Breakfast necessary? Efficacy of ptotein?

SheGlistensasSheSings
SheGlistensasSheSings Posts: 278 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Thank you soooo much for sharing your thoughts and experience!! I wonder if eating breakfast is important for metabolism or the food can be made up later when I'm hungry as part of lunch dinner afternoon evening snack. My snacks are often breakfasty yogurt and fruit or sometimes dark chocolate :)
I just am perplexed if eating close to when one wakes up is important to jump start weightless metabolism. I've gained weight recently but it might be from eating more calories from attempting to eat bigger portions of protein
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Replies

  • laursoar
    laursoar Posts: 131 Member
    I think breakfast only helps if you get hungrier by skipping it. For example, if you are more apt to eat ravenously at lunch when you skip breakfast, then you're going to have a harder time keeping with your calorie goals. Personally, I find it much easier to keep with my choices if I eat periodically (starting with breakfast) all day long. I manage to stay full best that way. As far as I know, the metabolism part is a myth though.
  • firefoxxie
    firefoxxie Posts: 381 Member
    For some reason, when I eat breakfast I only end up being more hungry. When I don't eat breakfast I don't get hungry until the afternoon
  • SheGlistensasSheSings
    SheGlistensasSheSings Posts: 278 Member
    Thank you soo much both! I actually saw another post @ breakfast where you replied too laursoar and it was informative too.
    I'd love to believe the breakfast thing is a myth and not feel guilty!!

    The thing i have self doubt about is that I always have an evening snack except on the rarest occasion. It's true I have had various levels of severity of hypoglycemia all the way to incredibly severe throughout my life. So my body hasn't been able to fall asleep hungry or stay asleep for 7 years at least I think.

    But I do notice if I don't eat enough which I'm not always conscious of during the day I'm capable of eating too much at night and having a hard time sleeping cause of acid reflux. Then I get upset with myself and think geez your sooo stupid why didn't you eat extra during the day! So lately I've been eating much bigger portions of protein lunch and dinner in an attempt to be responsible. But I gained a couple pounds. And still have that snacks sweet tooth fruit and greek yogurt craving regardless. But it is often very very hard if possible for me to fit in snacks during the day cause I don't have access to food most days.

    So I guess I'm still learning how many calories my body needs or doesn't need and how to allot them at what time for satiation (healthy protein and veggies vs quantity of Greek yogurt and fruit sweet) and timing and ability to sleep at night and weightloss!
    And I humbly have not figured it out.

    Soooo am soooo grateful for you words of insight sharing and feedback!
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    It doesn't matter when you eat really. Quite a few people here do intermittent fasting and only eat from like 12pm to 8pm every day and are losing weight just fine.

    The balance between the sweet tooth and getting enough protein is a real pain though, I sympathize, I don't always reach my protein goal because of it.
  • SheGlistensasSheSings
    SheGlistensasSheSings Posts: 278 Member
    Thank you so much!! I get so many mixed messages regarding breakfast and its great to hear from you guys.
  • colortheworld
    colortheworld Posts: 374 Member
    I eat breakfast if I'm hungry, I don't if I'm not. I think it just depends on whether you feel like it or not. I find if I'm hungry and don't eat breakfast I go crazy with food later on.
  • Foodorlife
    Foodorlife Posts: 111 Member
    For some reason, when I eat breakfast I only end up being more hungry. When I don't eat breakfast I don't get hungry until the afternoon


    This is SOOOOOOO me!!! I thought I was the only one like that haha.
  • YaGigi
    YaGigi Posts: 817 Member
    I am crazy hungry in the morning because I try not to eat dinners. So I always try to eat more at breakfast if I don't get too busy for work.
  • Wooly_I_am
    Wooly_I_am Posts: 109
    I don't eat breakfast so I have more to eat later in the day, I prefer it that way. No need for breakfast from a diet point of view. You can meet your calories in one meal if you like it that way :)
  • MickeyCastello
    MickeyCastello Posts: 269
    I started eating breakfast when I started MFP the first time. I found that if I do eat breakfast, I eat a smaller lunch and eat it later than I could before. This in turn enables me to eat a later dinner, and less nighttime snacking.
  • Eli716
    Eli716 Posts: 262 Member
    I tend to wake late, so when I'm up about ten, I merely drink some diet cranberry juice with aloe vera juice. If I'm hungry, I'll eat an apple. If I'm a little hungry say... an hour or two before I want lunch, I'll have string cheese. If I'm not hungry, I wait until lunch (normally around 2-3PM). This has worked for me for the past month or so, and I've been sticking with it. However, everyone is different.

