Do you need to eat breakfast?

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  • awmejia
    awmejia Posts: 147 Member
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    I usually eat something for breakfast even if it just a half an english muffin. If I don't later in the day I have to fight the urge to have a full on binge.
  • SoDamnHungry
    SoDamnHungry Posts: 6,998 Member
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    *I* need a bit of something for breakfast later in the morning. So there you have it. =) Some of us do!
  • LindseySprake
    LindseySprake Posts: 333 Member
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    I prefer to "front load" my calories in the morning, then taper off as the day goes on. I have to eat breakfast, otherwise the rest of my day is just shot, and I end up binge eating.

    Me too *high five* :-)
  • Iceman1800
    Iceman1800 Posts: 476
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    Just so people are clear about the original post:

    The point isn't that nobody needs to eat breakfast, the point is that breakfast does not boost your metabolism and neither does any specific meal frequency. See the link a few posts up for an explanation.

    Whether or not you eat breakfast should be based on a set of preferential things that may vary from individual to individual , but it's not based on any magical metabolic edge that it gives you, because it doesn't.
    grand slam home run. 100% correct
  • reasnableblonde
    reasnableblonde Posts: 212 Member
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    I find that eating breakfast helps me keep away from that "I'm so hungry I could eat a small child" feeling. It keeps my overeating in check. I think a lot of dieticians and personal trainers would agree that breakfast is generally a good idea. It's not mandatory, but to perform optimally, it's pretty necessary.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,618 Member
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    Recent studies have shown that you don't have to eat breakfast in the morning, BUT it highly increases your success rate if you do. It's not necessarily a metabolism thing as much as a behavioral thing. If you skip breakfast, you are much more likely to binge or make bad choices once you get hungry. Everybody is different, I have friends that hate "breakfast foods" or like to sleep in in the morning. There's always a way around this, by choosing non-traditional breakfast foods (like a piece of healthy veggie pizza) or by packing something the night before to grab and take with you. I have yet to find a successful dieting/nutrition program that recommends AGAINST eating breakfast.
    I don't think a good eating program would recommend against any meal in particular. Breakfast is a "morning" related meal. Personally myself I eat well into the early morning, so upon waking, I'm not hungry for another 5 hours. For me that around 12pm which is usually considered "lunch" by many.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
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    Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
  • marieautumn
    marieautumn Posts: 932 Member
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    i eat a small breakfast of canned pineapple chunks (140 cals) and a 100 calorie pack of cinnamon almonds for a grand total of 240 calories. and i feel full afterwards.
  • lisahale
    lisahale Posts: 56
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    I hardly ever ate breakfast, but since I started eating healthy and losing weight, I don't feel right now if I don't eat . Love my breakfast!
  • MonaLittlemore
    MonaLittlemore Posts: 1 Member
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    This is the first post I 100% agree with.
    Breakfast definitely gets your metabolism, and as a woman, we all know we need that running at top speed!
    :happy:
  • RonnieBigGunz
    RonnieBigGunz Posts: 52
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    I stopped eating breakfast some time ago. It's much easier for me to just have a cup of coffee in the morning to keep me from getting hungry, then eat large portions for lunch and dinner. It makes cutting much easier, and even when I'm eating in a calorie surplus, I still feel lean after a 16hr fasted period.

    Ultimately, you have to do what works best for you.
  • avocado12
    avocado12 Posts: 197 Member
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    I have to eat breakfast or I feel like death. Everyone is different though. My fiancé doesn't eat breakfast and that's fine with him!
  • Wingwoman21
    Wingwoman21 Posts: 37
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    Do what works for you! As long as you're hitting the right number of calories a day you'll be fine. :flowerforyou:
  • ZugTheMegasaurus
    ZugTheMegasaurus Posts: 801 Member
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    Recent studies have shown that you don't have to eat breakfast in the morning, BUT it highly increases your success rate if you do. It's not necessarily a metabolism thing as much as a behavioral thing. If you skip breakfast, you are much more likely to binge or make bad choices once you get hungry. Everybody is different, I have friends that hate "breakfast foods" or like to sleep in in the morning. There's always a way around this, by choosing non-traditional breakfast foods (like a piece of healthy veggie pizza) or by packing something the night before to grab and take with you. I have yet to find a successful dieting/nutrition program that recommends AGAINST eating breakfast.
    The thing is, this is not universally true. Some people feel far hungrier on days that they eat early. I know that when I force myself to eat breakfast, I'm ravenously hungry for the rest of the day (no matter what I eat), feel irritable and depressed, and have a hard time focusing.

