How important is breakfast really??

If you end up getting to lunch and nomming everything in sight, then eating breakfast would be a good idea. A lot of people mistakenly skip breakfast because they're trying to lose weight, and then end up munching chips and cookies all morning because they are hungry.

If you are one of the people who feels fine and more full without it, and you are meeting your calorie goals, no problem! You don't have to eat it.

People tell me "Breakfast is the most important meal of the day." I say "Did you seriously just quote a McDonalds' commercial as nutritional advice?"... :bigsmile:

I think this is entirely in my mind, but I actually feel hungrier by lunch if I had a big breakfast, especially if it included grain. As others said, meal timing really isn't relevant. Studies have debunked that "keeps the metabolism high" junk science. I even read one study that stated there is often a small (as in not really significant) number of additional calories burned when you go several hours without a meal because of a minor change in hormones. Again, it said it was very small, not enough to worry about. I just found it interesting that it went slightly further than just debunking...

if i dont eat breakfast i eat a big lunch

then i get sleepy

that is bad

that may not happen to you

I hear ya lol except for me it's my coffee that is a must have in the morning

Yep- I'm sitting here with a mug of black coffee. I also ate one slice of whole-grain bread with nothing on it. I'll have a banana later. I'm not a big breakfast eater and I'm 60 so I don't think it's gonna change.

One exception: I used to stay in a hotel in Bangalore on business that had a HEAVENLY breakfast buffet. Since they had a heavy European and American business they included bacon and sausage and eggs, but I'd skip all that stuff and go for the Indian breads and the spicy stews and the pickled vegetables and an oatmeal/pancake type thing called idli. With coffee, too! Yum. I did find that I had less urge to snack between breakfast and lunch when I had a breakfast like that.

Probably a good thing I don't live in India. It would be hard to keep my weight down with all that good food.

Sometimes I leave my breakfast until 3-4 hours after I wake up. It just depends on when I feel like eating. If I wake up at 7am, I would usually eat around 10am. If I woke up at 11am, I'd eat around 12pm. Just depends, really. It is an important meal, and you should always try to eat breakfast when you can. It fills you up. A study showed that people who skipped breakfast, were more likely to overeat later that day.

I always eat it because I'm hungry in the morning. If you're not hungry, though, I don't see anything wrong with waiting a few hours until you are and eating then.

i never been a big breakfast eater so now i usually force myself to eat at least 100 cals since i have to take medication and its best to take it with food. I dont graze and also just have a shake for lunch saves me room for my beloved home cooked dinners i enjoy and are usually around 1000 cals :laugh:

Technically the first meal of the day is called breakfast, simply because you are breaking the nightly fast (sleeping)..

If you can get away with not eating breakfast, then don't eat it! Just make sure you meet your nutritional goals by the end of the day

When I was overweight I hated breakfast. I never ate it and I argued against it, "why should I eat more when I am trying to loose weight". Today, I look forward to my breakfast and feel lost without it. In fact, I am writing this while enjoying my breakfast. A good wholesome breakfast allows me to spread my calories throughout the day. Without eating in the morning I would have an extra 200-400 calories that I would need to consume later in the day and I much prefer grazing than big meals. The key here is the choose the right breakfast.

Breakfast can be an essential meal of the day if you choose the right foods for it. Unfortunately most Americans will choose cereal, pop tart, or even get their breakfast from a drive through. These choices are not the best and will not allow you to get the full benefits of what breakfast brings. Allowing yourself to have a protein based breakfast will help re-energize your body as it's been busy all night rebuilding and reparing you when you were sleeping. It's also been said by scientist and nutritionist that having a mindful breakfast in the morning can reduce cholesterol, improve concentration, provide your body with higher nutrients, help control weight, and provide more endurance throughout the day.

In the end, we are all different. For all the information I posted above, someone can counteract with other statistics. As a Health Mentor I always recommend all my clients to have some form of breakfast, but you have to do what you're going to do. If you already talked yourself out of it, then no post here will convince you otherwise.

My best to you.

Then there's the studies that show the opposite. It's really preference, nothing more.

The opposite of what? Not being obtuse - genuinely curious. There are a lot of studies referenced in that article and I am kind of obsessive about learning this boring crap :laugh:

I agree 100% about it being preference though actually - just thought article was interesting because there may be some people who do get hungry from breakfast (unless like you say that is all refuted). Not an issue for me anyways considering Martin's article was based around "Fit Joe"...that is not me!

I guess you and I could find research that would support any eating pattern referencing hunger and in that context all that data would be correct, but meal frequency is pretty much meaningless.

Have a good quality protein shake in the morning high in Protein low in carbs. Doesn't have a huge caloric impact but definitely helps with any hunger or energy issues.

Thanks for the idea. This is what I need! I can't skip breakfast as I become very angry and hungry before lunch and have trouble concentrating. But, at the same time, I get tired of eating eggs. My roommate has also been filling our house with junk food such as cereal and waffles and I've started to fall to the temptation even though it'd been over a year since I'd had any before she moved in. I'll have to do the shake thing. That will hopefully help.