Breakfast is evil

journey_man
journey_man Posts: 110 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Just kidding. But after more than a month of calorie-counting, I noticed that I consistently go over my daily limit on the days I have a decent breakfast (>300 cal).

Generally, I don't bother with breakfast. I don't get hungry till 10:30-11, at which point I just wait for lunch. I mostly drink like a gallon of coffee when I get to work, and maybe have an apple mid-morning when things start grumbling.

But, when I DO get a normal-sized breakfast, it does little to curb my appetite for lunch. Maybe it pushes it an hour further, but I don't end up eating less for the rest of the day.

Anyone else this way?

I am glad it's turning out that the "breakfast is the most important meal of the day" is nonsense.
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Replies

  • FindingMyPerfection
    FindingMyPerfection Posts: 702 Member
    I have breakfast every day, I just changed its time to 1pm.
  • rattleh3ad
    rattleh3ad Posts: 50
    I need breakfast to consistently control my appetite throughout the day, it also gives me energy needed to workout.

    I used to be the same way, skipping breakfast, and would eat huge lunch and dinners to make up for that. I also notice that I tend to eat less if I eat breakfast.
  • vjohn04
    vjohn04 Posts: 2,276 Member
    Eat when you want. Meal timing makes no difference.
  • LeahFerri
    LeahFerri Posts: 186 Member
    I'm definitely in the "do what you want" camp. I've done so many weird things with meal timing over the years (just as a result of my changing academic schedule), and it's never really made much difference in how much I ate over the course of the day or when I got hungry with respect to my previous meal.

    Currently, I'm in the habit of eating a small breakfast (<200 calories) around 9am. Today I had it around 8am and put myself in a position of not being able to eat lunch until 3... mistake, started feeling like garbage around 2.

    Do what works. Don't do what doesn't work. Eat your calories and try to hit your macros if you care about that sort of thing.
  • iamimagine
    iamimagine Posts: 15 Member
    Most of the time I have my best days when I eat a good breakfast at 9:30 or 10, even though I do most of my running around at about 7am. Glad to see there are others out there. It's like my body is still asleep until that time. If I eat even something light earlier, it "wakes up" and I'm just about ready to binge on anything by 10 am. I try to listen to my body. If I need to, I eat early. Otherwise, I wait. I've heard that yogurt is a worth trying for earlier, but I haven't yet.
  • kokaneesailor
    kokaneesailor Posts: 337 Member
    Coffee, apple then soup at 1300-1400 hrs works for me. Once in awhile a boiled egg if I'm hitting the pool before noon. Tried to incorporate breakfast into my diet but I'm not seeing anything positive. So back to the old java juice. Doesn't work for everyone, but for me it's the way my body likes it.
  • Love4fitnesslove4food2
    Love4fitnesslove4food2 Posts: 711 Member
    I'd reconsider the "gallon of coffee." While some coffee is okay, too much combined with other stressors can burn out your adrenal glands.
  • EricRazorbacks
    EricRazorbacks Posts: 42 Member
    I probably wouldn't eat breakfast, but I want to sit down and eat something with my son in the morning. It seems to actually make me a little bit hungrier before lunch than if I didn't eat breakfast. My preference is to just eat bigger meals at lunch and dinner.
  • F00LofaT00K
    F00LofaT00K Posts: 688 Member
    Anyone else this way?

    I am glad it's turning out that the "breakfast is the most important meal of the day" is nonsense.

    Yup! I'd skip it except that I'm groggy in the mornings without some food in me and I end up making mistakes at work that cost my company money. That makes me boss upset. So, sadly, I will continue to eat breakfast to maintain good work performance. I try to keep it small though because I prefer to have some calories for after-dinner-snacks. Those are my favorite kind of snacks. I usually have an English muffin with some peanut butter or an apple or sometimes I'll snag a Vanilla Muscle Monster for 200cals if I wake up extra tired.
  • nikkihk
    nikkihk Posts: 487 Member
    Breakfast is good to kickstart the Metab... but I just have a fruit smoothie or a banana so I can indulge more at dinner.
  • pearlgalbraith
    pearlgalbraith Posts: 1 Member
    i love breakfast. I usually have a shake - takes 2 mins to put vi-shake mix, almond milk and some frozen fruit in magic bullet. thats about 270 calories and can hold me till 2 in the afternoon if my day gets busy. I was reading new studies that show protein in the AM is proving to reduce cravings at night. I bet more info will be coming out about that.
  • deepthavinay
    deepthavinay Posts: 13
    I can't even imagine skipping breakfast. I am hungry first thing in the morning,,haha.. I have a bowl of oats, a banana and some fresh fruit slices. This keeps me going till noon.
  • sarafischbach9
    sarafischbach9 Posts: 466 Member
    I am not super hungry at breakfast but I make myself eat, because I know that the moment I walk through the doors at work I will start feeling hunger pains. And I can't go on lunch when I want; I am at someone else's mercy and that is why I eat breakfast. I am a little hungry in the morning so I just eat light.