    Try a week or two with breakfast, take notes and weigh yourself. Then try the same amount of time without breakfast, along with notes and weighing. See what not only works best for you, but what you feel more comfortable with. :)
  • SheGlistensasSheSings
    SheGlistensasSheSings Posts: 278 Member
    Thanks!! I think I would end up eating more given the schedule I described above. Unless I didn't do a snack after dinner. Which feels impossible unless I could fall asleep 3 hours plus earlier. It's not that my dinner is particularly early but that my body has been unable to fall asleep till late wee early for years.
  • MstngSammy
    MstngSammy Posts: 436 Member
    I'm not always hungry in the morning either. I have heard the best thing to do first thing in the am is to drink a full glass of water to sort of "wake up" the system. Ever since I've done that within minutes I get hungry. So I usually eat something small like cottage cheese with fruit and nuts or an egg with a banana. It usually tides me over till later in the morning even though I workout in the am.
  • MstngSammy
    MstngSammy Posts: 436 Member
    For some reason, when I eat breakfast I only end up being more hungry. When I don't eat breakfast I don't get hungry until the afternoon


    This is SOOOOOOO me!!! I thought I was the only one like that haha.

    I get that way too if I don't eat something balanced or if I'm dehydrated.
  • Ithina1
    Ithina1 Posts: 93 Member
    I think the breakfast thing is somewhat of a myth. I've found it personally helpful though. I never ate breakfast in middle school and high school because I found if I didn't eat breakfast I wasn't as hungry at lunch.. I didn't have lunch money so anything to help me get through the day with less hunger was helpful.

    Now I eat breakfast every morning. It was hard to get used to, but I thought I'd try it to speed up my metabolism. I'm not sure if it did or not, but it helps me keep focused, on track, and ready to take on the day.
  • swhiteism
    swhiteism Posts: 71 Member
    I'm not a breakfast eater and never will be. I'm just not hungry in the mornings and it actually upsets my stomach most times when I have anything other than a piece of fruit.
  • Sarauk2sf
    Sarauk2sf Posts: 28,072 Member
    Time your meals in a way that will aid in adherence, energy (especially at the gym) and fit in with your lifestyle/habits. That will give you the greatest benefits.
  • m00tmike
    m00tmike Posts: 248 Member
    If you do a google search of "intermittent fasting" I think you'll get some helpful information. It's kind of the cool kid thing to do right now to limit your good intake to a 6hr period or so. It sounds like that's what you'd like to do so intermittent fasting (IF) might be perfect for you.
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  • Stage14
    Stage14 Posts: 1,046 Member
    Since you have hypoglycemia, please check with your doctor before starting intermittent fasting.

    I cannot tell if you're worried about needing to eliminate your bedtime snacking or just worried that you should be eating breakfast. I don't think breakfast is necessary unless it helps you. I eat breakfast most mornings (but usually 3 hours after I wake up) and still have a pre-bedtime snack, which helps control my blood sugar. I've personally found that a cup of milk with a half scoop of chocolate protien powder works great for killing my sweets craving AND keeping me full overnight. And since it's under 200 calories, it's easy to fit into my daily budget. Bottom line, if you're losing weight and your HG is under control, don't fix what isn't broke.
  • lainie644
    lainie644 Posts: 19 Member
    Breakfast is necessary to bring your body out of the fasting mode which it goes into when you go to sleep. Your lungs and heart rests at that time and slows down. Your cells regroup and build their walls and your organs go into a cleansing mode. Breakfast is very important to bring your body out of the fasting mode and put it into high gear for the demands of the day.

    A 350 to 500 calorie breakfast is perfect. It should consist of a glass of water, carbs, polyunsaturated fat, sodium, and protein. The water is obviously for hydration.
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
    meal timing and metabolism have no relationship..

