To eat breakfast or not... that is the question?!

ensoleille

If I eat breakfast (which I rarely do) then I'll have it at 6.30am and by 9am I'm so hungry but my lunch break isn't until 1pm!
I prefer not to eat breakfast if I'm up early and eat more later on

SergeantSunshine_reused

Hey Everyone,
I have recently been certified as a nutrition specialist through AASDN.
I am here to tell you that breakfast is an essential meal for everyone!
Think about your body being a car.
Your car will not run properly if you dont put fuel into it, well thats the same thing with your body.
Breakfast is your fuel that will help replenish your energy after it has gone through hours of starvation from sleep.
if you skip breakfast, your body will use up fuels from other sources and deplete your nutrient storages.
This slows down your metabolism and will in the end cause you to need less calories through out the day!
So if you eat when you wake up, your body will have enough charge to work faster, better and stronger.
Also you'll be less hungry later on in the day!

::Raises hand:: I have questions

Do you have any actual evidence that not eating breakfast depletes your nutrient storage? And why would your body using fuel from other sources be a bad thing, if let's say it's fat?

And any evidence that merely skipping breakfast slows down your metabolism?

And in your nutrition courses did you learn anything about not talking in absolute terms, like "I am here to tell you that breakfast is an essential meal for everyone"?

I admittedly haven't read all 3000+ of your quotes but the last 20 or so have been quite condescending. You obviously have interest and knowledge, but you need to tone it down, dude.

As to the topic, I agree with the consensus here. The importance of breakfast is greatly overstated.

I think his posts are very informative, and make people think. Someone certified in nutrition sure should know more than that

A also agree with the majority. I don't eat breakfast until 2 pm

bchmura

I think it makes sense that if you need to eat a certain number of calories a day, you want to break it up over that day. On days where I know my workout is going to get me back 500 calories I don't wait till after that happens to eat them.

Depending on what I eat for breakfast definitely determines if I am hungry soon after. For example, when I was having cheerios or oatmeal or something, I would be ready to eat soon after. If I make a breakfast smoothie that has almond milk, kale, spinach, fruit and some protein powder (for around the same calories) I won't be hungry until the afternoon.

I'd say to try switching up what you are getting - don't do complex carbs or something in the morning. Also, I stopped coffee a few months ago and have a lot more energy now. I still have it in emergency situations (2 hours sleep the night before).

DanielleDavids

I'm not a breakfast person and I used to NEVER eat breakfast. I don't have much appetite in the morning and usually choose sleep over preparing something so I started eating smoothies for breakfast a couple years ago. It is much easier and faster to make myself eat breakfast. Now I can't go w/o breakfast & it keeps me full until lunch!

My typical smoothie includes:

1/2 c. greek yogurt
1/2 scoop whey protein (usually chocolate or vanilla)
1 cup of frozen fruit
1 handful of spinach
1 tbsp of peanut butter
1 tbsp flax seed

Good luck in your breakfast endeavors!

scarecrow41

Hey Everyone,
I have recently been certified as a nutrition specialist through AASDN.
I am here to tell you that breakfast is an essential meal for everyone!
Think about your body being a car.
Your car will not run properly if you dont put fuel into it, well thats the same thing with your body.
Breakfast is your fuel that will help replenish your energy after it has gone through hours of starvation from sleep.
if you skip breakfast, your body will use up fuels from other sources and deplete your nutrient storages.
This slows down your metabolism and will in the end cause you to need less calories through out the day!
So if you eat when you wake up, your body will have enough charge to work faster, better and stronger.
Also you'll be less hungry later on in the day!

::Raises hand:: I have questions

Do you have any actual evidence that not eating breakfast depletes your nutrient storage? And why would your body using fuel from other sources be a bad thing, if let's say it's fat?

And any evidence that merely skipping breakfast slows down your metabolism?

And in your nutrition courses did you learn anything about not talking in absolute terms, like "I am here to tell you that breakfast is an essential meal for everyone"?

I admittedly haven't read all 3000+ of your quotes but the last 20 or so have been quite condescending. You obviously have interest and knowledge, but you need to tone it down, dude.

As to the topic, I agree with the consensus here. The importance of breakfast is greatly overstated.

I think his posts are very informative, and make people think. Someone certified in nutrition sure should know more than that

A also agree with the majority. I don't eat breakfast until 2 pm

Not if they're being taught something different. Wouldn't it be better to let the data speak for itself rather than say things like:

"Way to make things up"
"And in your nutrition courses did you learn anything about not talking in absolute terms, like "I am here to tell you that breakfast is an essential meal for everyone"?"

