Importance of breakfast

I don't eat breakfast, per se. I find I am hungrier throughout the day when I eat within an hour of waking up. I have my first meal around 9:30 or 10:00, lunch around 1:00, and dinner around 8:00. I am less hungry and am able to keep my daily calories lower.

You cannot "jumpstart" your metabolism by eating breakfast. That's a myth.

Some people find they do better when they eat a big breakfast. Some like me don't. Experiment, find what works for you, and do that! Good luck!

To me, it's not worth it. If I'm hungry, I eat. If not, I wait until I am hungry. I do not find that if I eat breakfast, I eat less throughout the day. I still get hungry at the same times and eat just as much (therefore, eating more since I had breakfast too).

scoii wrote: »

1 - you will eat less calories throughout the day

maybe, maybe not. If having a breakfast means that you are less likely to eat more later on then yes, that holds true. But, if having a breakfast is additional to the other food you would usually eat, then no, in that instance the breakfast is just extra food.

If you calorie count then how you split that food up into meals and snacks is irrelevant for weight loss (or gain) although some methods may help with satiety or compliance.

scoii wrote: »

2 - your metabolism burns more calories throughout the day

No. If you ate your breakfast calories at supper time your calorific burn for the day would be the same as if you ate them first thing in the morning.

Breakfast just usually makes me hungrier, faster. Doesn't seem to matter what I eat, unless I stuff myself, which I don't want to do.

scoii wrote: »

I've always read that eating breakfast is important for 2 reasons:

1 - you will eat less calories throughout the day
2 - your metabolism burns more calories throughout the day

The problem is that my lunch and dinner calories are reasonably constant whether I eat breakfast or not.

So is it worth eating a breakfast for metabolic reasons alone. If so, what is the minimum amount, is 2 belvita or equivalent with a brew enough.

Number one is variable. It works for some but works the opposite for others.
Number two is entirely false. Your metabolism doesn't slow down and cannot be sped up (outside of the temporary boost from exercise).

So whether or not you eat breakfast is up to you.

I think both 1 and 2 are really bad ideas that keep getting perpetuated, and are minimally applicable (at best). #1 depends mostly on your hormones and hormone sensitivity. 2 has to do with "the thermic effect of food" which is so minimal it's not worth mentioning. Neither applies to me at all. I do intermittent fasting and only eat 12pm to 8pm. I eat a small noon meal, 3-4pm snack, and a big dinner. I lost 40 lbs and 11 inches off my waist, I have 10% body fat and a six pack at 47. Aside from not even wanting to eat breakfast....if I do? I eat WAY more during the day. Because either way I need a big dinner. So I can eat little meals all day and still need about a 1200 calorie dinner.

Go with your personal preference. A lot of people skip breakfast, I am one of those people who can't skip it, for medical and hunger reasons, both. I need a decent breakfast or I'm not fun to deal with the rest of the day. Lunch though I don't have a problem skipping. To each their own, doesn't matter really when you eat, just how much.

If I didn't go to the gym in the morning I wouldn't eat anything until about 1pm. So I drink a protein shake on the way. I'm doing just fine. The breakfast myth is just that, a myth. Whatever your needs are, you do you.

I drink a 8 0z glass of lemon water 1 hour before I have my coffee. Depending how hungry I feel I can go until 10-11:00 before I have solid food. I try to have 4 to 5 small meals a day so I don't become starved and go off my 1000 calorie food plan. So far I have lost 15 lbs. in 3 months along with 2-3 days of cardio and weights.

scoii wrote: »

I've always read that eating breakfast is important for 2 reasons:

1 - you will eat less calories throughout the day
2 - your metabolism burns more calories throughout the day

The problem is that my lunch and dinner calories are reasonably constant whether I eat breakfast or not.

So is it worth eating a breakfast for metabolic reasons alone. If so, what is the minimum amount, is 2 belvita or equivalent with a brew enough.

No and so much no.

fr33sia12 wrote: »

I'm guessing you mean a breakfast meal, as breakfast is simply the first meal of the day, so if you eat as soon as you get up or 5 hours later, everyone still has a "breakfast"

everyone doesn't have breakfast. some people eat once a day. everyone in the world isnt the same. Sometimes I only eat a large dinner.

I usually eat dinner around 7:00 and by the morning (and after my morning workout) I'm starving and wouldn't be able to make it to lunch if I wanted to. Eat if you need it. If you aren't hungry and you don't need the extra calories or protein, don't bother.

ArmyofAdrian wrote: »

Breakfast is a conspiracy invented by the Cereal Companies.

My Top 5 Breakfast Cereals
1 Sugar Crisp
2 Crispy Critters
3 Reese's
4 Captain Crunch Peanut Butter
5 Life

As a child, I was a cereal offender. All part of a balanced breakfast though!

ArmyofAdrian wrote: »

Breakfast is a conspiracy invented by the Cereal Companies.

Yep, I believe the "breakfast is the most important meal of the day" studies were funded by Kellogs

Eh. Breakfast literally means "to break one's fast". It refers to not eating wbile asleep. So breakfast is technically very important, because one should eat at least one meal a day.

Joking and semantics aside, it's all down to the person. I hate eating when I first wake up. Actually, I hate everything when I first wake up. I'm an angry mute with a habit of slapping kitchen appliances for the first hour or so. After my first cup of coffee though, I'll eat a cheese stick or a cup of Greek yogurt (90-150 calories, whichever my stomach will tolerate) and that keeps my sugar stable (not diabetic, just hypoglycemia) until my stomach wakes up 3-4 hours later and food becomes a thing I enjoy again.

My roommate can not survive without breakfast less than an hour after waking.

To each their own. If hungry, eat. If not, dont.