why breakfast is the worst meal of the day

I read the article, very interesting. I just don't undestand how it would work for someone who is insulin resistant. Insulin resistant people tend to dump sugars in the night waking with high blood sugar. Food is needed to counter this or the sugars can go even higher. On the other side, they go exercise and their sugars drop super low because they've burned what's in their system and there is nothing else for it to work on since there is no food in their system. This is at least how my body works and I am not diabetic or pre-diabetic.

I do wonder if I fasted for a couple of weeks if my body would have a different response in the morning or if it would make it worse.

I beat Type 2 diabetes with the help of IF. It has to do with IGF-1 levels (Insulin Growth Factor). Lower levels are best. A fasting period can give our bodies a chance to lower this growth factor. Lower IGF-1 means you're more insulin sensitive. A spike that comes down quickly isn't the problem. A spike that won't, is.

How does delaying breakfast not delay that insulin peak or actually reduce it. Oh, wait, not one of the referenced articles talks about that. Just stepping back to jump further into the pit.

The new broscience - make assumptions and reference them with articles that don't cover those assumptions.

ahhh...you didnt bother to read before attacking., He covers insulin in detail. but thanks for the attack

Don't be so defensive! I think the poster above has a valid point. His references do not directly support his claim that increased morning cortisol levels acutely agonize insulin release. This is his theory, which is fine, but he does seem to imply that he is getting this from a study, which I do not believe is the case, after looking at what he is actually referencing.

I'm also willing to discuss this in depth and from a neutral point of view, look at each of those referenced articles and see where they do or do not support such conclusions.

Me too

How does delaying breakfast not delay that insulin peak or actually reduce it. Oh, wait, not one of the referenced articles talks about that. Just stepping back to jump further into the pit.

The new broscience - make assumptions and reference them with articles that don't cover those assumptions.

ahhh...you didnt bother to read before attacking., He covers insulin in detail. but thanks for the attack

Don't be so defensive! I think the poster above has a valid point. His references do not directly support his claim that increased morning cortisol levels acutely agonize insulin release. This is his theory, which is fine, but he does seem to imply that he is getting this from a study, which I do not believe is the case, after looking at what he is actually referencing.

I'm also willing to discuss this in depth and from a neutral point of view, look at each of those referenced articles and see where they do or do not support such conclusions.

Me too

Well, let's see if Dave want to take this on. I'm willing to take my time to work this out point by point but not to talk to an empty room...


Let's start -

Article 1: Abstract .

The enhanced cortisol release after protein-rich meals might represent a neuroendocrine response to food allergens. We tested whether the antigenicity of proteins contributes to this effect. Twelve healthy men nasogastrically received casein, its less allergenic hydrolysate, and placebo. Contrary to expectations, secretion of cortisol (area under the curve, 742.70 +/- 73.48 vs. 542.95 +/- 70.31 micromol/liter.min, P < 0.03) and ACTH (2020.21 +/- 251.10 vs. 1649.82 +/- 241.23 micromol/liter.min, P < 0.05) was stronger on casein-hydrolysate than casein. Systemic immune activity remained unaffected as indicated by unchanged IL-6 plasma concentrations. This finding indicates that the grade of hydrolysis of a protein and the presence of particular amino acids, rather than its antigenicity, are crucial for the pituitary-adrenal response to nutrients. To further examine whether this response is triggered at the gastrointestinal mucosa or after the substance has reached the circulation, in a supplementary experiment, amino acids were given either nasogastrically or iv to healthy men (n = 4). Only the nasogastric infusion of amino acids induced a significant rise in cortisol concentrations. Serum concentrations of tryptophan, which is known to directly excite the hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal axis, were comparable for both conditions. We conclude that the meal-related hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal axis response to amino acids results from a signal that rather acts at the gastrointestinal mucosa than directly via the circulating blood.

Full article here: http://jcem.endojournals.org/content/90/3/1692.full.pdf+html

Their conclusion: "In summary, our experiments indicate that the cortisol response to protein-containing meals originates from an amino acid activation" <-- Nothing to do with breakfast, delayed insulin response, etc...

... shall we continue...?

Great article - thank you. I stumbled upon Lean Gains a few weeks ago.
I have stopped eating between about 7 - 8 pm one day and noon the next.

