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

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.

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

The reason its called breakfast, is because it indeed, breaks your fasting, whatever time you have your first meal is considered breakfast. You have a lull in energy intake while sleeping, but you still have physiologic functions, for ex. gas exchanges, growth and repair and regulating body temperature- all which require ATP- or energy. When you aren't consuming calories, the body uses the stored glycogen in your liver, when that runs out for prolonged periods of fasting, it takes glycogen from your muscles and fat. This is harmful because prolonged catabolism can lead to increased lactic acid build up. Your body has a pH of 7.4, added acid reduces your pH levels, increasing acid in your blood- this is called ketosis. This type of fuel cannot be used by the brain (because the brain protects itself from toxicity). This is why fasting can make one feel tipsy and groggy.

From what I understand this site is for HEALTHIER lifestyes, not dying to be thinness. I am recommending breakfast one hour within your time of waking up, to start your metabolism and stop the ketosis process. Grabbing something small is fine, just eat something! The point that many are not understanding is that when you eat, you are hungrier because your metabolism needs energy in order to digest the food, this is how you lose weight properly. Hope this helps.

thanks for the information, and I think that it all applies on extended fasts. But extending the fast by 4 hours for instance?

IF YOU ARE UP AND AT 'EM YOU ARE BURNING ENERGY. YOU NEED TO CONTINUE TO OFFER ENERGY SO THAT YOUR BODY DOESN'T CATABOLIZE OR BREAK DOWN MUSCLE. THAT EXTENDED FOUR HOURS TELLS YOUR BODY TO USE UP ALL YOUR GLYCOGEN STORES, AND START USING YOUR MUSCLES AND FAT, FOR FUEL- THIS RELEASES TOXIC ACIDS. IF YOU EAT YOU AVOID THE MUSCLE BREAKDOWN FOR ENERGY. WE WANT TO USE THE ENERGY WE HAVE, NOT DEPLETE IT.

My personal experience is that skipping breakfast is fine for me, I do not feel tipsy, groggy, tired, lethargic, cranky or otherwise.

GAVE YOU SOME SUGGESTIONS- TAKE IT OR LEAVE IT, ITS YOUR BODY AFTERALL.

Works for me.

My job is to offer you more information to make a more enlightened choice. Try breakfast for a week, if you don't poop within an hour of eating, know that its not right for you- however if you do (poop), you will better understand that your "metabolic engine" has been turned on and is revving to go.

And my job is to question what you have to say. You didn't answer my question.

As for "pooping", please clarify WHY this has anything to do with the subject. Are you saying that one should poop after every meal (6 times I presume based on your enlightened information)

NOPE JUST AFTER YOUR FIRST MEAL-- AT LEAST 1 BM A DAY

NUTRITION IS ABOUT EVERYTHING THAT GOES IN THE MOUTH UNTIL IT COMES OUT.

Acg67

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

The reason its called breakfast, is because it indeed, breaks your fasting, whatever time you have your first meal is considered breakfast. You have a lull in energy intake while sleeping, but you still have physiologic functions, for ex. gas exchanges, growth and repair and regulating body temperature- all which require ATP- or energy. When you aren't consuming calories, the body uses the stored glycogen in your liver, when that runs out for prolonged periods of fasting, it takes glycogen from your muscles and fat. This is harmful because prolonged catabolism can lead to increased lactic acid build up. Your body has a pH of 7.4, added acid reduces your pH levels, increasing acid in your blood- this is called ketosis. This type of fuel cannot be used by the brain (because the brain protects itself from toxicity). This is why fasting can make one feel tipsy and groggy.

From what I understand this site is for HEALTHIER lifestyes, not dying to be thinness. I am recommending breakfast one hour within your time of waking up, to start your metabolism and stop the ketosis process. Grabbing something small is fine, just eat something! The point that many are not understanding is that when you eat, you are hungrier because your metabolism needs energy in order to digest the food, this is how you lose weight properly. Hope this helps.

thanks for the information, and I think that it all applies on extended fasts. But extending the fast by 4 hours for instance?

