skipping breakfast

Hi, I am new here. I am trying to lose some weight I gained over last couple of years - yes, New Year resolution :) . In the past three weeks I noticed that my appetite is gone. I wake up and slip breakfast. Do not even think about it. Eat lunch at 1pm or so, go to gym from 5 to 6pm (not hungry at all) and cannot eat anything right after that. Usually I eat something around 8pm and go to bed at 11 -12. How bad is it? Should I force myself? I was writing down everything I eat - it's about 1000 cal. Any advice?
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Replies

  • srm1960
    srm1960 Posts: 281 Member
    :flowerforyou: Breakfast is your most important meal-It jump starts your day-As long as your healthy you should be eating 3 meals a day-you need the calories, especially when you workout!-I don't know how many calories you are suppose to eat??? but 1000 cal. is too low!-my max. is 1200-& drink the water too
  • SideSteel
    SideSteel Posts: 11,068 Member
    You can skip breakfast. It does not jump start anything contrary to the often spread rumors.
    As long as you feel and function fine, AND as long as your end of day nutritional needs are being met, then do whatever you enjoy as far as meal timing.
  • taso42
    taso42 Posts: 8,980 Member
    Eat at whatever times and intervals you want. What matters most is fulfilling your nutritional targets.
  • slkehl
    slkehl Posts: 3,801 Member
    Meal time doesn't matter. Do what works for you and fits within your calorie needs. I personally don't eat breakfast until I am hungry. This saves me a lot of calories, because if I start eating earlier in the day, I tend to eat more overall.
  • swimmchick87
    swimmchick87 Posts: 458 Member
    I typically don't eat breakfast. I'm not hungry in the morning and I prefer to sleep a little longer (NOT a morning person) than get up earlier for breakfast. When I first started trying to eat healthy I used to force myself to eat it thinking it was the "healthy thing to do." I found myself hungrier throughout the day and I'd already wasted calories on breakfast. It's not true that it "starts your metabolism for the day." Eat when you want to- but you should be eating more than 1,000 calories.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,974 Member
    :flowerforyou: Breakfast is your most important meal-It jump starts your day-As long as your healthy you should be eating 3 meals a day-you need the calories, especially when you workout!
    If you're not aware, there are peer reviewed clinical studies to show that breakfast neither jump starts metabolism or is needed. Totally daily calorie intake at the end of the day is what's important whether you do it in one, two, five, or seven meals.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
  • ropermom
    ropermom Posts: 52 Member
    I seldom eat bkfst. If I do, it's a piece of toast or something at 10 a.m. ish . If I eat a good bkfst at bkfst time I am 10X hungrier at lunch and have funny blood sugar all day. That jump start your day stuff is hooey. Glad someone else posted they think it is too. Good nutrition is the real key here. Don't force it. My 2 cents.
  • georgina1970
    georgina1970 Posts: 333 Member
    :flowerforyou: Breakfast is your most important meal-It jump starts your day-As long as your healthy you should be eating 3 meals a day-you need the calories, especially when you workout!
    If you're not aware, there are peer reviewed clinical studies to show that breakfast neither jump starts metabolism or is needed. Totally daily calorie intake at the end of the day is what's important whether you do it in one, two, five, or seven meals.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

    Perhaps by kick starting you day 'they' are referring to the energy supplied to your brain for optimum functioning! Not your metabolism.
    I believe breakfast is important. It gives you a good start to the day. If you're not waking up hungry then you've probably eat too late or too much before you've gone to bed the night before. The natural endorphins released with exercise will curb your appetite a well. Better to reduce your evening meal, especially if you're not very hungry, and enjoy a good breakfast.
    (Practice Nurse with postgrad studies in exercise and nutrition.)
  • taso42
    taso42 Posts: 8,980 Member
    :flowerforyou: Breakfast is your most important meal-It jump starts your day-As long as your healthy you should be eating 3 meals a day-you need the calories, especially when you workout!
    If you're not aware, there are peer reviewed clinical studies to show that breakfast neither jump starts metabolism or is needed. Totally daily calorie intake at the end of the day is what's important whether you do it in one, two, five, or seven meals.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

