To Breakfast Or Not To Breakfast

PrincessBanana89
PrincessBanana89 Posts: 24 Member
edited November 29 in Health and Weight Loss
That is the question right?? I have noticed several of my friends on MFP do not log any breakfast..I thought a well balanced breakfast was key to not only losing weight, but keeping it off. Thoughts?
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Replies

  • Carlos_421
    Carlos_421 Posts: 5,132 Member
    Breakfast has nothing to do with losing weight or keeping it off.

    It may be key to keeping some people from getting so hungry they eat too much later in the day but this isn't the case for everyone.

    The idea that you need to eat breakfast to get your metabolism running for the day so you can lose weight is a total myth that just refuses to die.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    PrincessBanana89 wrote: »
    That is the question right?? I have noticed several of my friends on MFP do not log any breakfast..I thought a well balanced breakfast was key to not only losing weight, but keeping it off. Thoughts?

    It's irrelevant...

    Personally I like breakfast and can't imagine going without it...but it's irrelevant to losing weight or keeping weight off. The whole "kick start" your metabolism thing is just a bunch of bull *kitten*...it's mythology.
  • disasterman
    disasterman Posts: 746 Member
    Agree 100% with the other posters here. Do what works for you and makes you feel best.
  • vczK2t
    vczK2t Posts: 309 Member
    It may be key to keeping some people from getting so hungry they eat too much later in the day but this isn't the case for everyone.

    this is my reason. i also discovered when i have a good amount of protein in the morning, i tend not to nosh the rest of the morning and i am good and satisfied until really close to lunch time.
  • ladyreva78
    ladyreva78 Posts: 4,080 Member
    It's a matter of personal preference. Without breakfast I get cranky and can't concentrate on my work. My brother gets cranky if he has to eat breakfast. We're both doing fine with our weight-loss goals.
  • ManiacalLaugh
    ManiacalLaugh Posts: 1,048 Member
    I lost a lot of weight without eating a breakfast on most days and eating late at night (which people say you should also avoid).

    It's all about personal preference and hunger (assuming you don't have medical issues such as acid reflux or diabetes). I have occasional days when I wake up starving from the get-go and I'll definitely eat breakfast. Every other day, skipping it and fasting until noon really helps me keep my calorie count down.
  • emmycantbemeeko
    emmycantbemeeko Posts: 303 Member
    Do what you like.

    I love breakfast and would never give up voluntarily, and I start to get hangry early in the day if I skip it, but some people just aren't hungry first thing in the morning (so they tell me; I can't actually imagine feeling this way). Not eating first thing is not a problem *if it's not a problem for that person*, if you see what I mean.

    It's been found that for many people, skipping breakfast may make them more likely to over-eat later, and for those people, eating breakfast is important. But if you've never been a breakfast person and you don't find going without it makes you eat more than you should later, there's nothing magic about adding it that will make you lose weight.
  • mreeves261
    mreeves261 Posts: 728 Member
    I have a mental block with chewing anything in the morning, don't know why, just hate it. I make myself a smoothie for the morning, "drinking" my calories in the morning is much more agreeable to me mentally. I do this simply to keep myself from ravaging the kitchen later in the day. It's all about what works for each individual. I personally lose all self control if I don't start my day with something for my body to use.
  • rgbmore
    rgbmore Posts: 85 Member
    I eat enough to fuel me(~100calories), have a little snack for lunch (~100), and then save about ~1000-1400 for dinner. I can't sleep without a full stomach, so this works for me. I don't feel hungry in the morning so I don't bother. As long as I am under my calorie limit, I've still been losing weight.

