How important is breakfast?

Options
2

Replies

  • dmarhal
    dmarhal Posts: 30 Member
    Options
    I would recommend a small amount of food before working so your blood sugar doesn't drop too far. It could be a small cup of yogurt which will give you carbs and protein or something like it. I don't like a big meal before I work out because I get sluggish. But you have fasted all night and need something. Most articles I've read recently advise to not work out on an empty stomach. You really don't burn that much more if any and could risk getting light headed or nauseated. Make sure you at least have some water to hydrate yourself.
  • JNick77
    JNick77 Posts: 3,783 Member
    Options
    I would recommend a small amount of food before working so your blood sugar doesn't drop too far. It could be a small cup of yogurt which will give you carbs and protein or something like it. I don't like a big meal before I work out because I get sluggish. But you have fasted all night and need something. Most articles I've read recently advise to not work out on an empty stomach. You really don't burn that much more if any and could risk getting light headed or nauseated. Make sure you at least have some water to hydrate yourself.

    Are those articles based on facts or just traditional "hi I'm a trainer that paid $400 for my certificate and this is my opinion" facts?
  • maddmaddie
    maddmaddie Posts: 160 Member
    Options
    To me?? Not really important. Overall daily caloric intake is what counts, really. In fact, I've pretty much given up eating in the morning because I feel fine throughout the day without it. I usually just drink some water and I'm good to go.

    Get an idea of what works for you. Workout on a empty stomach and see if you have enough energy, if not, then eat a small snack before hand.
  • stephypeppy
    stephypeppy Posts: 1
    Options
    They have also done studies that show people who do eat breakfast tend to weigh less than people who don't
  • JNick77
    JNick77 Posts: 3,783 Member
    Options
    They have also done studies that show people who do eat breakfast tend to weigh less than people who don't

    Wasn't that a fairly old study and they didn't mention what their normal diet habits were. If I recall, the subjects only requirement was to not eat breakfast, so they could've eaten like **** all day long and not exercised.

    Just remember when talking about healthy people (no diabetes, thyroid disorders, etc), there's a difference in what works for an individual in-terms of what they can tolerate and then there's what's physiologically true. Not everybody can manage hunger-pains and there's nothing wrong with that but it doesn't discredit modern research or support older research.
  • DavPul
    DavPul Posts: 61,406 Member
    Options
    This topic is always so weird to me. Breakfast is as important or unimportant as you want it to be. You don't have to eat it, or you can eat it every day and it will not be detrimental to your goals. Personally, I eat breakfast, because I wake up incredibly hungry. Works for me. But if you're aren't hungry, or don't have the time, then don't force yourself to eat. For the life of me I can't figure out why the True Believers on each side keep citing study after study saying you should or you shouldn't and then saying the other side's study was faulty. Guess what? All studies are faulty. Eat if you want to eat, don't if you don't.
  • DexterDarko
    DexterDarko Posts: 235
    Options
    I usually don't eat breakfast right away. If I wake up really early I'll wait a couple hours before I'm hungry, but breakfast is my favorite meal of the day, I wouldn't miss it ;)
  • JNick77
    JNick77 Posts: 3,783 Member
    Options
    For the life of me I can't figure out why the True Believers on each side keep citing study after study saying you should or you shouldn't and then saying the other side's study was faulty. Guess what? All studies are faulty. Eat if you want to eat, don't if you don't.

    You are right, you can find evidence to support either side and you never know who's funding these studies right? The one thing that perked my interest is for one, what happens with the hormones makes sense. But you definitely gotta do what's in your comfort zone.
  • californiagirl2012
    californiagirl2012 Posts: 2,625 Member
    Options
    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?

    I'm not anorexic either and I skip breakfast every morning. I'm perfectly vibrant and healthy without it. I've never had an eating disorder and will avoid anything that would lead to it.

    Skipping breakfast and heading straight to the gym helps your body internally create HGH which helps you lose weight among many other benefits. It's described in Rusty's Vacation Body Blueprint. I tried the experiment of doing Rusty's process here and it was pretty amazing results --> http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/745151-i-got-a-compliment-from-rusty-moore-from-fitness-black-book
  • DavPul
    DavPul Posts: 61,406 Member
    Options
    For the life of me I can't figure out why the True Believers on each side keep citing study after study saying you should or you shouldn't and then saying the other side's study was faulty. Guess what? All studies are faulty. Eat if you want to eat, don't if you don't.

    You are right, you can find evidence to support either side and you never know who's funding these studies right? The one thing that perked my interest is for one, what happens with the hormones makes sense. But you definitely gotta do what's in your comfort zone.