    Perhaps by kick starting you day 'they' are referring to the energy supplied to your brain for optimum functioning! Not your metabolism.
    I believe breakfast is important. It gives you a good start to the day. If you're not waking up hungry then you've probably eat too late or too much before you've gone to bed the night before. The natural endorphins released with exercise will curb your appetite a well. Better to reduce your evening meal, especially if you're not very hungry, and enjoy a good breakfast.
    (Practice Nurse with postgrad studies in exercise and nutrition.)

    So riddle me this. If you've eaten "too late" or "too much" the night before, and you wake up with enough energy already stored in your body for your brain to function optimally, why exactly was the meal from the night before TOO late or TOO much?

    Couldn't one make the counter-argument that if you wake up hungry, then it means you stopped eating too early or didn't eat enough the night before?

    Trying to promote specific eating schedules is pointless. Different people thrive on different meal timings/frequencies and that's that.
  • bdamaster60
    bdamaster60 Posts: 595 Member
    :flowerforyou: Breakfast is your most important meal-It jump starts your day-As long as your healthy you should be eating 3 meals a day-you need the calories, especially when you workout!
    If you're not aware, there are peer reviewed clinical studies to show that breakfast neither jump starts metabolism or is needed. Totally daily calorie intake at the end of the day is what's important whether you do it in one, two, five, or seven meals.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

    Perhaps by kick starting you day 'they' are referring to the energy supplied to your brain for optimum functioning! Not your metabolism.
    I believe breakfast is important. It gives you a good start to the day. If you're not waking up hungry then you've probably eat too late or too much before you've gone to bed the night before. The natural endorphins released with exercise will curb your appetite a well. Better to reduce your evening meal, especially if you're not very hungry, and enjoy a good breakfast.
    (Practice Nurse with postgrad studies in exercise and nutrition.)

    There was a study referenced in John Keifer's Carb-backloading that placed 2 classes of high school teenagers who were taking a test. 1st class ate the normal 7am breakfast, and the other skipped it and began eating at 12am noon. The 2nd class who skipped breakfast performed better in the test, long story short.
  • upgetupgetup
    upgetupgetup Posts: 749 Member
    Yer, I dunno. The science may suggest breakfast doesn't matter, and it might not. I just know from personal experience that the less I eat (period) the less I want to eat. I think you're not eating enough, 1000 cals is literally for the birds.
  • srm1960
    srm1960 Posts: 281 Member
    :flowerforyou: Breakfast is your most important meal-It jump starts your day-As long as your healthy you should be eating 3 meals a day-you need the calories, especially when you workout!
    If you're not aware, there are peer reviewed clinical studies to show that breakfast neither jump starts metabolism or is needed. Totally daily calorie intake at the end of the day is what's important whether you do it in one, two, five, or seven meals.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

    Perhaps by kick starting you day 'they' are referring to the energy supplied to your brain for optimum functioning! Not your metabolism.
    I believe breakfast is important. It gives you a good start to the day. If you're not waking up hungry then you've probably eat too late or too much before you've gone to bed the night before. The natural endorphins released with exercise will curb your appetite a well. Better to reduce your evening meal, especially if you're not very hungry, and enjoy a good breakfast.
    (Practice Nurse with postgrad studies in exercise and nutrition.)

    OMG!!!