It's early days but I have not felt this good in years and have lost 4 pounds in 2 weeks.
I am eating two meals a day and relaxing things one day a week ( lots of wine that day )

I'm almost 50 and have followed every other diet/ healthy eating/ fitness diet regime/ lifestyle under the sun.


I feel I may have made a breakthrough

I understand what some people say about breakfast, but personally I simply disagree with it. When I have a good breakfast, I feel better, my metabolism gets going, and I feel better overall. Given - a "good" breakfast is NOT a pop tart and a bowl of Lucky Charms. This morning I had a protein shake, 3 eggs, and 2 pieces of Turkey Bacon. I play tennis 4 times a week and don't eat past 7:00pm. I've lost 16 pounds in 3 weeks - I love breakfast!

I've heard it said like this - in America, we eat backwards. We eat like a peasant for breakfast, a prince for lunch, and a king for dinner. But we need to eat like a King for breakfast, a prince for lunch, and a peasant at dinner. I've started to do this and watch how much processed food I eat - I couldn't be more satisfied with the results. And I owe a lot of it to - Breakfast.

Just my opinion.

If you talk to a nutritionist they will tell you that this is false information. . . . ive seen it and read it and never ate breakfast WHICH CAUSED ME TO NOT LOSE WEIGHT AND GAIN WEIGHT. . . . you need to eat breakfast in the morning to kick start your metabolism or else not eating breakfast throws it off. . . if you want to lose weight. . eat the 6 meals your supposed to a day. . . if you want to keep gaining weight and or have stagnant weight try skipping breakfast. . .

being diabetic i have to eat and have my sugar. . other people may not. . but everyone IS different and its your choice, just know what you could be getting yourself into.

some people need to eat breakfast or they pass out from low blood sugar. . . others can go till noon without food but its not healthy and wouldnt recommend it.

You suffer from diabetes so too long break from food isn't good for you. But I routinely go without food for 13 hours a day, and trust me health isn't an issue.
Many nutritionists recommendations conflict with those made by a registered dietician. Dieticians need degrees to be certified and registered. Nutritionists don't. A nutritionist can study a book for a month, take a test and get a cert.

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

Thanks for posting this, I always love being elightened with this type of information and knowing I am not the only one who gets post b-fast hunger

Well, let's see if Dave want to take this on. I'm willing to take my time to work this out point by point but not to talk to an empty room...

if you read my original post, I said if you want to eat breakfast, it wont hurt you. I did not write the article. I happen to agree with it and I have been following leangains protocol for quite some time and really like the results. I especially like my energy levels and especially when going home, I like knowing that I have a boatload of calories available for a great meal or 2.

I am simply passing along some information.

No, you are proposing some information as being accurate and are using this to reference a statement on why breakfast is the worst meal (your title) - I am challenging the form and content of the assumptions being made. I am willing to back up my challenge - I am also willing to be wrong and will support what is stated if I am found to be wrong. Having read both article and most ref. (but not all) I am inviting you or other supporters of this article to discuss the references. Interested? I've already shown that ref 1 cannot be used to make the conclusions stated. Do you want to go through the others with me?

thats great. but the science does not support the idea that a single meal at any time will get your metabolism going. It takes several days of undereating or over eating before your metabolism even sees a change.

its true that whatever works is what you should do.

Totally at odds with the title of this thread, just sayin'


Saying breakfast is the worst meal of the day is as misguided in my opinion as saying it's the most important meal of the day.

He's not saying that "Breakfast is Bad." He's just trying to explain why some people get hungry after eating breakfast. So, just like you get irritated when people tell you to eat breakfast because it's the most important meal of the day, other people will get irritated when you say breakfast is the worst meal of the day.

The article does point out:

An important point, which I should have accentuated and expanded upon, is the high degree of individual variability present among the hormonal factors within the equation that might predispose people to post-breakfast hunger. I wrote:

Post-breakfast hunger cannot be explained by differences in food choice, but by certain individual factors, and their interaction with a time-of-day effect of feeding on hormonal profile and metabolism.

It's all very individual. I think for anyone who has blood sugar problems or metabolic problems, breakfast is a necessity. For me, eating breakfast helped my weight loss and doesn't make me hungry later in the morning. It's all personal preference and what works for you.

I eat breakfast every day whether I am hungry or not because I have to (have to eat w/meds). Now if I miss it I'm starving so for me skipping does not work. Looking around on this site the one thing I notice is everyone's body works differently, as long as the system you are on is working for you who's to say you're wrong. It was a good article.