    I consulted my doctor and he said it's totally fine to skip or do just the minimum to tide you over. However, he said if you get light headed, headaches, dizziness, that is your body telling you that this is NOT the plan for you. :)
  • peaceout_aly
    peaceout_aly Posts: 2,018 Member
    I think it's a matter of personal preference. I like to eat breakfast for two reasons. #1, I work out in the morning. If I worked out, went to work and then waited until lunch to eat, I would be one hangry woman. #2, I feel as if I have less of a tendency to "binge" eat or make unwise food choices when I start my day with a balanced breakfast.
  • jeepinshawn
    jeepinshawn Posts: 642 Member
    Like everyone else said, personal preference. When I was focusing on losing I tended to skip breakfast because that was 400 calories I could use else where and I wasn't typically that hungry first thing in the morning. Now in maintenance I eat breakfast every dang morning, it is the only way I can hit my protein goals. If I skip breakfast I end up eating crap food to try and make my calorie goals at the end of the night, or I just dont eat enough which is counter productive to my half marathon and strength training goals.
  • rybo
    rybo Posts: 5,424 Member
    Eating breakfast isn't a requirement. For me it leads to insatiable hunger and eating more.
  • miche173
    miche173 Posts: 50 Member
    Also a no breakfast person. For some reason, it's easier for me not to eat if I don't start eating. So, skipping breakfast allows for more calories during the day, and especially at night. I still love breakfast foods, I just don't eat them first thing in the morning. Definitely a matter of personal preference.
  • ElizabethOakes2
    ElizabethOakes2 Posts: 1,038 Member
    My husband is a no-breakfast person. He gets physically sick if he eats too soon after waking up. But he can also work out at midnight. I have to eat within an hour of waking or I turn into Mrs. Low-Blood-Sugar-Will-Eat-The-Cat-Cranky-Lady. But by 8 pm, I'm pretty much done with my day and completely wound down.

    Just do what works well for you.
  • Sarahb29
    Sarahb29 Posts: 952 Member
    I'm a no breakfast person, I have a big coffee with heavy cream in it every day and that's what I have until lunch. There's no real reason for it other than I love having a big dinner later feeling like I get to pig out. At the end of the day you're getting the same amount of calories whether it's in the AM or PM.
  • Trump2016
    Trump2016 Posts: 80 Member
    PrincessBanana89 wrote: »
    I thought a well balanced breakfast was key to not only losing weight, but keeping it off. Thoughts?

    My thoughts are that people believe this silly myth due to the exorbitant amount of advertising money poured into stupid breakfast products that profit from perpetuating this, well, silly myth.
  • chiptease
    chiptease Posts: 70 Member
    I have been skipping or eating small breakfasts for over a year. If I do eat, it's typically a fruit or something similar. Do what feels right for you. As for weight loss/health, I don't think it negatively impacts either.
  • samchez0
    samchez0 Posts: 364 Member
    I don't think it makes a big difference. I could see where some people might binge if they don't eat breakfast because they are hungry. I occasionally skip breakfast like today but it's not a regular pccurence.
  • CoffeeNCardio
    CoffeeNCardio Posts: 1,847 Member
    I hate breakfast the meal, and love breakfast foods. So we have "breakfast for dinner" as often as we can.

    There's nothing to the idea that eating/not eating breakfast has anything at all to do with weight loss. Even saying 'some people use it to not binge' I think is misrepresentative. Cause some people keep chocolate chips in the cupboard and savor 2 or 3 in order to stave off a binge, and no one is saying that's got anything to do with weight loss success. It's just a behavior some people engage in to avoid other behaviors.

  • Jeniccm
    Jeniccm Posts: 44 Member
    No breakfast for me either, I am not generally hungry until lunch and much prefer having the extra calories for a bedtime snack
  • mjwarbeck
    mjwarbeck Posts: 699 Member
    I always have a breakfast...regardless if I am hungry. It is not a lot of calories. It forces a routine. It sets a good example for the kiddies.
  • golfergirl92
    golfergirl92 Posts: 79 Member
    I usually wake up at 4 am for work so most days my stomach wakes me up around that time cause it's HUNGRY!!!! I literally can't go to work without eating breakfast- usually some greek yogurt with fruit and some kind of carb like a granola bar or toast. I mix it up with eggs or oatmeal but it has to have protein and fiber. AND my coffee....gotta start the day with one cup of cappuccino from my Keurig. About the only time I don't eat breakfast is when I'm sick and the thought of eating makes me nauseous like this morning with my cold....ate some oatmeal but gave up about two bites into my yogurt bowl. Drank half my coffee and sipped on Sprite for the remainder of the morning. I also have to take a snack like a protein shake/bar with me because I usually don't get to go to lunch until 11:30-noon-1 pm depending on how busy we are. I can't go more than 3-4 hours without eating because I'll want to eat all the yummy extras in my bakery! Working with sweets all day is a blessing and a curse.....
  • MKEgal
    MKEgal Posts: 3,250 Member
    edited February 2016
    I see that nobody has given any support / proof for their position, pro or con.
    So let's introduce some science into the discussion.