IF YOU ARE UP AND AT 'EM YOU ARE BURNING ENERGY. YOU NEED TO CONTINUE TO OFFER ENERGY SO THAT YOUR BODY DOESN'T CATABOLIZE OR BREAK DOWN MUSCLE. THAT EXTENDED FOUR HOURS TELLS YOUR BODY TO USE UP ALL YOUR GLYCOGEN STORES, AND START USING YOUR MUSCLES AND FAT, FOR FUEL- THIS RELEASES TOXIC ACIDS. IF YOU EAT YOU AVOID THE MUSCLE BREAKDOWN FOR ENERGY. WE WANT TO USE THE ENERGY WE HAVE, NOT DEPLETE IT.

My personal experience is that skipping breakfast is fine for me, I do not feel tipsy, groggy, tired, lethargic, cranky or otherwise.

GAVE YOU SOME SUGGESTIONS- TAKE IT OR LEAVE IT, ITS YOUR BODY AFTERALL.

Works for me.

My job is to offer you more information to make a more enlightened choice. Try breakfast for a week, if you don't poop within an hour of eating, know that its not right for you- however if you do (poop), you will better understand that your "metabolic engine" has been turned on and is revving to go.

And my job is to question what you have to say. You didn't answer my question.

As for "pooping", please clarify WHY this has anything to do with the subject. Are you saying that one should poop after every meal (6 times I presume based on your enlightened information)

NOPE JUST AFTER YOUR FIRST MEAL-- AT LEAST 1 BM A DAY

NUTRITION IS ABOUT EVERYTHING THAT GOES IN THE MOUTH UNTIL IT COMES OUT.

Since you seemed to miss this

The reason its called breakfast, is because it indeed, breaks your fasting, whatever time you have your first meal is considered breakfast. You have a lull in energy intake while sleeping, but you still have physiologic functions, for ex. gas exchanges, growth and repair and regulating body temperature- all which require ATP- or energy. When you aren't consuming calories, the body uses the stored glycogen in your liver, when that runs out for prolonged periods of fasting, it takes glycogen from your muscles and fat. This is harmful because prolonged catabolism can lead to increased lactic acid build up. Your body has a pH of 7.4, added acid reduces your pH levels, increasing acid in your blood- this is called ketosis. This type of fuel cannot be used by the brain (because the brain protects itself from toxicity). This is why fasting can make one feel tipsy and groggy.

Since i'm obviously not as smart as you, can you elaborate on fat's capacity to store glycogen? I've heard of the liver and skeletal muscle stores, but not fat's

Are you sure you're not confusing ketosis with ketoacidosis?
[/quote]

Sidesteal

From Martin Berkhan -- this is a cut and paste, and not my words:

Efficient adaptation to famine was important for survival during rough times in our evolution. Lowering metabolic rate during starvation allowed us to live longer, increasing the possibility that we might come across something to eat. Starvation literally means starvation. It doesn't mean skipping a meal not eating for 24 hours. Or not eating for three days even. The belief that meal skipping or short-term fasting causes "starvation mode" is so completely ridiculous and absurd that it makes me want to jump out the window.

Looking at the numerous studies I've read, the earliest evidence for lowered metabolic rate in response to fasting occurred after 60 hours (-8% in resting metabolic rate). Other studies show metabolic rate is not impacted until 72-96 hours have passed (George Cahill has contributed a lot on this topic).
From Martin Berkhan:

Seemingly paradoxical, metabolic rate is actually increased in short-term fasting. For some concrete numbers, studies have shown an increase of 3.6% - 10% after 36-48 hours (Mansell PI, et al, and Zauner C, et al). This makes sense from an evolutionary perspective. Epinephrine and norepinephrine (adrenaline/noradrenaline) sharpens the mind and makes us want to move around. Desirable traits that encouraged us to seek for food, or for the hunter to kill his prey, increasing survival. At some point, after several days of no eating, this benefit would confer no benefit to survival and probably would have done more harm than good; instead, an adaptation that favored conservation of energy turned out to be advantageous. Thus metabolic rate is increased in short-term fasting (up to 60 hours).

Again, I have choosen extreme examples to show how absurd the myth of "starvation mode" is - especially when you consider that the exact opposite is true in the context of how the term is thrown around.


Additional reading:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3508745
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17909674

suhaRD

Sidesteal and Alexpapa, you guys are wearing me out- I'm gonna have breakfast!

suhaRD

I haven't read through all posts but I want to throw my opinion in.

For me, it depends on how one defines breakfast. Is it about the food itself, or about the time? I do have breakfast every morning but sometimes 3 hours after I got up. I also don't care what nutritionists etc. say because I won't eat unless I am hungry and it takes me a few hours before I feel I have to eat.
I never had any problems doing it this was. When I work out in the morning, I have a snack before I leave. After my work out I am hungry and breakfast tastes so much better when you don't force it.