    If you are not hungry in the morning then do not eat breakfast and wait until lunch, or later in morning. A lot of people do IF/lean gains and have great success with it. The only caveat would be if skipping breakfast makes you so hungry that you end up binging and over eating.

    There is nothing special about breakfast....and the "most important meal of the day" is just a myth perpetuated by the breakfast industry...
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,294 Member
    Breakfast is necessary to bring your body out of the fasting mode which it goes into when you go to sleep. Your lungs and heart rests at that time and slows down. Your cells regroup and build their walls and your organs go into a cleansing mode. Breakfast is very important to bring your body out of the fasting mode and put it into high gear for the demands of the day.

    A 350 to 500 calorie breakfast is perfect. It should consist of a glass of water, carbs, polyunsaturated fat, sodium, and protein. The water is obviously for hydration.

    I agree that "breakfast" is important. What I don't agree with is that it has to be once you wake up.

    You can break your fast at anytime. If you prefer your first meal of the day to be at 5p.m. then that is fine and is when you will break the fast.
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
    Breakfast is necessary to bring your body out of the fasting mode which it goes into when you go to sleep. Your lungs and heart rests at that time and slows down. Your cells regroup and build their walls and your organs go into a cleansing mode. Breakfast is very important to bring your body out of the fasting mode and put it into high gear for the demands of the day.

    A 350 to 500 calorie breakfast is perfect. It should consist of a glass of water, carbs, polyunsaturated fat, sodium, and protein. The water is obviously for hydration.

    Ummm no this is just wrong....

    < skipped breakfast for eight month and no problems with energy or anything else.


    what would it matter if you eat at 6 am, 8am, or 12pm....?

    OP - ignore advice like this....
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
    I think the breakfast thing is somewhat of a myth. I've found it personally helpful though. I never ate breakfast in middle school and high school because I found if I didn't eat breakfast I wasn't as hungry at lunch.. I didn't have lunch money so anything to help me get through the day with less hunger was helpful.

    Now I eat breakfast every morning. It was hard to get used to, but I thought I'd try it to speed up my metabolism. I'm not sure if it did or not, but it helps me keep focused, on track, and ready to take on the day.

    breakfast has nothing to do with metabolism...
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  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
    Breakfast is necessary to bring your body out of the fasting mode which it goes into when you go to sleep. Your lungs and heart rests at that time and slows down. Your cells regroup and build their walls and your organs go into a cleansing mode. Breakfast is very important to bring your body out of the fasting mode and put it into high gear for the demands of the day.

    A 350 to 500 calorie breakfast is perfect. It should consist of a glass of water, carbs, polyunsaturated fat, sodium, and protein. The water is obviously for hydration.

    A very strong NO. Cleansing mode? What? Fasting mode?

    Seriously, where did you get all that?

    you didn't know that your organs need a cleansing every morning bro? I go to the organ cleaning drive through on the way to work every day...
  • MstngSammy
    MstngSammy Posts: 436 Member
    I'm not a breakfast eater and never will be. I'm just not hungry in the mornings and it actually upsets my stomach most times when I have anything other than a piece of fruit.

    A piece of fruit still counts as breakfast
    :wink:
  • ImRemko
    ImRemko Posts: 34 Member
    meal timing and metabolism have no relationship..

    If you are not hungry in the morning then do not eat breakfast and wait until lunch, or later in morning. A lot of people do IF/lean gains and have great success with it. The only caveat would be if skipping breakfast makes you so hungry that you end up binging and over eating.

    There is nothing special about breakfast....and the "most important meal of the day" is just a myth perpetuated by the breakfast industry...

    ^this
    I agree that "breakfast" is important. What I don't agree with is that it has to be once you wake up.

    You can break your fast at anytime. If you prefer your first meal of the day to be at 5p.m. then that is fine and is when you will break the fast.
    ^and this.
  • MstngSammy
    MstngSammy Posts: 436 Member
    Time your meals in a way that will aid in adherence, energy (especially at the gym) and fit in with your lifestyle/habits. That will give you the greatest benefits.

    Exactly :happy:

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