Is eating breakfast really good for you?

amyvdews
amyvdews Posts: 4 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Before I started dieting I never used to eat breakfast. When I got to work I'd have a coffee and be fine to wait till lunch before having any food, was never hungry. Now I'm eating breakfast on a diet where I'm trying to eat only 1,200 calories a day. Breakfast just adds calories on! It's now 250 more than I used to eat in the morning meaning my lunch definitely has to be smaller.
I feel I would lose more weight if I just cut out breakfast again and saved my calories to enjoy when I'm actually hungry.
I'm just trying to figure out if it's really as good for me as what posts and the Internet says.
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Replies

  • 75in2013
    75in2013 Posts: 361 Member
    Meal timing has no effect on your diet. And breakfast ist not the "most important" meal of your day. The things that really count are your calorie goal and hitting your macros/micros.

    I prefer "intermintent fasting" like you. I skip breakfast and feel less hungry during the day. Plus I can eat bigger lunch and dinner, which in turn leaves me more satisfied.

    If you like breakfast then go for it. If you don't leave it. Personal choice.
  • trjjoy
    trjjoy Posts: 666 Member
    There is no need to eat breakfast unless you really want to.
  • 75in2013
    75in2013 Posts: 361 Member
    Check out this link leangains.com/2010/10/top-ten-fasting-myths-debunked.html. #7 is about skipping breakfast.
  • KatieAnneEtcetera
    KatieAnneEtcetera Posts: 21 Member
    If you are fine without breakfast, I would save your calories for when you actually want to eat them. Personally, I feel weak and tired without breakfast, so I don't skip it. But a lot of people seem to be fine without breakfast. As someone mentioned, the timing of your calories has no real effect.
  • Buff_Man
    Buff_Man Posts: 623 Member
    Yes, in my opinion it allows you another meal to contribute to your macros and I think it helps to regulate your metabolism. I couldn't skip breakfast, I would starve and feel crap
  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,562 Member
    Buff_Man wrote: »
    Yes, in my opinion it allows you another meal to contribute to your macros and I think it helps to regulate your metabolism. I couldn't skip breakfast, I would starve and feel crap

    Your metabolism is not dependent on meal timing.

    OP, if you don't want to eat breakfast, don't eat it.
  • StealthHealth
    StealthHealth Posts: 2,417 Member
    Apart from the occasional social breakfast I've not eaten breakfasts for years. I've lost weight and gained weight whilst having my first meal at noon. It suits me fine and gives me more calories later in the day.
  • dljones67
    dljones67 Posts: 88 Member
    Intermittent fasting here too. Just coffee in the morning, lunch 11a-1p and it's normally an egg beater omelette with veggies and black beans maybe some meat. Dinner a salad with meat and my lovely black beans normally. I'd rather save my cals for 2 bigger meals and a snack later. Def. try to hit your macros/micros. If I haven't for the day that's when my evening snacks come in. If you're not hungry, don't eat. :smile:
  • runningalice
    runningalice Posts: 71 Member
    I have to eat breakfast or i tend to faint... so unless you are noticing a lack of energy or dizziness etc. due to this then don't eat breakfast if you dont want it :)
  • ziggy2006
    ziggy2006 Posts: 255 Member
    It is a matter of individual preference. I find it plausible that some individuals do better with eating breakfast while others are more successful when skipping breakfast.

    Breakfast seems to be one of those meals that I eat because it is part of my daily routine. When I skip it, I don't seem to suffer any ill effects. But I do make up the calories through the rest of my day so I don't experience any benefit, either. Since I tend to eat large meals anyway, I don't see a significant bonus from saving those breakfast calories to eat later vs. eating them at breakfast time. Perhaps if I ate meals with a smaller volume my experience might differ.
  • amyvdews
    amyvdews Posts: 4 Member
    Thanks everyone! :)
  • misskarne
    misskarne Posts: 1,765 Member
    I don't eat breakfast, usually. I was finding that eating breakfast was making me ravenously hungry by mid-morning and more likely to blow my calorie goal. So I stopped eating breakfast and now just have a glass of orange juice. Suddenly everything got so much easier.
  • cstevenson86
    cstevenson86 Posts: 158 Member
    I think there is a benefit to eating breakfast. It keeps your metabolism active. I have had success losing weight by eating every two hours. Things like greek yogurt, fruit, cottage cheese or a hard boiled egg are low in calories and would be a great breakfast for you. Good luck!
  • Gamliela
    Gamliela Posts: 2,468 Member
    I'd like to skip preparing and sitting down to brackfast. I get dizzy weak if a go without anything. :/
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    mrsmay1986 wrote: »
    I think there is a benefit to eating breakfast. It keeps your metabolism active. I have had success losing weight by eating every two hours. Things like greek yogurt, fruit, cottage cheese or a hard boiled egg are low in calories and would be a great breakfast for you. Good luck!

