How bad is it to SKIP meals if your on a diet

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pany12
pany12 Posts: 2
in Health and Weight Loss
22 year old male

have been dieting for a month or so and lost a stone or so. sometimes i dont feel hungry when i wake upo (i.e. should i skip breakfast if im not hungry?) sometimes in the evenings i dont eel hungry for dinner so should i skip that? what are the disadvantages of doing this if any?

Replies

  • mommyrunning
    mommyrunning Posts: 495 Member
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    If you aren't hungry then I don't think it is bad to skip a meal but I don't think a person should do it just to lose weight (like those who try to overly restrict their calories). I think overall it is more important to eat a nutritious diet and do what works for you. I prefer to eat every few hours while some prefer twice a day.
  • higgins8283801
    higgins8283801 Posts: 844 Member
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    It isn't bad as long as at the end of the day you're still hitting your caloric and macro goals.
  • ebertus
    ebertus Posts: 3 Member
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    It's perfectly fine as long as you don't find yourself overeating later in the day because of it. But that shouldn't be a problem as long as you're tracking calories on here.

    Some people actually use this as a diet strategy (not eating until lunch time and stopping eating by, say, 8pm at night). Look into intermittent fasting or the lean gains program if you're interested.

    I personally just have a cup of coffee for breakfast each morning. Frees up more calories for the meals later in the day which I enjoy more than breakfast anyway. I usually eat my first real meal around 11am and stop eating by 7pm.
  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
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    As long as you're hitting your calorie and nutrition goals for the day, meal timing and meal distribution is largely personal preference. Choose whichever makes you feel best throughout the day.
  • jasonmh630
    jasonmh630 Posts: 2,850 Member
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    22 year old male

    have been dieting for a month or so and lost a stone or so. sometimes i dont feel hungry when i wake upo (i.e. should i skip breakfast if im not hungry?) sometimes in the evenings i dont eel hungry for dinner so should i skip that? what are the disadvantages of doing this if any?

    For weight loss, meal timing and whether you eat a certain meal has no bearing on weight loss. All you need is a caloric deficit.
  • Ninkyou
    Ninkyou Posts: 6,666 Member
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    As long as you're hitting your calorie and nutrition goals for the day, meal timing and meal distribution is largely personal preference. Choose whichever makes you feel best throughout the day.

    This.

    As long as you're hitting your calorie/nutritional goals, whether you skip a meal or not doesn't matter. Meal frequency and/or timing is pretty irrelevant. Eat when you want to, just make sure to hit your goals.
  • RAWR1202
    RAWR1202 Posts: 22
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    If you skip a meal, you're more likely to overeat the next time you eat.
    I had to skip breakfast today because I woke up too late so was in a hurry and didn't have any free time to eat until around 2pm. I ate lunch ridiculously quickly because I was so hungry and only just managed to resist grabbing a huge bowl of cereal to go with it by eating a bit of fruit.
    However, if you think overeating won't be a problem for you and you really aren't hungry, then it won't hurt.
  • shabaity
    shabaity Posts: 791 Member
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    Some people do well not eating breakfast I've never been a morning eater and I'm down 12 lbs plus I can still eat that calzone I love so much when I go out.
  • nicsflyingcircus
    nicsflyingcircus Posts: 2,491 Member
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    I don't eat breakfast, but that's not for weight loss, it's because I'm not interested in eating/not hungry early in the day. If you're not hungry, don't force yourself to eat. I usually just have coffee, then eat somewhere around noon(roughly), and I get up at 6am
  • getinmykitchen
    getinmykitchen Posts: 11 Member
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    I was just wondering about this topic too. Lately I skip breakfast and just have coffee, this frees up a lot of calories for later in the day so when I cook I feel less like I am on a diet. In the morning I plan out my food for the day on MFP while I drink coffee.

    Yesterday I decided to experiment and see how things were if I added breakfast back in. I used to a big breakfast in the morning thinking that it would help me feel less hungry during the day. The opposite happened! I had a harder time staying within calories and felt so much hungrier later in the day when I had to eat smaller meals to compensate for the breakfast.
  • vmmbrown
    vmmbrown Posts: 2
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    Not hungry, don't eat. Not feeling hungry is a blessing for anyone on a weight loss journey.
  • Kalikel
    Kalikel Posts: 9,626 Member
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    What do you mean by "bad"?
  • Mr_Knight
    Mr_Knight Posts: 9,532 Member
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    have been dieting for a month or so and lost a stone or so. sometimes i dont feel hungry when i wake upo (i.e. should i skip breakfast if im not hungry?) sometimes in the evenings i dont eel hungry for dinner so should i skip that? what are the disadvantages of doing this if any?

    It's fine. If it doesn't cause you problems, there are no disadvantages.
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
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    It isn't bad as long as at the end of the day you're still hitting your caloric and macro goals.

    This^

    Meal timing isn't important. Just make sure you are getting enough nutrition.
  • jennifer_417
    jennifer_417 Posts: 12,344 Member
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    As long as you're hitting your calorie and nutrition goals for the day, meal timing and meal distribution is largely personal preference. Choose whichever makes you feel best throughout the day.

    This^^^
  • chrisdavey
    chrisdavey Posts: 9,834 Member
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    pleasantly surprised with all of the answers. Lots of smart people around here :smile:


    Meal timing is far less important than total macronutrients intaken. So if you aren't hungry, wait til later.

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