    I think whatever works for you! Maybe something small might satisfy you in the morning, like a yogurt, or a smoothie. Even a glass of juice. It doesn't have to be a big breakfast with eggs, toast, bacon and ham, etc etc.
  • nytrifisoul
    nytrifisoul Posts: 499 Member
    Breakfast is evil. I skip breakfast every day. If i eat breakfast i feel hungry all day. When i skip breakfast i dont feel hungry even for lunch. I pretty much eat a big dinner and a small bedtime snack and sleep like a baby.
  • vjohn04
    vjohn04 Posts: 2,276 Member
    Breakfast is good to kickstart the Metab... but I just have a fruit smoothie or a banana so I can indulge more at dinner.

    false.
    this is a myth.
  • MrsLannister
    MrsLannister Posts: 347 Member
    What do you have for breakfast? If I eat cereal, hot or cold, then I get hungry again really quickly. If I eat something high in fat and protein, like an omelette with cheese and bacon, that will sustain me until lunch.
  • Factory_Reset
    Factory_Reset Posts: 1,651 Member
    meh, breakfast

    I do wut I want

    and eat when I want
  • RamonaFr
    RamonaFr Posts: 112
    I was reading an article recently about myths of dieting and the article discussed whether or not you should eat breakfast. The authors pointed out that the earlier you eat, the longer your window of eating time is -- so you are more likely to overeat. In my own experience, that's true. Now I just eat when I'm hungry which often isn't until about 1 p.m.

    Also the article said to think of the time you sleep and the time you're awake until your first meal as a partial fast. Fasting 12 hours a day isn't harmful, they said.

    I'll see if I can find the article again. It was very informative.
  • NaomiJFoster
    NaomiJFoster Posts: 1,450 Member
    I do eat breakfast first thing when I wake up. I enjoy it. I enjoy my breakfast foods. I enjoy my time sitting leisurely with a book and something to eat, before I get moving for the day. I don't eat over my calories, because I know what my calorie goal is. I just divide that between three meals instead of two. I like breakfast, so I eat it. I don't believe that it has the power to make lose weight or not lose weight.
  • devil_in_a_blue_dress
    devil_in_a_blue_dress Posts: 5,214 Member
    Breakfast is good to kickstart the Metab...

    That's totally untrue.

    I never liked breakfast until I started eating a higher protein diet. Go figure.
  • MickeyCastello
    MickeyCastello Posts: 269
    Breakfast just seems to work for me. I didn't eat breakfast before I started MFP. Since I started eating breakfast, I find I have a better attitude in the morning, and seem to get more done in the morning. Additionally, I don't sleep in near as long, since I look forward to getting up and eating, and I find I can take a later lunch, which leads to a later dinner, which leads to less snacking at night.
  • pinkshoelaces
    pinkshoelaces Posts: 111 Member
    I'm with you. I always go over my calories when I eat a breakfast over 200 calories. It makes me ravenous for the rest of the day. I prefer a small, or no breakfast, and a medium sized lunch, a small dinner and around 400 extra calories for night time snacking because that's always been my problem. I can't seem to kick the habit, so I just save a bunch of calories for it. Skipping or skimping on breakfast seems to do the trick and I've lost weight pretty consistently so it doesn't seem to be having any negative impact.

    Just go with what you feel is right and what shows progress for you!
  • sullus
    sullus Posts: 2,839 Member
    If I dont eat breakfast .. I dont get hungry until maybe 2 or 3pm. If I eat breakfast I'm ravenous by noon

    I get up around 530-6 ... I dont want to eat until 9 or 10 after I get to work, so thats when I eat breakfast.

    Different foods have diffenret effects: English muffin and Peanut butter, Egg Sandwich, Yogurt almonds and fruit .. these hold me over nicely .. If I eat cereal .. within 2-3 hours, I'll be hungry and have the shakes and HAVE to eat ....
  • HealthyishWithMaggieG
    HealthyishWithMaggieG Posts: 397 Member
    I love breakfast foods, but I hate to eat breakfast. I'm not a morning person... at all. And, regardless of what time I get up, it still takes my body a couple hours to really "wake up". (Thankfully, I'm self-employed and work at home, so I can get up at any hour my body chooses and work as late as I want, since I'm most productive at night.) If I try to force myself to eat right away or anytime before my body is ready, I feel sick for hours. So, if I consume anything when I wake up, it might be a little bit of water.
  • tomandshell
    tomandshell Posts: 32 Member
    I've never been a big breakfast eater, but started the habit when I began my diet back in October. I tried forcing myself to eat in the morning despite not being hungry, and I found myself just as hungry as usual later in the day.

    Now I have started moving away from breakfast and saving those calories for later in the day when I am actually hungry, and it has left me more satisfied without impacting my weight loss. Shuffling those calories over to a larger lunch and/or dinner gives me better meals without going over my calorie limit, and the weight is still dropping off, slowly but surely.

    So I am no longer working under the assumption that breakfast is the most important meal of the day.
  • Skarlet13
    Skarlet13 Posts: 146 Member
    I eat breakfast everyday but it's small. A slice of gluten free toast with natural peanut butter, a banana and a coffee. Same breakfast everyday. LOL. I'm usually ready for lunch 3.5 hours later.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    WTF are you calorie goals if you're going over because you had a 300 calorie breakfast? That's a frackin' snack.
  • gramarye
    gramarye Posts: 586 Member
    I find that my best days are ones that start with breakfast and coffee -- but like other posters, my breakfast is usually pretty light (250 - 300 calories) and I can skip or postpone it just fine. Heavy breakfast foods kill me, and I find I don't like sugary breakfast foods the way I used to.
  • stephaaniemarie
    stephaaniemarie Posts: 28 Member
    I get hungry a couple of hours after getting up (usually by the time I get to work), so I always have breakfast. Some days it may be later in the morning, but I always have it. I have found that when I don't eat breakfast (once in a while on a very busy morning) that I overeat the rest of the day.
  • KANSASGIRL69
    KANSASGIRL69 Posts: 28 Member
    I have 2 scoops of Muscle Milk NATURALS upon waking up…i would suggest 30+ grams of protein anyhow upon waking…just my thoughts (300 cal) it fits into my food allowance for the day and i eat egg + egg whites, spinach, beans, squash for the 2nd meal of my day…happy eating! I LOVE MY FOOD! ITS FUEL!

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