If I eat breakfast, I get hungry

ashleyacee

When they say breakfast is the most important meal of the day it is TRUE. In the past I would skip breakfast, which is the worst idea. Breakfast gives you energy for your day/workout/. Also, in the morning is when your adrenaline levels are higher which makes it a great time too take advantage of having a hearty healthy breakfast without worrying about the carbs/ bigger meal knowing it is going straight to your energy levels and burning off ( as long as they are whole, nutritious breakfasts)

crisanderson27

The reason is it gets your metabolism revved up. The worst thing you can do is skip breakfast. Key to losing is keeping your metabolism going! Plan a snack between breakfast and lunch to help with it. Starving yourself or skipping meals wont help you lose weight...it does the opposite.

You're hungry because eating more often during the day raises your metabolism. That's why most diet plans have you eat more frequent but smaller meals. Just spread your calories out over 5 or 6 meals a day. Eat more protein and fiber as well to keep you gull longer.

These are both completely, totally inaccurate.

I haven't eaten breakfast in a year (excepting some weekends where I make it for my kids...who can resist french toast, bacon, and eggs?)...because very simply, if I do...I want food all day.

Like...bad lol.

That whole crap about your metabolism being sped up by multiple meals is absolute garbage. If you don't eat for 24hrs, it's been PROVEN in multiple studies that your metabolism actually SPEEDS up. Your body begins producing beneficial things like growth hormone and adrenaline as well...that tell your body to oxidize fat. That metabolic increase (and the hormonal response) slowly falls off, and then actually begins to decrease from the initial levels after SEVENTY-TWO whole hours. This doesn't mean you shouldn't eat for 72hrs...but it certainly means that you don't have to eat 6 meals a day to 'keep your metabolism' revved up.

So...skip breakfast if it works for you...you certainly don't have to feel guilty about it as long as you're still getting in all of your healthy calories for the day.

Microfiber_wechange

I started intermittent fasting almost 2 weeks ago and it's going fine. My feeding hours are between 1p.m and 9p.m. During this time I eat my daily calories allowance. I drink water in the morning before 1p.m.

gsager

Hey everyone, just a quick question I've noticed.

If i eat breakfast in the morning, I'm hungry ALL morning til lunch! And after lunch I want to snack all day. This is whether or not I eat something light like an apple, or something heavy like eggs.

But if I don't eat breakfast and just have coffee with a bit of milk, I can work through the morning without being hungry. Then I'll eat a normal lunch and maybe an afternoon snack.

My company gives us lunch everyday, and it comes in from 11:30-12, so I do eat an early lunch. And I don't wake up til 7:30, so its not like I'm going all day without food or anything.

Any ideas? And do you think I'm hurting my body by not feeding it til lunch? I just eat less overall the days I don't have breakfast, so I'm thinking of eliminating it (just on the weekdays.)

I think you're supposed to be hungry, I eat at 5:30 or 6:00 in the morning and again at 8:30 or 9:00 and then lunch, every 3 hours is good spacing.

mommyhof3

skipping breakfast is fine, the metabolism stuff is a myth

^^^This! I don't eat breakfast and I do fine. If I try to eat before work I find I have to choke it down. I figure why do something I don't enjoy. I get up at 5:30, do P90x, shower, have tea with cream and sugar, go to work. I eat a snack at break and then lunch during lunch. I also have another snack at afternoon break, then dinner and a snack before bed. This works fine for me. It's a lifestyle change for me and if I don't enjoy something I won't stick with it

crzyone

Yep, eating breakfast makes me hungry, thus distracted from work and wanting to snack. If I don't eat breakfast, I can go all day without even thinking about food and getting tons done. I've learned to try to snack on fruit about 10:30 (I get up at 5:30) and then I do okay..but to eat earlier just ruins me.

robpett2001

The same thing happens to me, but I've always considered it proof of how important breakfast is if you want to get healthy and have your metabolism fired up, as it should be. So my response is YES, eat that breakfast! Then take a banana or some yogurt or any kind of snack to eat around 10am to carry you through to lunch. Same goes for the period between lunch and dinner, even.

Ideally, you want that furnace (your metabolism) running hot all the time so its consuming the calories you throw into it, as opposed to damping it down to slow embers (say, by just having a cup of coffee for breakfast) where it's barely burning the calories you do toss to it occasionally. That works best for me when I'm exercising regularly and eating small meals regularly through the day.

Good luck to you!

LuckyLeprechaun

Skip breakfast if that's best for your calorie control. I'm the same way.

It's not going to speed your metabolism by eating more often. That's been debunked.

Quoted because it's true, and she's fabulous.

frostymelissa

I eat breakfast every morning. I don't feel hungry but I drink every 10 minutes once an hour has gone by from eating. I've had weight loss surgery. I'm suppose to eat breakfast within 2 hours of getting up but was having a hard time with breakfast and then not getting lunch until late. I have to eat 3 meals 4-5 hours apart. I talked to the dietician about it and she said to push the breakfast further out. So, I would say your lunch counts as breakfast so wait about 4 - 5 hours and have dinner, then have a small snack later. Then you are getting all nutrition in you need. Also, try EAS Myloplex Original Protein shakes for breakfast. They have about 240 calories and 42 g of protein for the full 17oz container. They fill you up.

crisanderson27

I started intermittent fasting almost 2 weeks ago and it's going fine. My feeding hours are between 1p.m and 9p.m. During this time I eat my daily calories allowance. I drink water in the morning before 1p.m.

