How important is breakfast?

ShaeSweetie

Okay..this may be a stupid question, but how important is breakfast really? I mean i think its very important because it kick starts your metabolism..but how does it help or hurt the body if your workout without eating anything? No im not anorexic..some mornings it just works out better that i wake up..go straight to the gym and then eat breakfast...Opinions? Is it negatively affecting me to not eat breakfast before i workout?

samf36

For me it is very important. You need to decide if it is for you.

Topher1978

If you have the energy, I don't see a problem with it… Make sure you are hydrated, though. It is easy to get dehydrated when sleeping, so water when you wake up is super important.

jhall585

I workout MOSTLY first thing in the morning. Almost always on an empty stomach. This works fine for me. I agree with Topher though, Hydration is KEY. Ever notice how dark your pee is in the morning? Dehydration! Water does the same thing for kickstarting your metabolism if you can't seem to stomach food first thing in the morn (like me!)

JNick77

There is a bit of evidence out there indicating breakfast is not very important and can actually be counter-productive to fat-loss. The very basis of the information seems to indicate that morning cortisol levels are elevated but it's useful in the morning for mobilizing fat. When you introduce food and elevate insulin production then it's counter-productive. You can go to the Leangains website, Dr. Berardi discusses it in his report on Intermittent Fasting and if you just do some Google searches you'll likely find more information. Basically if you can teach your body to live without breakfast it becomes better for you. It's difficult at first but once you do it, it's easy.

BrianSharpe

I eat breakfast every day, my wife doesn't.

In terms of "kickstarting" your metabolism it makes no difference, your metabolism chugs along 24/7. If you consume the same amount of food spread over 6 meals or 3 the TEF (Thermic Effect of Food) is the same.

Espressocycle

Not very important at all from a weight loss perspective despite all the malarky about needing to kickstart your metabolism. I generally prefer to eat an early lunch, although I've been experimenting with eating a cliff bar every morning.

ShaeSweetie

Alright alrightt im getting it..breakfast is my favorite..i usually have a big breakfast...but some mornings i go to class and then straight to the gym without eating so i was just wondering..thankss everyone!

Brian_VA

You don't have to eat breakfast before you work out (although you should drink water). In fact, many say waking up first thing in the morning and working out is a great way to burn fat (because you have nothing in your system, the theory is you'll push your body to burn fat). I'm not a scientist, but this made sense to me and I think it has helped me.

Right after exercise is also prime fat burning time. Any carbs are long gone, and you are burning fat to recuperate. The first thing you eat stops fat burning and starts your digestive system providing energy. So delaying eating is good.

Although these are good ideas for weight loss, they are not good ideas if your goal is optimal athletic performance. Eating something before you exercise should give you more readily available energy to do your workout. And eating right after will aid in faster recovery. It just depends on your goal.

Personally, I hate running with much of anything in my stomach, so will never eat anything before I run first thing in the morning. (When I did my triathlon I ate a little something first and mildly regretted it because I had an upset stomach near the end.) After I'll drink water and then take a shower and get ready for work. Last thing I do it eat something (usually light - like a protein shake and apple). This gives me about a 45 minutes between finishing my run and eating anything for fat burn, and then revs up my metabolism.

If you are not exercising first thing in the morning, definitely eat breakfast.

YMMV

julieh391

For me, very, because I go from fine to starving and dizzy in a matter of minutes (hypoglycemic tendencies.) For some people it's not important at all, and they aren't hungry until later in the day. Eat when you're hungry. Not when someone tells you it's "important." Calorie wise it doesn't matter when you eat.

1sisrat

There is a reason it's call breakfast... because your body has literally been fasting all night. You NEED something even if you have energy. Your body needs SOMETHING. Even if it's a small bowl of oatmeal, yogurt with fruit/gronola, or a breakfast smoothie. It will set your metabolism's tone for the day. No breakfast=sluggish body and metabolism.

JNick77

There is a reason it's call breakfast... because your body has literally been fasting all night. You NEED something even if you have energy. Your body needs SOMETHING.

Not true. A fair amount of information is pointing to the exact opposite now. The whole breakfast is the most important meal of the day, breakfast gets your metabolism going, etc, are old basically turning into myths at this point.

MrDelts

There is a reason it's call breakfast... because your body has literally been fasting all night. You NEED something even if you have energy. Your body needs SOMETHING.

Not true. A fair amount of information is pointing to the exact opposite now. The whole breakfast is the most important meal of the day, breakfast gets your metabolism going, etc, are old basically turning into myths at this point.

Wrong penguin man...
Is anyone taking muscle growth/loss into factor here?? If you're looking to get toned and gain a little muscle mass like most of us are, then you need to eat breakfast... And that's when breaking the fast comes into play. You have to take your body out of the muscle breakdown state it is in when you wake up after not eating for hours.

If you are looking to lose the right type of weight (fat) then you have to eat breakfast. Otherwise you may risk losing muscle weight as well.

Determinednoob

Dis gone bee gud

SideSteel

There is a reason it's call breakfast... because your body has literally been fasting all night. You NEED something even if you have energy. Your body needs SOMETHING.

Not true. A fair amount of information is pointing to the exact opposite now. The whole breakfast is the most important meal of the day, breakfast gets your metabolism going, etc, are old basically turning into myths at this point.

Wrong penguin man...
Is anyone taking muscle growth/loss into factor here??

