If I eat breakfast, I get hungry

WaterBunnie

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.

This

And your proof?

None of us has concrete proof but this works for me.

And how exactly have you measured you metabolism increase before and after breakfast to make that conclusion?

I know that if I eat infrequently that my energy levels plummet and I'm a lot less likely to exercise, thereby burning fewer calories across the day.

YogaNikki

I eat breakfast because I'm raging *kitten* if I don't. Hungry or not later, lol!

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.

This

And your proof?

None of us has concrete proof but this works for me.

And how exactly have you measured you metabolism increase before and after breakfast to make that conclusion?

I know that if I eat infrequently that my energy levels plummet and I'm a lot less likely to exercise, thereby burning fewer calories across the day.

This wasn't the question she asked.

PlunderBunneh

I'm not a big morning eater, but I started eating something small (~300 cal) in the mornings before I workout. Just never really considered that I could workout without food.

So question for crisanderson2, since you seem to be the most knowledgable on this subject: Am I going to experience any negative side effects if I don't eat before I workout? I usually wake about 6:30am, and get to the track at 9:30am to run 5k before strength training for 30-45 minutes. I have to be super picky about my breakfast because I get cramps very easily, it would be super if I could just skip that step.

yoovie

this is what led to me doing IF

crisanderson27

I eat breakfast because I'm raging *kitten* if I don't. Hungry or not later, lol!

That...is an excellent reason to eat breakfast lol. No one wants a hungry raging *kitten*!

No matter how pretty she is .

WaterBunnie

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.

This

And your proof?

None of us has concrete proof but this works for me.

That's my point, there IS concrete proof that you don't need to eat breakfast.

If it works for you...that's seriously wonderful. I mean that...but just because it works for you doesn't mean it's necessary. On top of that, you don't even know for sure why it works for you (most often it's hunger control, not everyone gets hungry if they eat breakfast...usually it's people with naturally higher metabolic rates to begin with). That's why quoting a post perpetuating the antiquated belief that your metabolism slows down if you don't eat constantly...is actually hurting more people than it's helping.

Only if you believe fasting is a better route, which I don't.

Eskimopie

.

YogaNikki

I eat breakfast because I'm raging *kitten* if I don't. Hungry or not later, lol!

That...is an excellent reason to eat breakfast lol. No one wants a hungry raging *kitten*!

No matter how pretty she is .

Awww, thanks Cris!!

Eskimopie

Thanks for the linkto leangains! I'm loving this site from what I'm reading...especially since my main goal is to replace fat with muscle, more than being lighter on the scale. What he says makes a lot of sense to me...I never felt right forcing myself to eat breakfast every day (though I do enjoy making omelets on the weekend.)

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.

No, it's that people who are DETERMINED to lose weight and keep it off, have been force fed the myth that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. People who are disciplined enough to get up early and eat a healthy breakfast, are generally disciplined enough to maintain a healthy caloric intake.

Plain and simple.

Go look at the IF group on this board. Virtually every person on there is sub 20% bodyfat. Not a single one of us eats 6 meals a day...and very few eat before 1pm.

Another example....

www.leangains.com

That guy maintains a sub 10% bodyfat level, and doesn't eat breakfast, ever.

Food timing is a myth. It's been proven. Read the studies people, stop spouting opinions based on someone elses opinion based on antiquated dietary propaganda.

marycmeadows

You need to retrain your body, and you should NEVER be skipping breakfast. that is a mistake too many people make (that's just too simple to fix to even be making in the first place). Breakfast is THE most important meal of the day, and you're doing your body a real injustice by not eating breakfast every day!

marycmeadows

The breakfast/meal frequency myth makes me want to punch someone in the face.
Seriously do people not read any of the replies. Or any scientific data for that matter.

Its like being told you will catch a cold walking outside with wet hair.

OP I love IF. You don't need breakfast. You need responders that know what they are talking about.

and this just isn't true.

crisanderson27

I'm not a big morning eater, but I started eating something small (~300 cal) in the mornings before I workout. Just never really considered that I could workout without food.