    If someone has a hard time making healthy choices after skipping breakfast, then they should certainly eat breakfast. But not everyone sees that effect. For some people, eating breakfast can do more harm than good.
  • mcampbell865
    mcampbell865 Posts: 2
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    EAT BREAKFAST ! If you dont your baody will start to convert muscle and your important tissue for energy rather than fat.
    total bs. There is zero science to back up that theory.

    http://www.ajc.com/health/study-eating-breakfast-could-1460566.html
  • rlmadrid
    rlmadrid Posts: 694 Member
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    This is the first post I 100% agree with.
    Breakfast definitely gets your metabolism, and as a woman, we all know we need that running at top speed!
    :happy:

    I think you may have misunderstood the original post?
  • ZugTheMegasaurus
    ZugTheMegasaurus Posts: 801 Member
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    EAT BREAKFAST ! If you dont your baody will start to convert muscle and your important tissue for energy rather than fat.
    total bs. There is zero science to back up that theory.

    http://www.ajc.com/health/study-eating-breakfast-could-1460566.html
    This is the first quote from that article:
    That's sensible advice, although it doesn't prove that breakfast made the difference, says Robert E. Ratner, MD, chief scientific and medical officer of the American Diabetes Association.

    "Having regular eating habits with three balanced meals is probably better than random eating, which may lead to weight gain and dangerously high or low blood sugar," Ratner tells WebMD. "But scientifically, the study does not offer proof," Ratner says. People who eat breakfast daily are likely to have other healthy habits that could also explain the association, he says.
    (emphasis supplied)
  • rlmadrid
    rlmadrid Posts: 694 Member
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    EAT BREAKFAST ! If you dont your baody will start to convert muscle and your important tissue for energy rather than fat.
    total bs. There is zero science to back up that theory.

    http://www.ajc.com/health/study-eating-breakfast-could-1460566.html
    This is the first quote from that article:
    That's sensible advice, although it doesn't prove that breakfast made the difference, says Robert E. Ratner, MD, chief scientific and medical officer of the American Diabetes Association.

    "Having regular eating habits with three balanced meals is probably better than random eating, which may lead to weight gain and dangerously high or low blood sugar," Ratner tells WebMD. "But scientifically, the study does not offer proof," Ratner says. People who eat breakfast daily are likely to have other healthy habits that could also explain the association, he says.
    (emphasis supplied)

    :drinker: You beat me to it!
  • rebeccalray5
    rebeccalray5 Posts: 36
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    "Breakfast consumption is independently associated with a lower BMI in adults in a number of cross-sectional
    studies. Only two prospective studies and four randomized trials were found to date, and the results from these are inconsistent. Although the precise mechanisms are unclear, breakfast eating may prevent obesity and related chronic conditions through a number of behavioral and biological mechanisms, including being part of an overall healthful eating pattern, improving the composition of the diet, and, through a variety of substrate/metabolic pathways, aiding in appetite control throughout the day."

    Peer reviewed journal. Admittedly slightly old but still interesting.

    Timlin, M. T., & Pereira, M. A. (2007). Breakfast Frequency and Quality in the Etiology of Adult Obesity and Chronic Diseases. Nutrition Reviews, 65(6), 268-281.

    Point is, you can find any thing to support your view if you want to; even if it is a peer reviewed journal.

    Do what works for you. If you don't eat breakfast and it works for you, go for it! If you need breakfast to wake up in the morning and it works for you, go for it!
  • Cgrnlaw
    Cgrnlaw Posts: 84 Member
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    I believe you should eat breakfast, thats your way of breaking your fast. Thats why its called Breakfast, so that your metabolism can wake up.
  • Waterbaby1978
    Waterbaby1978 Posts: 1
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    Hi All
    New to this and am finding I am running out of calories as the day goes on - better planning needed I know. But..what do other people have for breakfast that fills them up but does not use loads of calories? I have 1240 calories a day.

    Thanks in anticipation :-)

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