Breakfast, Meal Timing, and Hunger Issues

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TISquirrel
TISquirrel Posts: 5
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi, so I'm a 19 year old college student. I'm a guy, 5"8, 235 pounds with a goal of 170 pounds.

So, my college classes start by 8:45 am every morning, so im typically up by 7 am every morning. i ussually eat breakfast in the car kn the way to class and Breakfast is totallu destroying me... I've ate all kinds of breakfasts from a 150 calorie breakfast to a king sizre 600 calrie brealfast. It's always the same result. By about 12 o clock after my first classes are done, I'm literally running to the cafeteria or lunch box in my car. I end up over doing it to the extreme for lunch, and fall to temptations very easily from hunger. Now, because i opted tp eat lunch so early, same exact thing happens at around 4 or 5 o clock and I lose it. Then later that night
, because I ate dinner so early, I'm digging through the fridge before bed.

I've found though, that if I skip breakfast completely, I have so much more control over myself at lunch time. I never even feel hungry. If I don't touch food, i could easily go to dinner without feeling a thing. I have so much more control that I even go for the hewlthiest and most reasonably portioned stuff ag lunch, where as if i eat breakfast, I end up drooling over the Double Cheeseburger the size of a wendys Triple cheeseburger at my school cafeteria.

I've found that skipping breakfast or opting for a very late breakfast helped with my control issues. Sometimes I'll eat a breakfast at around 10:30 or 11:00 when the professors lets us move aroumd for about 15 or 20 minutes since its a 3 hour class. Then I eat again at about 2 or clock or 2:30 when i still have control right before my next class, then i can easily hold off until 6 or 7 pm and I dont feel the need to stuff my face at 11 pm or midnight right before bed.

Same results if i just skip even the 10:30 or 11 o clock breakfast.

While this gives me far better control and results, i get criticizrd and told I'm doing something very bad by waiting so late to eat my first meal or skipping it entirely.

I don't really know what to do here...

Summarized Version

I have to wake up and go to sleep late.
Eating any kind of breakfast when i wake up sends me on a food craving insand murder spree at lunch and dinner
Skipping or eating a very late breakfast/brunch breakfast gives me billion times more control and can eat a bit later.
Its Unhealthy, the way I'm doing breakfast, but i never stick to my weightloss goals when i do eat breakfast, so I don't know what to do.

Replies

  • _Zardoz_
    _Zardoz_ Posts: 3,987 Member
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    Meal timing is entirely personal preference and has no bearing on weightloss. As long as you are getting sufficient nutrition eat your calories when it works best for you
  • vismal
    vismal Posts: 2,463 Member
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    The whole "breakfast is the most important meal" thing is one of the greatest propaganda campaigns ever launched. Breakfast is no more or less important then any other meal. Skipping meals is also fine. If skipping breakfast works for you, keep skipping breakfast. I lost the majority of my weight only eating between 4pm and midnight. Many people find that if they eat shortly after waking they are more hungry then if they wait until later in the day to eat. Plenty of people find the opposite to be true and need to eat breakfast in order to control hunger. The moral of this story is that no 1 eating plan is correct for everyone. If skipping breakfast works for you, keep doing it!
  • lemonsnowdrop
    lemonsnowdrop Posts: 1,298 Member
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    Don't listen to anyone besides yourself when it comes to meal timing. I typically don't eat until 11 AM because if I eat any earlier I'll be ravenous all day. Many people skip breakfast without any adverse side effects.
  • Lizzy622
    Lizzy622 Posts: 3,705 Member
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    Do what works for you.
  • 4legsRbetterthan2
    4legsRbetterthan2 Posts: 19,590 MFP Moderator
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    Meal timing is entirely personal preference and has no bearing on weightloss. As long as you are getting sufficient nutrition eat your calories when it works best for you

    Agreed

    OP: I did something very similar for a long time (and saw great results with losing) because I had the eact same problem. It seemed like the longer I waited to eat breakfast the more successful my eating was that day, whereas when I ate early I just wanted to eat alllll dayyyyy longgggg. Do what works for you.
  • TISquirrel
    TISquirrel Posts: 5
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    Thanks for the fast responses guys! Looks like I'm going to keep my current system going! Thanks agin.
  • arac62
    arac62 Posts: 65 Member
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    I completely know what you're talking about. I used to eat a late breakfast or no breakfast at all when I was in school because sitting in class for hours gave me little distraction from how starving I was when I ate when I woke up.

    One thing I did do that allowed me to eat when I woke up and not die of hunger was to eat something that was high in fiber and protein instead of carb based. I usually had 1 cup of plain greek yogurt mixed with one cup of fiber one cereal drizzled with some honey and half a grapefruit. This is the only breakfast I have found that worked for me.
  • Seabee74
    Seabee74 Posts: 314
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    I eat my first meal usually around 11 am.. I'm losing weight and doing fine.. That's all :-).
  • iamuniqueiam
    iamuniqueiam Posts: 68 Member
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    Same as all the above posters. I never eat breakfast or I'm starving all day. I usually "break my fast" anywhere from 11:30 am to 1 pm.
  • catcalledjinx
    catcalledjinx Posts: 85
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    I used to be obsessed with breakfast. As soon as I got out of bed, I was straight to the kitchen for a boiled egg and toast, with a cup of tea of course. It was the most enjoyable meal of the day, always the same and always a pleasure, and always hungry by mid-morning.

    Then I gave the 5:2 diet a shot and start skipping breakfast altogether on my fasting days. All of a sudden, I don't feel like I need to have breakfast any more and when I do have something, I am happy with just the toast and a cup of tea. When I don't have breakfast I generally feel less hungry all day and find my fasting days much easier to cope with.

    Good luck :)
  • angela233Z
    angela233Z Posts: 312 Member
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    search on intermittent fasting or "Eat, Stop, Eat"

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