Sorry to inform you but that snack before your workout is breaskfast.

ronellevan

The reason breakfast is "the most important meal of the day" is that by breaking the fast (the hours between eating your last evening meal and breakfast) you are kick starting your metabolism.

Which is the exact effects you're feeling by being more hungry on the days when you eat breakfast.

Loves418

I think breakfast is a very important part of the day -- it stops me from being so hungry about 9:30 or 10 in the morning. A friend of mine told me the other day of an old saying "Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a pauper". Interesting thought -- but like others have said, do what works best for your body because no diet is good for everyone. Good luck!

I really like this quote...how fitting it really is...

suhaRD

Since you seemed to miss this

The reason its called breakfast, is because it indeed, breaks your fasting, whatever time you have your first meal is considered breakfast. You have a lull in energy intake while sleeping, but you still have physiologic functions, for ex. gas exchanges, growth and repair and regulating body temperature- all which require ATP- or energy. When you aren't consuming calories, the body uses the stored glycogen in your liver, when that runs out for prolonged periods of fasting, it takes glycogen from your muscles and fat. This is harmful because prolonged catabolism can lead to increased lactic acid build up. Your body has a pH of 7.4, added acid reduces your pH levels, increasing acid in your blood- this is called ketosis. This type of fuel cannot be used by the brain (because the brain protects itself from toxicity). This is why fasting can make one feel tipsy and groggy.

Since i'm obviously not as smart as you, can you elaborate on fat's capacity to store glycogen? I've heard of the liver and skeletal muscle stores, but not fat's

Are you sure you're not confusing ketosis with ketoacidosis?
[/quote]
[/quote]

ketosis- when glucose is not available and other sources are broken down, releasng ketone bodies

ketoacidosis- prolonged use of ketone bodies

Hence- ketone bodies--> ketosis--> ketoacidosis

fat doesn't store glycogen, it breaks down and provides a substrate-lactic acid which turns into pyruvic acid that is then utilized in anaerobic oxidation to produce energy

anmei2411

I haven't read through all posts but I want to throw my opinion in.

For me, it depends on how one defines breakfast. Is it about the food itself, or about the time? I do have breakfast every morning but sometimes 3 hours after I got up. I also don't care what nutritionists etc. say because I won't eat unless I am hungry and it takes me a few hours before I feel I have to eat.
I never had any problems doing it this was. When I work out in the morning, I have a snack before I leave. After my work out I am hungry and breakfast tastes so much better when you don't force it.

Sorry to inform you but that snack before your workout is breaskfast.

Oh, you don't need to be sorry to inform me I do not consider a kiwi as breakfast, but I do not analyse it like others here do. I eat when I am hungry and regardless of what the original meaning of the word is ... to me breakfast includes bread or porridge or anything else that is a bit more substantial.
Milk contains calories too, hence it is not fasting. Nevertheless, I would not consider a cup of coffee to be breakfast

SwannySez

Having read through this entire thread I believe I have the gist of things: if you do not want to die a horrible death buried under a mountain of poop you should eat three dieticians before 7:00 AM EST no matter where you are on the earth unless you are in fact a dietician and then your metabolic carbonization intell-o-genic rate of cathertotronics protects you by sealing you in carbonite a la Han Solo.

I thank the baby Jesus every morning for this site. I love you all. Not at once you understand, that would just be sick, you pervs. But one at a time the way God intended it.

FitLink

Breakfast is a MUST, it's not a question at all. Eating breakfast gets your metabolism working and fuels you for the day, making you more likely to have the energy to work out. It's ideal to work out at night because then your metabolism works while you sleep through the night burning fat. Then when you eat a healthy breakfast the next morning, it makes your metabolism kick back in and it gives you the energy to go through your day and work out again.

Skipping breakfast and not eating multiple small meals a day is part of the reason women have a hard time losing weight.

There's actually no peer reviewed scientific evidence of this. If it works for you--great. But breakfast isn't a "magic meal" that "kickstarts" your metabolism. That's just pseudoscientific nonsense. You should eat when you're hungry, not when the clock says it's time to eat. Everyone will find this is just a little different for them. So it IS a question.

