Heavy breakfast vs. heavy dinner

I've had no issues losing weight not eating breakfast and eating large dinners but it just comes down to what works with you.

The study is flawed for a few reason because the caloric counts were based on self reporting (eg they reported what they had eaten) rather than monitored over a short period of time (only 12 weeks), therefore they're less likely to be accurate. There are also loads of studies that show no correlation between eating breakfast and improved weight management:

Al-Hourani HM, Atoum MF. Body composition, nutrient intake and physical activity patterns in young women during Ramadan. Singapore Med J. (2007)
Sensi S, Capani F. Chronobiological aspects of weight loss in obesity: effects of different meal timing regimens. Chronobiol Int. (1987)
Nonino-Borges CB, et al. Influence of meal time on salivary circadian cortisol rhythms and weight loss in obese women. Nutrition. (2007)
Keim NL, et al. Weight loss is greater with consumption of large morning meals and fat-free mass is preserved with large evening meals in women on a controlled weight reduction regimen. J Nutr. (1997)
Sofer S, et al. Greater weight loss and hormonal changes after 6 months diet with carbohydrates eaten mostly at dinner. Obesity (Silver Spring). (2011)
Schlundt DG, et al. The role of breakfast in the treatment of obesity: a randomized clinical trial. Am J Clin Nutr. (1992)

I hate large breakfasts. Most of my calories get used up right away, and I have nothing left for when I'm hungry at night. I always skip breakfast and sometimes lunch, and just eat after 3 PM.

I say follow your natural tendencies. I am not a breakfast eater, never have been! Takes me a few hours to want to eat. I tried forcing myself because I "should" and it didn't do anything but make me eat MORE over the course of the day and go over calories.

shejuicy wrote: »

I recently read a study in which women who had a 700/500/200 breakfast/lunch/dinner format lost noticeably more weight (2.5x more) than those eating 200/500/700 for breakfast/lunch/dinner.

Here is the abstract: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23512957

I always thought I should save my calories during the day to "reward" myself with a juicy dinner/ dessert, so this is interesting.

Any experiences?

As the research shows heavy on breakfast wins side by side. I try to do 700 calories to start the day. That way the glucose load can be burned during the day instead of getting stored at night as I understand the logic.

I lose weight fastest and feel my best when I skip breakfast entirely, have a small lunch, and enjoy a hearty dinner and plenty of nighttime snacks. This study is poorly designed, poorly reported, and I suspect it began with some pro-breakfast bias. Don't let it trouble you if you prefer a small or nonexistent breakfast.

I don't know, I've lost a good amount of weight listening to my body. Sometimes I eat breakfast, sometimes I don't. Sometimes I have a big dinner, sometimes I don't.

I think there's a lot more success in being able to recognize and follow your body's hunger cues than how big your breakfast is.

Need to read the whole study.

Do you have Metabolic Syndrome? I'm almost at 300 lbs and I don't have it, yet. I'm sure its around the corner, but I don't have it.

All of the women in this study had it, and it is a cluster of conditions — increased blood pressure, a high blood sugar level, excess body fat around the waist and abnormal cholesterol levels — that occur together, increasing your risk of heart disease, stroke and diabetes.

This seems like specific study for a very specific subgroup of obese women.

I think you're supposed to eat when you feel hungry and best suits your body type.

I prefer having a large breakfast later in the morning. Or maybe two smaller ones. I hate feeling hungry in the morning.
I can tolerate beeing a little bit hungry at night and normally, I'm not that hungry by dinner time, because I already had a lot of food in the day.

My mum uses the theory; breakfast like a King, lunch like a Lord, dinner like a pauper.

That's interesting. I believe it too, because the earlier you eat the majority of calories the more time your body has to digest and burn off some of it. I wish I had even somewhat of an appetite in the morning. Getting myself to eat breakfast, even a small breakfast, is a chore most days lol. I feel better if I eat my "dinner-meal" at like lunch time, then around dinner all I really am hungry for is a snack.

How does your body have more time to burn off breakfast than dinner? Do you die at bedtime? Because otherwise, your body is always burning fuel -- just going to sleep doesn't stop that process (and only slows it by a tiny percentage).