    Assuming you're alive, your metabolism will be active whether you eat breakfast or not.

    Lots of people find it easier to maintain a calorie deficit when they eat frequently. This leads to success for them. But people can also have success eating less frequently. It's all about whatever makes it easiest for an individual to reach a calorie deficit.
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
    mrsmay1986 wrote: »
    I think there is a benefit to eating breakfast. It keeps your metabolism active. I have had success losing weight by eating every two hours. Things like greek yogurt, fruit, cottage cheese or a hard boiled egg are low in calories and would be a great breakfast for you. Good luck!

    your metabolism is active 24/7 and breakfast has nothing to do with starting or stopping it..

    OP - the correct answer is that it does not matter.
  • LivLovLrn
    LivLovLrn Posts: 580 Member
    If your car was out of gas would you say "I can wait until later to fuel it" or would you give it some fuel to run on?
  • amusedmonkey
    amusedmonkey Posts: 10,330 Member
    Eating breakfast is only good for you if you are the kind that would get hungry before lunch and snack on convenient high calorie foods. Anything that adds extra calories you wouldn't have otherwise consumed is not good for your diet, including breakfast. Feel free to skip it.

    Personally, I sometimes eat a huge breakfast, or none at all. My weight loss has not been different with or without breakfast.
  • singingflutelady
    singingflutelady Posts: 8,736 Member
    LivLovLrn wrote: »
    If your car was out of gas would you say "I can wait until later to fuel it" or would you give it some fuel to run on?

    Your body has plenty of fuel to delay eating a few hours unless you are severely malnourished and actually starving.
  • LBuehrle8
    LBuehrle8 Posts: 4,044 Member
    It doesn't matter. Majority of the time I do not have a proper "breakfast" and I'm still steadily losing.
  • MelJuly4
    MelJuly4 Posts: 3 Member
    I would eat something since I just slept for something hours with no food
  • Nikion901
    Nikion901 Posts: 2,467 Member
    I believe breakfast is important for stable blood glucose levels for those with impaired insulin function. However, even as a Diabetic, I tend to not eat unless I'm hungry even when it throws off my medication schedule.
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    LivLovLrn wrote: »
    If your car was out of gas would you say "I can wait until later to fuel it" or would you give it some fuel to run on?

    If your car is out of gas, you should absolutely fuel it.

    But people don't automatically fill their tank every morning on their way to work.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    It's just personal preference. I enjoy eating in the morning and find it easiest to meet my goals if I break meals into three plus a snack -- more opportunities to get in some protein and vegetables. But I also don't find that I am any hungrier or less hungry based on eating in the morning, which would seem to be a significant factor, if it affects your likelihood of overeating.
  • DonaldBlinks
    DonaldBlinks Posts: 55 Member
    janejellyroll wrote: »
    LivLovLrn wrote: »
    If your car was out of gas would you say "I can wait until later to fuel it" or would you give it some fuel to run on?

    If your car is out of gas, you should absolutely fuel it.

    But people don't automatically fill their tank every morning on their way to work.

    /gavel
  • aerrianna
    aerrianna Posts: 20 Member
    If I don't eat breakfast I'm starved long before my first break. If I do eat breakfast I feel sick. I've found that shakes fill me up until I can wait for my break and they don't upset my stomach.

    Different things work for different people. So what works for you and don't let people force you into doing things their way.
  • mccindy72
    mccindy72 Posts: 7,001 Member
    LivLovLrn wrote: »
    If your car was out of gas would you say "I can wait until later to fuel it" or would you give it some fuel to run on?

    People have reserve tanks - they're called fat cells. They get broken down for energy when needed for fuel. Going a few hours without eating isn't a problem.
  • murp4069
    murp4069 Posts: 494 Member
    I don't eat breakfast either, and skipping it really helps me stay within my calorie goal. Like you, my MFP goal is only 1270 right now, and I prefer to have my biggest meal at dinner. If I have breakfast other than coffee, even something small, before I even finish dinner I'll have blown my goal.

    Bottom line, eat how and when it is right for you to reach your goals and satisfies your hunger patterns. If you don't want breakfast and you aren't hungry in the mornings, don't have breakfast.
  • Gamliela
    Gamliela Posts: 2,468 Member
    Nikion901 wrote: »
    I believe breakfast is important for stable blood glucose levels for those with impaired insulin function. However, even as a Diabetic, I tend to not eat unless I'm hungry even when it throws off my medication schedule.

    I'm thinking in my case, no food for over 12 hours is what the weak dizzy thing is about.

    So do you get dizzy w/out breakie?
  • nordlead2005
    nordlead2005 Posts: 1,303 Member
    LivLovLrn wrote: »
    If your car was out of gas would you say "I can wait until later to fuel it" or would you give it some fuel to run on?

    If my car had tons of fuel would I top it up every morning or even every day? With this analogy every one of us should stop eating until we have very low BF%.

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