Or to suggest someone get a new dietician. Maybe I'm in the minority, but I'm much more inclined to listen to a complete internet stranger that speaks with respect in the spirit of helping rather than speaks with condescension in the spirit of being right.

SergeantSunshine_reused

Not if they're being taught something different. Wouldn't it be better to let the data speak for itself rather than say things like:

"Way to make things up"
"And in your nutrition courses did you learn anything about not talking in absolute terms, like "I am here to tell you that breakfast is an essential meal for everyone"?"

Or to suggest someone get a new dietician. Maybe I'm in the minority, but I'm much more inclined to listen to a complete internet stranger that speaks with respect in the spirit of helping rather than speaks with condescension in the spirit of being right.

I could see that. I guess i have a habit of saying similar things to be honest xD I will usually listen to posters that back their claims up with peer reviewed science - which Acg always does.

But to each their own I suppose ^-^

chevy88grl

I used to hate eating breakfast. I would grab a Mt Dew out of the fridge and call that breakfast. I also used to binge eat a lot.

It took me awhile to get used to eating when I woke up, but now my body wants it and expects it. I've found that eating breakfast along with eating every few hours really helps to regulate my blood sugar. It keeps me from wanting to binge later in the day.

Now, I'm not saying that this would work for everyone or even be the same for everyone. I'm simply saying that eating every morning makes ME feel better and helps to control my binge eating. I don't care what studies say about boosting my metabolism or blah blah blah. I care about how I feel and what works for me.

MinnesotaManimal

Hey Everyone,
I have recently been certified as a nutrition specialist through AASDN.
I am here to tell you that breakfast is an essential meal for everyone!
Think about your body being a car.
Your car will not run properly if you dont put fuel into it, well thats the same thing with your body.
Breakfast is your fuel that will help replenish your energy after it has gone through hours of starvation from sleep.
if you skip breakfast, your body will use up fuels from other sources and deplete your nutrient storages.
This slows down your metabolism and will in the end cause you to need less calories through out the day!
So if you eat when you wake up, your body will have enough charge to work faster, better and stronger.
Also you'll be less hungry later on in the day!
If you have any questions, please dont hesitate to ask!

When I treat my body exactly like a car, I fill it up once a day. And guess what, my car runs just fine till the next day, and so does my body. If your fitness is such that not eating breakfast hurts your performance, then eat it. If not, then don't. But don't put blanket statements on to the general population.

DeannaPaige1

Hey! Well like you, I was never the breakfast type either. But, I recently weight to a weigh loss clinic because obviously I haven't been doing something right about my weight, they made it very clear it's so important to eat breakfast, something small..not a lot of carbs ( No Pancakes, whaffles, cereal ect.. ) Since than I been eating granola bars, wheat toast with peanut butter. They also told me to eat every 2-3 hours, which I thought that was a bit much but it really makes a difference. Going long periods of time without eating causes you to eat way more when you actually do eat. eating small snakes in between meals helped me eat smaller portions. Hope this helps!

Deanna

suhaRD

Hi, I'm new to this, but as a dietitian thought I may shed some light. Thank you for sharing your feelings. Typically the advice for the general public is issued because there is evidence based research that shows some sort of significance in the nutrition statement. The reason that breakfast is touted so much is because it has SOOOOO many benefits. All throughout school junior, high and some of college I had NO breakfast, in fact many days I didn't eat until about 3 pm. I did this for no particular reason, just because. UNTIL I learned about ketosis, metabolism and overall energy and what no food does to your body.

AS health professionals we're not saying scarf down a 600+ calories, in fact the fewer calories, and more nutritiously sound options, the better. A glass of milk and a banana are more than sufficient. Try to eat a complex carb (for the energy you need), a lean protein (to help you stay full) and something with fiber (to help stabilize your blood sugar levels).

The reason you are hungrier throughout the day, is because your body is burning more calories, hence losing more weight. Just like when you turn on a car, gas is being used, making the need to refuel more often-- breakfast turns on your "metabolic engine" Just refuel with lower cal picks- Hope this helps.

Sublog

Hi, I'm new to this, but as a dietitian thought I may shed some light. Thank you for sharing your feelings. Typically the advice for the general public is issued because there is evidence based research that shows some sort of significance in the nutrition statement. The reason that breakfast is touted so much is because it has SOOOOO many benefits. All throughout school junior, high and some of college I had NO breakfast, in fact many days I didn't eat until about 3 pm. I did this for no particular reason, just because. UNTIL I learned about ketosis, metabolism and overall energy and what no food does to your body.

