems to be very open, but the text did.

And if people really didn't know that eating to fend off hunger and hunger-related problems throughout the day is beneficial, then I suppose spreading the information has a use. To be honest, the entire topic seems like ti should be common sense, but we know what common sense isn't.

Too true. And to that effect I've found that, for me (just talking about my own issues here. :ohwell: ), If I eat bad choices for breakfast...like high fat or high carb items, I will continue to eat bad choices for the rest of the day. It's like I crave them and can't resist them. French toast or waffles with lots of syrup or jam are a diet killer for me because next thing you know I'm having a cheeseburger and onion rings for lunch and then it gets much worse.

So once you've established whether or not you should eat breakfast, you have to move on to 'what should you eat.'

I've struggled so much with my weight issues and I'm just trying to be healthy and happy, so I'm always happy for all advice given, even if I don't always agree with it or take it, I appreciate that someone is trying to help others.

MikeSEA

I appreciate that someone is trying to help others.

I tend to agree and also have an appreciation for people trying to help others. For weal or woe, if I view the attempt as being...well inept...I tend to question whether or not the source is genuinely trying to be helpful; perhaps they have other motives.

As a point of clarification, I'm aware that makes me fairly paranoid, and the source of what I perceive as an inept attempt at help does not include anyone on these forums. It does include the media, however.

4theking

The reason most people feel like crap if they don't eat breakfast is because there bodies aren't very effecient at burning fat for energy(my preferred choice). Their body is looking for what it normally gets (food), and when none is available, the body does not operate effeciently. I would dare say almost anyone without a health condition could get used to skipping breakfast and feel fantastic if they let their bodies adapt.

ziggylove

It makes sense that skipping breakfast can often lead to eating more calories and fat later in the day. Unless you are an extremely disciplined person who eats several small 'bird' snacks/meals throughout the day (in which case it wouldn't even count as skipping breakfast), or you are a total fitness buff who burns so many calories that eating *enough* is the challenge.

tigersword

It's a very poorly written article with a heavy personal bias and a ton of misinformation. For instance, mentioning that eating right before bed causes you to gain fat is absolutely untrue. Also, your metabolism does not shut off overnight, the only metabolism "boost" you get from eating breakfast is maybe an extra 10-20 calories, and if you skip breakfast you get that same boost whenever you eat your first meal.

I eat breakfast most days as a personal choice, because I work out in the mornings and want food for energy at the gym. It's usually only about a quarter of my daily calories, just enough to cover what I burn working out. If I'm not working out, I may just have some green tea and skip until lunch.

Weight loss is about total calories eaten vs total calories burned in a 24 hour period. Doesn't matter when you eat those calories.

withchaco

Eating breakfast actually makes me MUCH hungrier by lunchtime.

I still eat breakfast because I like to, but I think the article needs more objective research.

ItsCasey

This is the problem with people being so hellbent on the idea that they MUST eat at certain times of day. Occasional hunger is not going to kill you, nor is it going to cause your body to stop functioning properly. You do not get some great metabolic boost from eating breakfast (or any other meal), and the only reason skipping breakfast makes you cranky is because you're used to eating every time you have the slightest indication that you might be hungry. Suck it up, learn to control your behavior, and you'll find that breakfast is no more necessary for achieving or maintaining a certain weight than any other meal.

Anyone who thinks breakfast is imperative to losing weight or that eating right before bed makes you fat can be put into the same category of ignorance as people who think lifting heavy weights makes women bulky and that doing a thousand crunches a day will strip fat from your midsection.

Huskeryogi

4 Reason I choose not to eat breakfast

1- I'm not hungry
2- I prefer to have the calories available for dinner
3- fewer meals = less time preparing for meals = less time spent thinking about food.
4- I get more done in the morning.

Like a lot of people have said it's about personal preference.