The breakfast debate
jusladycook
Posts: 16 Member
Everyone says breakfast is the most important meal of the day but I struggle with this 1. Because I often don't get time and would rather chill with a cup of tea than eat and 2. I find it makes me hungrier and I end up eating more throughout the day. I tend to have breakfast or straight into lunch at 11 at work. Id appreciate any advice on how tgis affects weight loss?
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Luckily for you it has zero effect on weight loss
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Skip that meal. That is what I an many other do. Eat a big snack before your mid-day meal. Or eat your first meal at your lunch time.
The time of day does not have any affect on weight loss. The number of calories at the end of the day counts
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Thankyou0
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I am the same, I start work at 7 am no chance I'm eating before that, ill either eat at about 10 ( something smaller like porridge or toast and poached egg) then have a bigger lunch, or just have an early lunch at 12 then maybe a snack at 3ish, I work crazy restaurant hours and to be honest the time I eat has never effected my weight loss only WHAT I eat 0
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Thanks I work school hours without a break so it's a bit of a rushed day for me regular meals does not fit into my lifestyle0
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Doesn't matter if you eat breakfast or not...... or at what time you eat.0
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Breakfast is by far the least important meal of the day. we were trained to believe that from cereal company's and other traditions, which are are fairly new (past 100 years). Are bodies have not changed since we were hunter gatherers, are ancestors would hunt during the day and eat most of there calories later in the evening. They would also fast not because they wanted to but because they had no choice when would was not abailable.
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Brilliant I'm glad I asked I don't feel under pressure to stick to regular meal times which makes it so much easier for me0
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chriss0787 wrote: »Breakfast is by far the least important meal of the day. we were trained to believe that from cereal company's and other traditions, which are are fairly new (past 100 years). Are bodies have not changed since we were hunter gatherers, are ancestors would hunt during the day and eat most of there calories later in the evening. They would also fast not because they wanted to but because they had no choice when would was not abailable.
Hit send on accident :0 lol.
To finish what I was saying the reason you end up being hunger later in the day and not as much in the morning is because are bodies have evolved to be that way.
Look up intermittent fasting, you'll be amazed, best thing I ever did.
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Eat the way that your comfortable with. I have read loads of sites and they all say different things. However, when I got to reliable sites (not Bro Science ones!) they say as long as your eating a good healthy diet then the timing of its not that important. Ok mibby its important to world class athletes, which I certainly aint :-) so us mere mortals can get along just fine without a strict eating schedule :-)0
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Not important. Doesn't effect weight loss
If you read the bunk... It MAY make you less hungry during the day. It MAY make you less likely to make poor food choices at other meals. It MAY give you more energy throughout the day.
It may also not do any of those things. It may also have the complete opposite effect...like you've noticed. I've noticed the same things, I feel a lot more alert and less hungry when I start to eat later.
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I skip breakfast and have something small around 11 before my lunch. But I have heard many things that your metabolism kick-starts as soon as you eat, so you're going to metabolise food quicker but also it's going to make you hungry... Then I've heard that you shouldn't eat anything until your body has fully woken up (which takes 2-3 hours depending on the person) as it can make you feel sluggish. Hmm, interesting debate.0
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I found the same thing as you - if I had breakfast, I was starving again well before lunchtime. Now I wake up with glass of orange juice and don't eat until just after 12.
It's about what works for you, it won't stop you losing weight.0 -
I think that the reason why so many people stress eating breakfast is because they might be like me lol. If I wait until lunch time I'll be starving and overeat like CRAZY! Like others said, it's all about the calories you intake by the end of the day. Listen to your body and eat your meals as you see fit0
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Surely it's natural to just eat when you're hungry... if that's 11.30am for example then so be it, don't let media or other people pressure you. Your body is telling you to eat now as soon as your tummy grumbles! If you're not hungry, don't force a meal down your neck. I however am starving within an hour of waking lol0
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Breakfast is only necessary if you take medication in the morning that must be taken with food or if you have a tendency towards low blood sugar and need the energy to accomplish what you need to. Otherwise what meals you eat and when you eat them does not matter. Some find meal timing helps training and/or athletic performance but for the average person it means nothing.0
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Linseymout wrote: »Doesn't matter if you eat breakfast or not...... or at what time you eat.