So question for crisanderson2, since you seem to be the most knowledgable on this subject: Am I going to experience any negative side effects if I don't eat before I workout? I usually wake about 6:30am, and get to the track at 9:30am to run 5k before strength training for 30-45 minutes. I have to be super picky about my breakfast because I get cramps very easily, it would be super if I could just skip that step.

The problem with substantial amounts of cardio, is that it very heavily depletes the glycogen stored in your muscles, which DOES need to be maintained, or your body will end up eating its own lean mass instead of bodyfat. If it were me, I'd do my strength traiing in the AM (with a short, 5-10 minute moderate to high intensity cardio warmup), and any cardio in the evening after I'd taken the time to eat. Most people recommend heavy cardio on totally different days than strength training, partially for this reason.

sunnyskyjb

thanks for the info!!

Phrak

You need to retrain your body, and you should NEVER be skipping breakfast. that is a mistake too many people make (that's just too simple to fix to even be making in the first place). Breakfast is THE most important meal of the day, and you're doing your body a real injustice by not eating breakfast every day!

Source? or is this just your n=1?

Debbe2

I wake up wanting to eat so I have breakfast daily however... I notice some breakfasts leave me satisfied for hours and others leave me hungry. I like protein in the AM and I mean 20+ grams at breakfast usually within an hour or so of when I wake up. Seems to work best for me.

cwatson1214

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.

I was exactly the same way when I started incorporating more protein and excerise into my plan. But it worked it self out. I also started the shakeology drinks as well, and they really help the cravings big time. I love them

MoreBean13

I had very similar experiences to you, OP. In fact, I've been skipping breakfast for a while for the reasons you described, and also because I don't like eating 9 bites of food every two hours all day, or whatever the spreading your meals out folks advocate. I like having big satisfying meals! Anyway, I recently read a thread on IF, and realized this is what I've been doing, in a sort of sloppy haphazard way- so since then I've been reading up on IF and refining my schedule, and I feel great for it.

Also, I am a member of the eat more group- there is nothing about this group that requires you to eat breakfast first thing in the AM. Its about getting sufficient calories to keep your metabolism burning- particularly for those of us that have spent years trying to diet at 1200 calories and getting stuck. Many people in the group find that they aren't used to eating enough, so breakfast becomes important simply to add calories to the day. If you get your calories without breakfast there's no reason this ideology would force you to have it.

Finally, the most convincing argument for having breakfast is that if you don't have breakfast, you will be so hungry by the time you break your fast that you will absentmindedly eat more the rest of the day. For obvious reasons, if you are on this site and you honestly track your calories, this should be a non-issue.

mommyhof3

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.

This

I don't eat breakfast because I don't feel hungry. I am not starving myself and I am not skipping a meal because I still have 3 meals a day plus 3 snacks. There are no "time" police telling me that I "have" to do something. I do what makes me and my body happy.

MinnieInMaine

Everyone's different people! The metabolism revving thing may have been debunked but that doesn't mean that going without breakfast is the best way for everyone. Eating like that is part of what made me fat! If I don't eat breakfast, I do ok until I have lunch - then it's like someone turned on a hunger switch and there's no turning it off. That's the way my system works. It's much better for me personally to eat 5 to 7 meals a day. I don't know what the scientific reasons are, I just know this is how I, and I'm sure plenty of other people as I'm no special snowflake, have to eat in order to be a healthier more satified human being.

As a couple other responses noted, if you're going to eat breakfast, it's important to think about what you're eating. Most breakfast options are way high in carbs so they're bound to leave you hungry. Instead go with foods higher in protein and healthy fats like eggs or even some chicken (there's no hard and fast rule that says your first meal of the day HAS to be breakfast food) - they'll stick with you a lot longer. My personal favorite is a couple eggs over medium with a slice of pepper jack on an english muffin or sandwich thin.

If you're happy without breakfast - that's fine too! Whatever works for you.