    I love the bodies that are commenting on this discussion!!!-thank you from the Nurse-Sry I was just helping !!-It seems these people are more into fitness & training than actually having a battle with their weight all their lives-
  • Hbazzell
    Hbazzell Posts: 899 Member
    So in the wild you have to work/hunt for your food before you can eat it so I dont think that eating before you do ANYTHING in your day is vital. Cavemen didn't do that so....I am no nutritionist but if you arent hungry and don't feel super tierd....don't eat! I however wake up starving like I have been hibernating for 12 years so I have to eat a little something in the morning. I also can't take vitamins on an empty stomach, but if you can then I don't see it being a problem if you get all your nutrients eventually in the day.
  • taso42
    taso42 Posts: 8,980 Member
    OMG!!!

    I love the bodies that are commenting on this discussion!!!-thank you from the Nurse-Sry I was just helping !!-It seems these people are more into fitness & training than actually having a battle with their weight all their lives-

    LOL. Yes, don't listen to the people with lean bodies. Listen to the fat people. They know better.

    I used to be fat, weak, and completely ignorant about fitness and nutrition. By the way, I also used to think that breakfast is the most important meal of the day.

    Sorry I haven't been battling with my weight all my life. At one point I decided I didn't want to be fat any more, so I read up and changed my life.

    Keep an open mind I would suggest.
  • tndejong
    tndejong Posts: 463
    i base my eating off me. i typically dont eat breakfast. i will spread my calories out between lunch and dinner and a late snack. if i wake up and feel a little hungry, i will grab coffee and a banana. it all depends how i feel that day and not based off what others think i should do. and i have had people say that if im exercising in the morning that i should eat. i never do and it has not messed up my results at all.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,974 Member
    Perhaps by kick starting you day 'they' are referring to the energy supplied to your brain for optimum functioning! Not your metabolism.
    I believe breakfast is important. It gives you a good start to the day. If you're not waking up hungry then you've probably eat too late or too much before you've gone to bed the night before. The natural endorphins released with exercise will curb your appetite a well. Better to reduce your evening meal, especially if you're not very hungry, and enjoy a good breakfast.
    (Practice Nurse with postgrad studies in exercise and nutrition.)
    If one eats within calorie limit for the day, meal timing is irrelevant. I eat up to 11:00pm each night, then first meal is right after 12:00pm. I exercise in the morning and it's more effective for me on an empty stomach than with food in it.
    And I'm more than sure that people that talk about "kickstarting" are speaking of metabolism since it's an ongoing myth that circulates in gyms.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
  • Natashaa1991
    Natashaa1991 Posts: 866 Member
    i skip breakfast and it's the best thing that happened to me. well i eat fruit and coffee. that way i get to eat more in the evening, when i get really hungry!
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,974 Member
    OMG!!!

    I love the bodies that are commenting on this discussion!!!-thank you from the Nurse-Sry I was just helping !!-It seems these people are more into fitness & training than actually having a battle with their weight all their lives-
    I don't battle weight because I've actually studied, researched and applied the recommendations from peer reviewed clinical studies.
    It's not "helping" if you're going to opine on information that isn't correct. That's misinforming someone. Breakfast is a preference, not a prerequisite.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
  • Sarauk2sf
    Sarauk2sf Posts: 28,072 Member
    There is nothing inherently wrong with skipping breakfast - it is personal preference and how it impacts adherence to your caloric intake, energy, gym performance and lifestyle. Some people do well eating it, some do better not.

    However, what you should be focusing on is the adherence part. Adherence to your diet not only means not going over, but means not going too far under your target. You can get your calories up pretty easily. A tablespoon or peanut butter, a handful of nuts,half an avocado. adding dressings to your salad, butter/oil to your cooking will all add calories but are not large volumes.
  • Sarauk2sf
    Sarauk2sf Posts: 28,072 Member
    :flowerforyou: Breakfast is your most important meal-It jump starts your day-As long as your healthy you should be eating 3 meals a day-you need the calories, especially when you workout!
    If you're not aware, there are peer reviewed clinical studies to show that breakfast neither jump starts metabolism or is needed. Totally daily calorie intake at the end of the day is what's important whether you do it in one, two, five, or seven meals.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

    Perhaps by kick starting you day 'they' are referring to the energy supplied to your brain for optimum functioning! Not your metabolism.
    I believe breakfast is important. It gives you a good start to the day. If you're not waking up hungry then you've probably eat too late or too much before you've gone to bed the night before. The natural endorphins released with exercise will curb your appetite a well. Better to reduce your evening meal, especially if you're not very hungry, and enjoy a good breakfast.
    (Practice Nurse with postgrad studies in exercise and nutrition.)