Myself as well..only, I'm going on almost 1yr of IF.

I love it.

broadway_Calls

Still can't believe how many people think breakfast is an essential part of losing weight or that it matters what time you eat. It really doesn't so don't worry I eat cereal at about 1pm these days and dinner 6 hours later - just works for me as I see no reason to 'wake up' my appetite earlier on, I'd rather suppress it if I'm awake and this is a natural way of doing so!

Eskimopie

Glad to hear others have the same experience! I thought I was crazy after reading article after article saying breakfast makes you eat less all day. Thanks for the tips everyone.

Bellydance

skipping breakfast is fine, the metabolism stuff is a myth

Ya, I've been reading fitness gurus websites and almost all of them advocate Intermittent Fasting, some on a daily basis. And they advocate a calorie/fat dense Cheat Day. Love it. I'm never deprived.

gradgal01

when you haven't eaten for a couple hours, your body slows down its metabolism. this makes sense -- it realizes it's getting less energy, so it stops using energy to store sugar, for example. once you eat something in the morning, or whenever, your body revs up its metabolism -- oh hey, look at all this energy, let's do stuff with it. so for the next couple of hours, you get hungry, because your body is plain old doing more. (this is not the same thing as "starvation mode," which takes >5 days to happen.)

i have the same problem too. i never used to eat breakfast because a) it meant waking up earlier and b) i would be starving until lunch. if i eat something high in protein -- like eggs/egg whites -- i find that i can actually last until lunch hour. but still, the first half hour or so can be tough :-\. also, moving around a bit after you eat -- whether it's to your car or walking to work or whatever -- can help, as it helps your body use glucose better.

EmHorn4

Try spreading your food out to anticipate the hunger strike. I plan my 9-5 work day around 5 meals: breakfast, mid morning snack, lunch, afternoon snack, and then dinner. I eat just 2 egg whites and some coffee for breakfast right before I leave for work. At 10:30 or 11, I have my mid morning snack (right when hunger hits!) of an apple with a light string cheese, or a bowl of cereal. For lunch (around 1:30 or 2) I have a salad with a protein. For an afternoon snack, usually around 3:30 or 4, I have a bag of raw veggies with some light cheese, some nuts, or a granola bar. Usually the afternoon snack holds me over until I can get home and make some dinner. I try to keep all of my snack stuff handy in my desk (cereal/granola bars/nuts, or milk/cheese/veggies in the fridge). The biggest thing I did to help change to eating smaller meals was to rearrange my MFP diary to show time slots instead of generic "Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner/Snacks." Mine shows "Breakfast 7-10am, Mid Morning Snack 10am-12pm, Lunch 12-2pm, Mid Afternoon Snack 2-5pm, Dinner 5-8pm, and Late Snacks 8-10pm. This way, I keep myself on an eating schedule, but give myself a big enough window to make sure I get it done.

Except for breakfast (I'm not a huge morning eater), I try to eat between 200-300 cals per "mini meal" and I'm never hungry when I eat this way! My cal goal each day is 1400. Oh, and I try to drink a bunch of water too!

robpett2001

*chuckle

So the answer to your question, as far as all of us are concerned is...every position on this topic has its own supporters, so try different solutions and find out what works best for you...

One person's truth is another's fiction.

crisanderson27

when you haven't eaten for a couple hours, your body slows down its metabolism. this makes sense -- it realizes it's getting less energy, so it stops using energy to store sugar, for example. once you eat something in the morning, or whenever, your body revs up its metabolism -- oh hey, look at all this energy, let's do stuff with it. so for the next couple of hours, you get hungry, because your body is plain old doing more. (this is not the same thing as "starvation mode," which takes >5 days to happen.)

Show me ONE study...just ONE, that proves this horribly perpetuated myth.

You have the whole of the internet, but make sure it's a peer reviewed study (pubmed is a good source).

Ready...go.

jenngi620

Same problem! I thought it was the carb thing, I was most often eating weight control (fiber enriched) oatmeal. I switched to just hard boiled eggs and still struggled with hunger. Now I'm just having a piece of fruit around 930 or 10 am and I feel great all day. I have seen studies that suggest people who are most sucessful with permanant weight loss do eat breakfast. I wonder if it may be that people who eat breakfast are also more likely to (???? something else, like go to bed earlier, snack less at night, etc) and it is really that thing that makes them successful. IDK.

auntiebabs

This is the way I think of it...

If you grew up on a farm you'd get up about 5AM or 6AM do your chores then eat breakfast around 8AM or 9AM

So, if I don't get up until 8 or 8:30AM and coast on coffee until lunchtime, it's sort of the same thing with out the intense physical labor.

mommyhof3

when you haven't eaten for a couple hours, your body slows down its metabolism. this makes sense -- it realizes it's getting less energy, so it stops using energy to store sugar, for example. once you eat something in the morning, or whenever, your body revs up its metabolism -- oh hey, look at all this energy, let's do stuff with it. so for the next couple of hours, you get hungry, because your body is plain old doing more. (this is not the same thing as "starvation mode," which takes >5 days to happen.)

Show me ONE study...just ONE, that proves this horribly perpetuated myth.

You have the whole of the internet, but make sure it's a peer reviewed study (pubmed is a good source).

Ready...go.

^^ Would love to see the results of this challenge