Yes, and until you can show me that skipping breakfast makes a difference in NET CHANGE IN LBM then I'll continue to claim that breakfast is not a necessity.

EDIT: I'm NOT in the camp that it's arbitrarily beneficial for everyone as I believe that meal frequency, in general, should primarily be dictated by personal preference for adherence reasons.

If you're looking to get toned and gain a little muscle mass like most of us are, then you need to eat breakfast..

www.leangains.com


.

And that's when breaking the fast comes into play. You have to take your body out of the muscle breakdown state it is in when you wake up after not eating for hours.

Wouldn't it stand to reason that you're not going to be catabolic and anabolic at the same time? What makes you think you're oxidizing muscle instead of fat? What makes you think that you don't have sufficient blood amino acids in circulation considering that people who skip breakfast, by default, are usually consuming larger evening meals that take longer to digest and keep blood aminos present?

If you are looking to lose the right type of weight (fat) then you have to eat breakfast. Otherwise you may risk losing muscle weight as well.

Losing muscle weight will be largely determined by deficit size, protein intake totals, and training protocol (and current bodyfat% and I would imagine genetics play a role too).

Unless you're doing some sort of insanely idiotic meal frequency, like 1 meal per day, the overall impact that meal frequency will have on this is going to be somewhat small.

Akimajuktuq

I've never liked to eat breakfast. However, when I used to eat a carb-based diet, skipping breakfast would increase over-eating at night. I over-ate anyway, but skipping breakfast made it worse.

Now that I don't eat grain and legumes, skipping breakfast works really well. It would still depend on what I am doing and if I was doing something really strenuous in the morning or travelling, I would probably have breakfast, even if just a whey shake. Right now, I'm often intermittent fasting; eating my first meal at shortly after noon and last meal at 8 or 9 pm. However, I can ONLY do this now that I am settled in my eating plan which excludes grain and legumes.

There's no right answer; do what works for you. Just be aware if skipping breakfast makes it easier or harder to stick with your eating plan.

Determinednoob

There is a reason it's call breakfast... because your body has literally been fasting all night. You NEED something even if you have energy. Your body needs SOMETHING.

Not true. A fair amount of information is pointing to the exact opposite now. The whole breakfast is the most important meal of the day, breakfast gets your metabolism going, etc, are old basically turning into myths at this point.

Wrong penguin man...
Is anyone taking muscle growth/loss into factor here??

Yes, and until you can show me that skipping breakfast makes a difference in NET CHANGE IN LBM then I'll continue to claim that breakfast is not a necessity.

EDIT: I'm NOT in the camp that it's arbitrarily beneficial for everyone as I believe that meal frequency, in general, should primarily be dictated by personal preference for adherence reasons.

If you're looking to get toned and gain a little muscle mass like most of us are, then you need to eat breakfast..

www.leangains.com


.

And that's when breaking the fast comes into play. You have to take your body out of the muscle breakdown state it is in when you wake up after not eating for hours.

Wouldn't it stand to reason that you're not going to be catabolic and anabolic at the same time? What makes you think you're oxidizing muscle instead of fat? What makes you think that you don't have sufficient blood amino acids in circulation considering that people who skip breakfast, by default, are usually consuming larger evening meals that take longer to digest and keep blood aminos present?

If you are looking to lose the right type of weight (fat) then you have to eat breakfast. Otherwise you may risk losing muscle weight as well.

Losing muscle weight will be largely determined by deficit size, protein intake totals, and training protocol (and current bodyfat% and I would imagine genetics play a role too).

Unless you're doing some sort of insanely idiotic meal frequency, like 1 meal per day, the overall impact that meal frequency will have on this is going to be somewhat small.

Dis wuz gud

ShaeSweetie

haha well there was quite an up and down of opinions here...but i appreciate everyones opinions! thanks guys and gals!

JNick77

There is a reason it's call breakfast... because your body has literally been fasting all night. You NEED something even if you have energy. Your body needs SOMETHING.

Not true. A fair amount of information is pointing to the exact opposite now. The whole breakfast is the most important meal of the day, breakfast gets your metabolism going, etc, are old basically turning into myths at this point.

Wrong penguin man...
Is anyone taking muscle growth/loss into factor here?? If you're looking to get toned and gain a little muscle mass like most of us are, then you need to eat breakfast... And that's when breaking the fast comes into play. You have to take your body out of the muscle breakdown state it is in when you wake up after not eating for hours.

If you are looking to lose the right type of weight (fat) then you have to eat breakfast. Otherwise you may risk losing muscle weight as well.

Was I just insulted by the dude from Jersey Shore?

Are you basing your statement on stuff you currently read or ten-year old assumed concepts on human physiology?

1. New article: http://www.leangains.com/2012/06/why-does-breakfast-make-me-hungry.html
2. Almost 3 successful years now: http://www.leangains.com/2010/04/leangains-guide.html
3. Supported by another well known Doctor and professional trainer http://www.precisionnutrition.com/intermittent-fasting
4. Additional support (authors sources are linked at the bottom) http://www.schwarzenegger.com/fitness/post/carb-back-loading-step-1-breakfast

Read a little and then come back and discuss. k, thx :yawn:

JNick77

haha well there was quite an up and down of opinions here...but i appreciate everyones opinions! thanks guys and gals!

Check my last post, those links aren't opinions.

Determinednoob

I'm not bothering to read the articles since I don't need convincing, and I doubt this will look as official, but here it is anyway

http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=123915821