    You're probably right that there is some hormonal effect doing it one way or the other. But I bet it's around 2-5% or so. That's nice and all, but probably doesn't override how much better a person would do if they were a program that they enjoyed more or fit their lifestyle better. I've seen people have amazing results eating 5-6 meals. I've seen tremendously fit people that do one version of IF or another, I've seen Paleo give results just as fast as somebody eating chicken and rice. Even if we could prove without a shadow of a doubt that one of these is better than the other, the small difference wouldn't be worth the hassle of switching to something you hate.
  • JNick77
    JNick77 Posts: 3,783 Member
    Options
    I've seen people have amazing results eating 5-6 meals. I've seen tremendously fit people that do one version of IF or another, I've seen Paleo give results just as fast as somebody eating chicken and rice. Even if we could prove without a shadow of a doubt that one of these is better than the other, the small difference wouldn't be worth the hassle of switching to something you hate.

    Yes, for sure. That's one thing that Berardi said in his write-up on IF too. The other thing he said that really caught my eye on IF is that it was easier for him to stay leaner and he was at his leanest while on IF. That's what really got me to try it. Myself I lost about 30lbs and added roughly 100lbs to my DL with more traditional eating, so I'll attest to the fact that traditional eating works too. It's all a big mind-game really.
  • Determinednoob
    Determinednoob Posts: 2,001 Member
    Options
    I eat breakfast becaue A) I like to and B) if i don't it gets that much harder to eat my 4000 calories in a day.
  • DavPul
    DavPul Posts: 61,406 Member
    Options
    I eat breakfast becaue A) I like to and B) if i don't it gets that much harder to eat my 4000 calories in a day.

    This, plus people stare at you funny if you ask for a side of bacon at dinner.
  • Determinednoob
    Determinednoob Posts: 2,001 Member
    Options
    I eat breakfast becaue A) I like to and B) if i don't it gets that much harder to eat my 4000 calories in a day.

    This, plus people stare at you funny if you ask for a side of bacon at dinner.

    I bet you eat like a mad dog on a bulk
  • DavPul
    DavPul Posts: 61,406 Member
    Options

    I bet you eat like a mad dog on a bulk

    On a bulk? You should see my diary on a cut. There's 1 lb cheeseburger lunches in there behind 6 egg breakfasts. Nobody wants to see me on a bulk.
  • JNick77
    JNick77 Posts: 3,783 Member
    Options
    I eat breakfast becaue A) I like to and B) if i don't it gets that much harder to eat my 4000 calories in a day.

    Yeah no kidding. I know there is no way in hell that I could do IF for a bulk because there's just not enough time within that 8 hours to eat 4,000+ calories.
    This, plus people stare at you funny if you ask for a side of bacon at dinner.

    I ended-up having a lot of meetings today so I missed on lunch so I had to just hurry up and get something in, clean or not, so I went to a restaurant ordered chicken fingers and a big chicken chef salad with an extra chicken breast. The waiter looked at me like I was nuts and laughed when he came back to pick up my empty plates. Eating takes far too much effort. LOL
  • JNick77
    JNick77 Posts: 3,783 Member
    Options

    I bet you eat like a mad dog on a bulk

    On a bulk? You should see my diary on a cut. There's 1 lb cheeseburger lunches in there behind 6 egg breakfasts. Nobody wants to see me on a bulk.

    LMAO, nice!

    Did you see Arnold Schwarzenegger's article where he talked about being a week out from competition and him and a buddy would go to the House of Pies and each eat an entire cherry pie? So funny...
  • RainHoward
    RainHoward Posts: 1,599 Member
    Options
    It's only important if you're hungry.
  • tirtle
    tirtle Posts: 6
    Options
    If you work out empty, your body uses it's "reserved energy stores", so when you actually eat, your body is in panic mode and bulks up while it can. Breakfast sets you up for the day so at night, you aren't inclined to overeat and make up for what it needed throughout the day....
  • DavPul
    DavPul Posts: 61,406 Member
    Options

    I ended-up having a lot of meetings today so I missed on lunch so I had to just hurry up and get something in, clean or not, so I went to a restaurant ordered chicken fingers and a big chicken chef salad with an extra chicken breast. The waiter looked at me like I was nuts and laughed when he came back to pick up my empty plates. Eating takes far too much effort. LOL

    LMAO! That's like the times I go to a breakfast place and order the pancake platter and the waffle. The server is like, "short stack of pancakes?". "No, full stack please." "But the full stack is 5 pancakes plus eggs and sausage". "Excellent." The sad thing is I had to give up pancakes and waffles to lose weight. Sigh.....

    *kitten*. Now I'm hungry as hell.

Categories