And there IS scientific, peer-reviewed, evidence that exercising "late at night" interferes with sleep; and sleep is essential to weight loss. You should not exercise heavily within 3 hours of bedtime, and should not use backlit LCD screens within one hour of bedtime for best sleep. Having your body think it's daytime is DEFINITELY NOT advantageous to sleep.

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.

And your background is in...? Please do not mock a profession that you clearly take seriously. You read nutrition information all the time, and chose what suits you. If you feel that breakfast is not for you, simply state that, and don't hate. I spent hours consulting people with diabetes, renal disease, cardic diseases, tube feedings, and of course arrogants who believe their doing everything right- somewhat like yourself and visit me a year later with some health condition. I answered a question, in my professional opinion. I understand the physiology involved and you're scared of me? I am actually scared of you- Giving unfounded advice to those who need help. Respect the profession.

wow.....you perceived all that? what advice did I give that was unfounded?

suhaRD

Having read through this entire thread I believe I have the gist of things: if you do not want to die a horrible death buried under a mountain of poop you should eat three dieticians before 7:00 AM EST no matter where you are on the earth unless you are in fact a dietician and then your metabolic carbonization intell-o-genic rate of cathertotronics protects you by sealing you in carbonite a la Han Solo.

I thank the baby Jesus every morning for this site. I love you all. Not at once you understand, that would just be sick, you pervs. But one at a time the way God intended it.

Please don't eat me

FitLink

Wait a second, you attacked my opinion first. I didn't attack yours. I simply stated my opinion based on studies and a nutritionist I talk to. I shouldn't have to to teach you how to use Google, look up the Mayo clinic, Livestrong, or call a nutritionist. I'm not saying eating breakfast is the direct leading factor to weight loss itself, but it gives you the energy to work out and the earlier you have your calories in the day, the sooner you start fueling your body and the less likely you will be vulnerable to bad choices when you do become hungry.

http://www.livestrong.com/article/25335-breakfast-helps-weight-loss/
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/food-and-nutrition/AN01119

Okay, I checked and while the Mayo Clinic does say breakfast MAY BE advantageous to weight loss, it most certainly doesn't have any peer-reviewed studies showing even a correlative link between eating breakfast and weight loss. In fact, it uses a lot of "may bes," mights," and "considers." Nowhere close to the "isn'teven a question" that you posted. There is a lot of question, and not a lot of evidence. Since eating breakfast works for you, by all means do it, but there most certainly IS question as to whether it's actually necessary.

suhaRD

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.

And your background is in...? Please do not mock a profession that you clearly take seriously. You read nutrition information all the time, and chose what suits you. If you feel that breakfast is not for you, simply state that, and don't hate. I spent hours consulting people with diabetes, renal disease, cardic diseases, tube feedings, and of course arrogants who believe their doing everything right- somewhat like yourself and visit me a year later with some health condition. I answered a question, in my professional opinion. I understand the physiology involved and you're scared of me? I am actually scared of you- Giving unfounded advice to those who need help. Respect the profession.

wow.....you perceived all that? what advice did I give that was unfounded?

sorry, i guess i felt attacked. you're right you didnt offer any advice.

Loves418

I love breakfast but some days if I have to run out or we get up late or I am not hungry I wait for lunch. I don't believe in force feeding my kids so why would I force feed myself. Do what works for you as long as you are losing weight and happy with your progress. By the way my kids are 18 and 13 so lets not get all crazy thinking I have babies or little ones and not feeding them. My answer to them is your hungry eat you're not don't. :laugh:

suhaRD

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Am J Clin Nutr. 2010 Dec;92(6):1316-25. Epub 2010 Oct 6.

Skipping breakfast: longitudinal associations with cardiometabolic risk factors in the Childhood Determinants of Adult Health Study.

Smith KJ, Gall SL, McNaughton SA, Blizzard L, Dwyer T, Venn AJ.


Source

Menzies Research Institute, University of Tasmania, Tasmania, Australia. k.j.smith@utas.edu.au


Abstract

BACKGROUND:

The long-term effects of skipping breakfast on cardiometabolic health are not well understood.

OBJECTIVE:

The objective was to examine longitudinal associations of breakfast skipping in childhood and adulthood with cardiometabolic risk factors in adulthood.