AS health professionals we're not saying scarf down a 600+ calories, in fact the fewer calories, and more nutritiously sound options, the better. A glass of milk and a banana are more than sufficient. Try to eat a complex carb (for the energy you need), a lean protein (to help you stay full) and something with fiber (to help stabilize your blood sugar levels).

The reason you are hungrier throughout the day, is because your body is burning more calories, hence losing more weight. Just like when you turn on a car, gas is being used, making the need to refuel more often-- breakfast turns on your "metabolic engine" Just refuel with lower cal picks- Hope this helps.

Care to comment about this quote (below)?

"Whether fat oxidation is greater during waking or sleeping hours doesn't matter. What matters is 24-hour fat balance, which is fat synthesis minus fat oxidation. See, those are the 2 sides to the equation. If you eat less during the day & more at night, fat oxidation will occur at a greater rate during the day. If you do the opposite, fat oxidation will occur at a greater rate through the night - & you end up at the same spot. After 24 hours, the body doesn't know nor give a flying fuk which half of the day contributed to either a net loss, gain, or maintenance of fat balance. Unless you have a specific need for increased energy intake (ie, prolonged competition in a particular sport ocurring in the earlier part of the day), there's no reason to assume that eating more during the day & less in the evening is INHERENTLY beneficial for body composition goals."

zafferFL

Hi, I'm new to this, but as a dietitian thought I may shed some light. Thank you for sharing your feelings. Typically the advice for the general public is issued because there is evidence based research that shows some sort of significance in the nutrition statement. The reason that breakfast is touted so much is because it has SOOOOO many benefits. All throughout school junior, high and some of college I had NO breakfast, in fact many days I didn't eat until about 3 pm. I did this for no particular reason, just because. UNTIL I learned about ketosis, metabolism and overall energy and what no food does to your body.

AS health professionals we're not saying scarf down a 600+ calories, in fact the fewer calories, and more nutritiously sound options, the better. A glass of milk and a banana are more than sufficient. Try to eat a complex carb (for the energy you need), a lean protein (to help you stay full) and something with fiber (to help stabilize your blood sugar levels).

The reason you are hungrier throughout the day, is because your body is burning more calories, hence losing more weight. Just like when you turn on a car, gas is being used, making the need to refuel more often-- breakfast turns on your "metabolic engine" Just refuel with lower cal picks- Hope this helps.

So you are saying that this so called ” engine” turns off? Please elaborate on this

trixirn

As far as I am concerned the first thing I eat is my breakfast since I broke the fast. I am not hungry the minute I crack my eyes open. I work alot of nights. Breakfast for me usually occurs around noon. Also my dinner tends to be later than 5 or 6 pm. We're not babies-no schedule required.

bexblonde

Personally I always used to find that I got really hungry after eating breakfast. However I now eat an egg with either a piece of toast, a crumpet or a savoury muffin and I find that I don't really get hungry till lunch time. I definitely think that having some form of protein for breakfast stops you getting hungry so quickly (at least it does in my experience, anyway).

L_amore

Thanks everyone for all the feedback. Its greatly appreciated. I think, I may try the higher protein meal or smoothie in the morning and if this still doesn't work, I'm just going to do what works best for me, even if I end up skipping breakfast. Like alot of posts/feedback state, if your hungry, eat, if not, dont! I agree with those statements and I'm going to listen to my body and do whats best for it, as long as its healthy and I'm losing weight thats what it boils down to. Thanks again everyone!

Dave198lbs

WOW...scary stuff...

a "certified" nutritionist and then a dietician both giving advice that while not harmful is also not up to date and accurate.

Just reminds us all to take what you read with a grain of salt.

Christine1110

I always eat breakfast....I feel hungry now in the mornings....and I never used to.

zafferFL

WOW...scary stuff...

a "certified" nutritionist and then a dietician both giving advice that while not harmful is also not up to date and accurate.

Just reminds us all to take what you read with a grain of salt.

Online courses?

Justice96

I am one who looves breakfast so oatmeal is always calling my name in the morning along with coffee If your not into breakfast at least eat something small and nutritious like an apple or a boiled egg.You should try no calorie sweetners instead of sugar if your going to use cream.
P.S splenda coffee flavours, hazelnut is awesome.

lolitsangela

I always feel full longer if I eat a breakfast that has protein in it. Scrambled egg whites in the morning keep me full for a reeaaally long time. If I only have coffee and some kind of carb, I get hungry faster later on; I feel like it has to do with the caffeine.