    Here are 5 studies which concluded that having breakfast,
    and even having a fairly large breakfast,
    makes for easier / faster / more efficient weight loss.

    1 - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24809437

    2 - This study compared eating a small breakfast, medium lunch, and large dinner, [200, 500, 700 cal]
    with eating a large breakfast, medium lunch, and small dinner [700, 500, 200 cal].
    "The [large breakfast] group showed greater weight loss and waist circumference reduction ... fasting glucose,
    insulin [&] triglycerides ... decreased significantly to a greater extent in the [large breakfast] group."
    In addition, hunger was less and satiety was greater.
    Abstract: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23512957
    Full text:
    http://genetics.doctorsonly.co.il/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Jakubowicz-at-al-Obesity-2013-oby20460.pdf

    3 - "subjects assigned to high caloric intake during breakfast lost significantly more weight than those assigned to
    high caloric intake during the dinner"
    Abstract: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24467926
    Full text: http://www.tradewindsports.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/Nutrient-Timing-and-Obesity-2014.pdf

    4 - "data suggest that a low-calorie Mediterranean diet with a higher amount of calories in the first part of the day
    could establish a greater reduction in fat mass and improved insulin sensitivity than a typical daily diet."
    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24809437

    5 - "Breakfast is associated with lower body weight"
    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24898236
  • zira91
    zira91 Posts: 670 Member
    To breakfast for me. I have gastric and if i dont get my breakfast, ill be grumpy, hungry and my stomach will ache.
    Plus, breakfast is the meal for me after my morning workout.
    I need breakfast. Other's might not. and some really cant eat breakfast. It depends. :)
  • murp4069
    murp4069 Posts: 494 Member
    I'm another no breakfast person. The only time I ate breakfast regularly was as a kid and my parents made me eat it. I personally am rarely hungry in the morning, but I like a big dinner. I also tend to feel sick if I eat in the morning. So not eating it helps keep me at a deficit. If I'm hungry I eat, but I never force myself. Coffee with some cream is my breakfast. :)
  • angelamichelle_xo
    angelamichelle_xo Posts: 646 Member
    BREAKFAST IS FOR EARLY RISERS.
    otherwise ots just lunch.
  • Sweepypie
    Sweepypie Posts: 161 Member
    I have always had breakfast! Made sure the children had it to. It's good for concentration according to the experts. On the TV yesterday they said that having breakfast stopped binging in the evening! I never eat after 6pm.
  • QuilterInVA
    QuilterInVA Posts: 672 Member
    Do you drive your car on empty? Why do that to your body?
  • MalkinMagic71
    MalkinMagic71 Posts: 1,433 Member
    I'm never that hungry in the morning, usually if I do I eat.. it's oatmeal(about 130 calories) or a yogurt(about 80 calories). I eat a modest lunch with snack in the morning and then a bigger dinner and a snack in the evening.

    It's all about what works for you though. At the end of the day its about CICO over the course of a day ,not when you eat your calories.
  • StencilChild
    StencilChild Posts: 60 Member
    rybo wrote: »
    Eating breakfast isn't a requirement. For me it leads to insatiable hunger and eating more.

    I thought I was the only one! When I eat a full meal for breakfast at 6am...I am STARVING by 8-9am. If I don't eat until 10-11am, I can go till 2-4pm until I am hungry again.

    But since I work out in the AM, I try to eat cottage cheese, some fruit, and a hard boiled egg.
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