DESIGN:

In 1985, a national sample of 9-15-y-old Australian children reported whether they usually ate breakfast before school. During follow-up in 2004-2006, 2184 participants (26-36 y of age) completed a meal-frequency chart for the previous day. Skipping breakfast was defined as not eating between 0600 and 0900. Participants were classified into 4 groups: skipped breakfast in neither childhood nor adulthood (n = 1359), skipped breakfast only in childhood (n = 224), skipped breakfast only in adulthood (n = 515), and skipped breakfast in both childhood and adulthood (n = 86). Diet quality was assessed, waist circumference was measured, and blood samples were taken after a 12-h fast (n = 1730). Differences in mean waist circumference and blood glucose, insulin, and lipid concentrations were calculated by linear regression.

RESULTS:

After adjustment for age, sex, and sociodemographic and lifestyle factors, participants who skipped breakfast in both childhood and adulthood had a larger waist circumference (mean difference: 4.63 cm; 95% CI: 1.72, 7.53 cm) and higher fasting insulin (mean difference: 2.02 mU/L; 95% CI: 0.75, 3.29 mU/L), total cholesterol (mean difference: 0.40 mmol/L; 95% CI: 0.13, 0.68 mmol/L), and LDL cholesterol (mean difference: 0.40 mmol/L; 95% CI: 0.16, 0.64 mmol/L) concentrations than did those who ate breakfast at both time points. Additional adjustments for diet quality and waist circumference attenuated the associations with cardiometabolic variables, but the differences remained significant.

CONCLUSIONS:

Skipping breakfast over a long period may have detrimental effects on cardiometabolic health. Promoting the benefits of eating breakfast could be a simple and important public health message

FitLink

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!

Okay. As a recent graduate of an accredited school you should have all the studies that support this handy. Could you list the authors, journals, dates and pages for us? Because my body isn't a car, it's a body, and food isn't gasoline.

Acg67

Am J Clin Nutr. 2010 Dec;92(6):1316-25. Epub 2010 Oct 6.

Skipping breakfast: longitudinal associations with cardiometabolic risk factors in the Childhood Determinants of Adult Health Study.

Smith KJ, Gall SL, McNaughton SA, Blizzard L, Dwyer T, Venn AJ.


Source

Menzies Research Institute, University of Tasmania, Tasmania, Australia. k.j.smith@utas.edu.au


Abstract

BACKGROUND:

The long-term effects of skipping breakfast on cardiometabolic health are not well understood.

OBJECTIVE:

The objective was to examine longitudinal associations of breakfast skipping in childhood and adulthood with cardiometabolic risk factors in adulthood.

DESIGN:

In 1985, a national sample of 9-15-y-old Australian children reported whether they usually ate breakfast before school. During follow-up in 2004-2006, 2184 participants (26-36 y of age) completed a meal-frequency chart for the previous day. Skipping breakfast was defined as not eating between 0600 and 0900. Participants were classified into 4 groups: skipped breakfast in neither childhood nor adulthood (n = 1359), skipped breakfast only in childhood (n = 224), skipped breakfast only in adulthood (n = 515), and skipped breakfast in both childhood and adulthood (n = 86). Diet quality was assessed, waist circumference was measured, and blood samples were taken after a 12-h fast (n = 1730). Differences in mean waist circumference and blood glucose, insulin, and lipid concentrations were calculated by linear regression.

RESULTS:

After adjustment for age, sex, and sociodemographic and lifestyle factors, participants who skipped breakfast in both childhood and adulthood had a larger waist circumference (mean difference: 4.63 cm; 95% CI: 1.72, 7.53 cm) and higher fasting insulin (mean difference: 2.02 mU/L; 95% CI: 0.75, 3.29 mU/L), total cholesterol (mean difference: 0.40 mmol/L; 95% CI: 0.13, 0.68 mmol/L), and LDL cholesterol (mean difference: 0.40 mmol/L; 95% CI: 0.16, 0.64 mmol/L) concentrations than did those who ate breakfast at both time points. Additional adjustments for diet quality and waist circumference attenuated the associations with cardiometabolic variables, but the differences remained significant.

CONCLUSIONS:

Skipping breakfast over a long period may have detrimental effects on cardiometabolic health. Promoting the benefits of eating breakfast could be a simple and important public health message

ninerbuff

You DON'T have to eat breakfast. Some like to eat breakfast. Basically since we're all individuals with different metabolisms and genetics, you pick what you think is working best for you.
I used to eat breakfast all the time. As of the last few months I've skipped it and haven't had any adverse affects nor have my workouts been compromised.


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