This .0 -
This is why I make a point of eating breakfast. If I wait until lunch I am really hungry and don't feel satiated by a normal meal, and would end up eating way more. But, if your patterns work for you, that's awesome! That's what it's all about is making what you are doing fit your life!klwells444 wrote: »I think that the reason why so many people stress eating breakfast is because they might be like me lol. If I wait until lunch time I'll be starving and overeat like CRAZY! Like others said, it's all about the calories you intake by the end of the day. Listen to your body and eat your meals as you see fit
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jusladycook wrote: »Everyone says breakfast is the most important meal of the day but I struggle with this 1. Because I often don't get time and would rather chill with a cup of tea than eat and 2. I find it makes me hungrier and I end up eating more throughout the day. I tend to have breakfast or straight into lunch at 11 at work. Id appreciate any advice on how tgis affects weight loss?
Who's everyone
I don't
I believe breakfast is a choice - eat when you want to your calorie goal0 -
This is why I make a point of eating breakfast. If I wait until lunch I am really hungry and don't feel satiated by a normal meal, and would end up eating way more. But, if your patterns work for you, that's awesome! That's what it's all about is making what you are doing fit your life!klwells444 wrote: »I think that the reason why so many people stress eating breakfast is because they might be like me lol. If I wait until lunch time I'll be starving and overeat like CRAZY! Like others said, it's all about the calories you intake by the end of the day. Listen to your body and eat your meals as you see fit
Who says you have to wait til lunchtime? When is lunchtime anyway? Technically breakfast is the first thing you eat, regardless of the time... I eat breakfast at 11 ish, and lunch at 4ish. Perfect PreWO!0 -
I take omeprazole for acid reflux (that's over-the-counter Nexium). A gastro doc told me earlier this year that it works properly only if you take it first thing in the morning and eat a little something 30 minutes later, to activate it. Sure enough, I've been doing that for about six months, and my symptoms have completely gone away after years of trouble. So I have to eat something for breakfast, but it needn't be much, maybe no more than a glass of juice or an egg. I'm happiest when my breakfast and lunch are moderate and I get a nice full dinner within my calorie budget. I don't get hungry or burned out during the day. Our primitive ancestors did lots of feasting and fasting as the dicey food supply warranted; I don't think this modern business of doling out the calories on a careful hourly schedule every day means much. Unless you try variations yourself and notice a real change, it's just a fad.0
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Physiologically, when you eat makes no difference from a weight loss standpoint. Only what you eat does (as in, how much).
Psychologically, eating at certain times may work better/worse for you. Do what works.0 -
I like breakfast...
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cwolfman13 wrote: »I like breakfast...
this!
Just as some people are more satisfied eating 8x a day and others prefer a 6-hour "refeeding" window...you have to do what works for you. If I did not eat until lunch, I would be so famished, I would make bad choices.0 -
Right there with you. FWIW, lots of people prefer an eating pattern they call 16:8 Intermittent Fasting (or 18:6 IF), wherein they consume all their calories for the day in an 8 hour window, typically something like 11AM- 7PM. Very popular around here.
Agree that the whole "breakfast is the most important meal" was a cereal sales ploy. Some people feel best with breakfast. Others don't. Figure out what makes you feel best.0 -
Not as controversial as you thought, huh?
I like breakfast early, but I also like eating my dinner super early (ideally around 4-5pm), so I'm hungry when I wake up at 4:30. All that matters is that I get all my calories in at some point. When that is is entirely up to personal preference.0 -
This has been really helpful thanks guys and girls0
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Full disclosure--I don't eat breakfast most days because of the reasons OP mentioned (not really hungry and breakfast seems to make me eat more throughout the day). I've had no issues losing over 40 pounds in the last 6 months.
However (and I know I will trigger some nerves on this), there have been studies showing a difference in weight loss depending on meal timing, even when controlling for total calories. I posted this back in October (http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10266540/meal-timing-and-weight-loss/p1) for the sole purpose of finding studies to disprove the breakfast myth because I don't eat breakfast. Although people made some great points about the first study relying on self-reporting and not completely controlling for activity, these factors would affect both groups in the study. What I was never able to find was a scientific study that showed the opposite (that meal timing is completely irrelevant).
I'm not in any way suggesting that you change your eating strategy. I didn't, and I'm doing great. For me, even if I could say with confidence that eating breakfast would increase my rate of loss, I would still do what I'm doing because it works for me and makes me happy.
I'm just throwing this out there as another point of view, hopefully one that another MFP poster can finally help disprove for me 0 -
You have to do what makes you happy and works with your schedule. I have to eat breakfast because I am so hungry when I get up in the morning ( I have an early dinner usually around 5 then a snack around 9).0
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