Should breakfast be the biggest meal of the day?

SmartAlec03211988

My breakfast is definitely my largest. Around 500-600 calories.

Juelz2013

Everyone and their mother will tell you that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, but should it also be the biggest? And if so, how long does it take to get used to eating more, earlier in the day? I'm accustomed to having a small 150-200 calorie breakfast.

Breakfast is important, don't take advice from people who say it's not lol. It will keep your metabolism up, helps with concentration, and weight. It doesn't matter if it is big or small, as long as you're are eating something(healthy).

Example:
1 poached egg & 2 poached egg whites
1/2 cup oatmeal with berries & maybe small handfull of walnuts or some ground flax seeds for healthy fat and omegas
Cup of green tea or plain water

susannamarie

Sometimes I eat breakfast and sometimes I don't. Today I wasn't hungry until 1pm so I didn't eat until then. It has not stopped me from losing weight.

One of the reasons that studies tend to show that people who eat breakfast are slimmer is because many people skip breakfast and then graze on candy and chips out of vending machines until lunch because they're hungry, ending up eating 600 calories of treats in order to save 300 calories on breakfast. If this describes you, definitely you should start eating breakfast.

ncmedic201

If you're getting your nutrients in and meeting your calorie goals then it doesn't matter when you eat. I eat breakfast on days I work, usually 7-12 days a month. On my days off I tend not to eat until lunch. Your body does not care the time of day, it only cares that you are getting your nutrients. If eating a small snack in the morning is working for you and your not hungry then don't worry about it.

I tell my boys that breakfast is important because I know on school days they'll be hungry before lunch and will not be able to concentrate in class. When they're not in school, I let their body dictate it. They're teens and eat a lot.

joannaccaffrey

There actually is scientific evidence that eating a larger breakfast and tapering your calories throughout the day is better for weight loss. Here is an article talking about it. http://www.washingtonian.com/blogs/wellbeing/studies/when-to-eat-your-biggest-meal-of-the-day-for-maximum-weight-loss.php

34blast

I don't think it matters much. Total calories in versus out.

I train at lunch, so I have my biggest meal of the day after workout. There are some conflicting reports about pre and post exercise meal timing. I sort of side on eat something right after training or have a whey protein before and after strength training.

ninerbuff

Everyone and their mother will tell you that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, but should it also be the biggest? And if so, how long does it take to get used to eating more, earlier in the day? I'm accustomed to having a small 150-200 calorie breakfast.

If it was the most "important" meal of the day, then I probably should be very unhealthy since I skip it about 345 days out of the year.
If you eat breakfast, it can be ANYTHING. The body doesn't discriminate on what it's digesting.

A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

ninerbuff

Metabolism:

Morning: OM NOM NOM NOM

Afternoon: Slowing down

Night: Almost non existent till you go to sleep

Of course people who work at night and sleep in the day don't account for this. Or people who work out after work. Or people who are night owls like me.

A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

ninerbuff

Yes, the most important meal of the day. Doesn't mean it has to be the biggest meal of the day. Breakfast kick starts your metabolism for the day. Fact is, with how slow it is when you first wake up, eating too much might be counter productive. Having a 100-300 calorie breakfast is fine. For me, if I eat more than 500 calories for breakfast, I feel kind of sluggish for a few hours.

Nothing much scientific about it (except the most important meal of the day part), just my opinion.

Lol, yes there is actually science behind it. It DOESN'T kickstart metabolism. Once someone gets out of bed (more physical movement) metabolism increases dramatically.
As for it being the "most important meal of the day" there's no scientific evidence to support that either. It's opinion and that's basically it.

A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

mschicagocubs

If we are talking about breakfast foods ... then yes sometimes it is my biggest meal of the day, but it might be at 6pm and not 6am!

ninerbuff

Everyone and their mother will tell you that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, but should it also be the biggest? And if so, how long does it take to get used to eating more, earlier in the day? I'm accustomed to having a small 150-200 calorie breakfast.

Breakfast is important, don't take advice from people who say it's not lol. It will keep your metabolism up, helps with concentration, and weight. It doesn't matter if it is big or small, as long as you're are eating something(healthy).

Example:
1 poached egg & 2 poached egg whites
1/2 cup oatmeal with berries & maybe small handfull of walnuts or some ground flax seeds for healthy fat and omegas
Cup of green tea or plain water

Every meal is important. Metabolism is always running. It increases with physical activity. Weight control is DIRECTLY a matter of calories in/out and many people (such as myself) don't eat breakfast and do fine. My advice is strongly backed by science.

A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

Carnivor0us

Everyone and their mother will tell you that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, but should it also be the biggest? And if so, how long does it take to get used to eating more, earlier in the day? I'm accustomed to having a small 150-200 calorie breakfast.

Breakfast is important, don't take advice from people who say it's not lol. It will keep your metabolism up, helps with concentration, and weight. It doesn't matter if it is big or small, as long as you're are eating something(healthy).

Example:
1 poached egg & 2 poached egg whites
1/2 cup oatmeal with berries & maybe small handfull of walnuts or some ground flax seeds for healthy fat and omegas
Cup of green tea or plain water

Every meal is important. Metabolism is always running. It increases with physical activity. Weight control is DIRECTLY a matter of calories in/out and many people (such as myself) don't eat breakfast and do fine. My advice is strongly backed by science.

A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

Every meal is important? What if I only eat two meals a day? I don't eat lunch, am I going to die?

OP: I eat a large breakfast and a small dinner, but do whatever your body wants in the AM.

ninerbuff

There actually is scientific evidence that eating a larger breakfast and tapering your calories throughout the day is better for weight loss. Here is an article talking about it. http://www.washingtonian.com/blogs/wellbeing/studies/when-to-eat-your-biggest-meal-of-the-day-for-maximum-weight-loss.php

Doesn't make sense. The study shows that all the obese women ate the same amount of calories, yet the results were different in weight loss due to meal timing? This is just one study, so I'd like to see other comparable ones with the same objectives and see the if the results are consistent.

A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

ninerbuff

Everyone and their mother will tell you that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, but should it also be the biggest? And if so, how long does it take to get used to eating more, earlier in the day? I'm accustomed to having a small 150-200 calorie breakfast.

Breakfast is important, don't take advice from people who say it's not lol. It will keep your metabolism up, helps with concentration, and weight. It doesn't matter if it is big or small, as long as you're are eating something(healthy).

Example:
1 poached egg & 2 poached egg whites
1/2 cup oatmeal with berries & maybe small handfull of walnuts or some ground flax seeds for healthy fat and omegas
Cup of green tea or plain water

Every meal is important. Metabolism is always running. It increases with physical activity. Weight control is DIRECTLY a matter of calories in/out and many people (such as myself) don't eat breakfast and do fine. My advice is strongly backed by science.

A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

Every meal is important? What if I only eat two meals a day? I don't eat lunch, am I going to die?

OP: I eat a large breakfast and a small dinner, but do whatever your body wants in the AM.

Yes every meal is important. If you eat 2 meals a day, then they are both important. If someone eats 10 meals a day, then they are all important for that person. And so on. Notice I didn't say breakfast, lunch, dinner, etc.

A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

MikaMojito

I LOVE big breakfasts but I still get hungry and lunch- and dinnertime. So I keep my breakfast small (around 200kcal), have a mid-size lunch and a large dinner because I'm in danger of snacking in the evening unless I'm really quite full.

Mr_Knight

Everyone and their mother will tell you that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, but should it also be the biggest?

For most of human history, "breakfast" didn't happen until noon-ish.