    OMG!!!

    I love the bodies that are commenting on this discussion!!!-thank you from the Nurse-Sry I was just helping !!-It seems these people are more into fitness & training than actually having a battle with their weight all their lives-

    I am not sure how battling with your weight all your life makes you more qualified to answer the question.
  • AnvilHead
    AnvilHead Posts: 18,343 Member
    I am not sure how battling with your weight all your life makes you more qualified to answer the question.
    Nor am I sure how the correlation is drawn that just because somebody is in good shape, they've never had to battle their weight. The underlying/implied insult is that their bodies are naturally that way and they've had to put no work whatsoever into it. Seems a little ludicrous to me.
  • ElizaRoche
    ElizaRoche Posts: 2,005 Member
    I skip breakfast pretty much all the time, first cause I dont get hungry, second cause I effing hate the food you normally eat for breakfast.
    My opinion, dont force yourself, if you are hungry eat, if not, just keep going.
  • Eat at whatever times and intervals you want. What matters most is fulfilling your nutritional targets.
  • I agree. I eat a lot more than my partner. He is about the same frame/height as me. He mostly eats one meal a day and does some light snacking as he gets hungry. He just doesn't have the appetite I have. I can't understand how he functions on so little. But, there it is. Having said that, we are both of similar weight. I would say I'm noticeably more active, which you might say is why I eat more, but even on completely sedentary days, my appetite pretty much remains consistent. Everyone is different. Do what works for you, so long as you find that caloric balance. If something's not working - experiment til you find what does.
  • Belinda658
    Belinda658 Posts: 181 Member
    I am not sure how battling with your weight all your life makes you more qualified to answer the question.
    Nor am I sure how the correlation is drawn that just because somebody is in good shape, they've never had to battle their weight. The underlying/implied insult is that their bodies are naturally that way and they've had to put no work whatsoever into it. Seems a little ludicrous to me.

    Yeah this.
  • Taylorxxlynne
    Taylorxxlynne Posts: 210 Member
    I would say its important. Why? It keeps you from not snacking as much throughout the day! This may not be for everyone, but I have noticed when I skip meals I snack more often than if I have 5 "mini meals" a day.
    What I do is eat every three hours. Breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, dinner, and dessert on occasion. (Before I have lost 20-40 pounds by doing this, so it does work!)
    Also make sure you eat three hours BEFORE you go to bed. It's not good to eat right before bedtime.
  • georgina1970
    georgina1970 Posts: 333 Member

    I love the bodies that are commenting on this discussion!!!-thank you from the Nurse-Sry I was just helping !!-It seems these people are more into fitness & training than actually having a battle with their weight all their lives-

    Actually, I have battled to achieve a healthy weight all my life. Constantly being compared to my tall, skinny, younger sister. Still overweight, but continuing to eat healthy and exercise regularly.
  • Just to put another spanner in the works, if you read "the fast diet" by Dr Michael Mosley and Mimi Spencer, it explains why our bodies are better, mind sharper ecc, when we fast. Lots of information on it on Google without buying the book.
  • giara
    giara Posts: 9 Member
    100% agree!
  • Oishii
    Oishii Posts: 2,675 Member
    I wonder why some people desperately want there to be a one-rule-fits-all pattern to meal timing? I like my breakfast to be around 600kcal, with a big lunch, and my appetite diminishes as the day progresses (especially now, while I'm pregnant), but I know that's not how everyone works.

    To the OP: do what works for you, but do try adding in some extra calories somewhere.