To eat or not to eat breakfast, that is the question
abbynormalartist
Posts: 318 Member
I grew up with the mantra that eating breakfast is good for you because it gets your metabolism revved up for the day. My husband has been doing intermittent fasting for around 6 months or so and that's opened my eyes up to a whole new way of eating. I do notice that the earlier I eat breakfast (sometimes 7am), the earlier I start to get hungry again. That has sometimes gotten me in to trouble because I eat too many calories early in the day and don't have much left for the rest of the day. I don't think I'd like to fast for as long as my hubby does, because I enjoy lunch and eating an early dinner with my kids, but I wonder if I would be more comfortable I cut out breakfast and saved those calories for an evening snack or a heftier lunch. What do you think?
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Replies
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Whichever you prefer.3
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Try it out and see how it goes.3
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abbynormalartist wrote: »I grew up with the mantra that eating breakfast is good for you because it gets your metabolism revved up for the day. My husband has been doing intermittent fasting for around 6 months or so and that's opened my eyes up to a whole new way of eating. I do notice that the earlier I eat breakfast (sometimes 7am), the earlier I start to get hungry again. That has sometimes gotten me in to trouble because I eat too many calories early in the day and don't have much left for the rest of the day. I don't think I'd like to fast for as long as my hubby does, because I enjoy lunch and eating an early dinner with my kids, but I wonder if I would be more comfortable I cut out breakfast and saved those calories for an evening snack or a heftier lunch. What do you think?
Re bold stuff - I was the same but I've been using IF for years now. On the rare occasions that I do eat breakfast it is a mental battle to hold off eating again until lunch whereas on the days I skip breakfast I'm happy to stay calorie free til noon.
Also, I love breakfast foods so I occasionally have a "breakfast type meal" for lunch or evening meal.
With respect to weight management, meal timings and IF make no difference, it is the calories that matter but IF does mean that I can spend my calories later in the day and therefore have some pretty filling evening meals.
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I like breakfast but I don't need breakfast.
Seems to make virtually no difference to when or how much I get hungry for lunch.
Perhaps curiously I tried 16:8 IF but didn't like it. It was just the feeling of being restricted by "rules" that I didn't like.
I do find skipping, or having a very light, breakfast a painless way to drop some calories though.
Don't see any reason not to try it, at the worst you may not enjoy it and will revert to "normal" but will have learned something about yourself and food.1 -
i tried IF, but it didn't really work for me, however it did make me realise that i wouldn't die if i didn't eat breakfast!
what i do now is, instead of eating breakfast at 7am before i leave for work and then being hungry by 9.30, is to bring my breakfast to work and eat at 8.30, (with a pint of water before i leave the house) which means i can then usually last till lunchtime. saves me my morning snack calories to eat later in the day!2 -
I decided to give it a try and I like it. I also cut out snacks so I can eat a much bigger lunch and dinner.1
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Try it and see. I only ate breakfast because I was "supposed" to. I would be starving and thinking about food all morning. Finally decided to try the IF thing & it's been the best tweak to my eating habits I could have made. I'm rarely ever hungry, & never think about food all day.4
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abbynormalartist wrote: »I grew up with the mantra that eating breakfast is good for you because it gets your metabolism revved up for the day. My husband has been doing intermittent fasting for around 6 months or so and that's opened my eyes up to a whole new way of eating. I do notice that the earlier I eat breakfast (sometimes 7am), the earlier I start to get hungry again. That has sometimes gotten me in to trouble because I eat too many calories early in the day and don't have much left for the rest of the day. I don't think I'd like to fast for as long as my hubby does, because I enjoy lunch and eating an early dinner with my kids, but I wonder if I would be more comfortable I cut out breakfast and saved those calories for an evening snack or a heftier lunch. What do you think?
This is me. I leave "breakfast" until 9:30 or so. Coffee until then. Then lunch around 1:00, snack about 3:00 and dinner about 8:00. This works best for me.5 -
I don't eat breakfast except occasionally. My last meal is usually right around 11:30pm and I don't eat again till after 12:00pm. Been doing it this way for YEARS.
The truth is, breakfast was touted as the "best meal of the day" by cereal companies to sell more cereal. The whole, "boosts the metabolism" thing was purported by the fitness and diet industry to sell more books and programs.
But the body doesn't KNOW timing of consumption. It just digests food and that's it.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
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Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
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I need to eat breakfast because I take a morning med that is supposed to be eaten with food to assist absorption. I am also diabetic and I find that my pre-lunch numbers are higher if I DON'T eat a breakfast (the body dumps glucose into the system for energy).
I started out eating a decent sized breakfast but find that I do better with something simple, like a container of Greek yogurt. I am not hungry until lunchtime.
Play around with it and find out what works for you. There is no right answer, just what works for the individual and their needs.0 -
If you don't want to eat breakfast in the morning, don't eat breakfast in the morning. If your meal timing doesn't fit with a definition of intermittent fasting, don't worry about it - do whatever works best for you!3
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I've been doing 16:8 for the past couple of weeks and love it. I don't like snacking and thus prefer to have bigger meals, so being given the freedom to have more calories at lunch/dinner helps me stay within my limits (and not feel so restricted on what to eat). Try it out and see if you like it!0
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I'll usually have a coffee with one tsp sugar or a banana at 5am. Then have 'second breakfast' around 8-9. Split lunch similarly too. Means I'm not too hungry on my evening commute.1
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I have a smallish dinner at 7, then run at 6 the next morning. So I'm starving by 8am or so and eat a large breakfast that holds me over to lunch. Everyone is different. Finding your best meal timing and satiety will be key to long-term success.1
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I've also been doing the 16:8 IF and I love it. I have the same problem as you where if I eat breakfast in the morning, I get hungry faster with not many calories left later during the day (Especially for dinner after gym).
I've noticed the following benefits from IF (Stop eating at 8 pm, skipping breakfast, lunch around 11-12 pm):
- I have more energy in the mornings
- I don't feel bloated
- My tummy is shrinking
- I'm losing weight
Through IF I've learned that breakfast really isn't all that big of a deal. At the end of the day, weight loss is all about calories. You should experiment and see what works best for you!
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I essentially eat the same breakfast every day of my life (only varying in flavors of certain things) and it is my favorite meal of the day. It is the right amount of calories and the right mix of macros, so I feel like I am efficiently fueling myself and setting the course for having a high energy day no matter what I am doing.0
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They've done studies on this and have found that eating breakfast doesn't seem to help anything.
Observational studies found correlation between being a breakfast eater and being thinner but it's confounding. Controlled studies found that eating breakfast leads to greater calorie consumption throughout the day, which is what you seem to notice about yourself.
I don't care for breakfast. Neither does my husband. So we don't eat it.
Just sink into yourself. You know what's right for you. Do that.1 -
I'm also curious about something and this isn't a complete hijack.
We fast when we sleep. Do IF operators find it easier for the waking fast hours to be those which immediately follow sleep, or those which immediately precede sleep?0 -
JeromeBarry1 wrote: »I'm also curious about something and this isn't a complete hijack.
We fast when we sleep. Do IF operators find it easier for the waking fast hours to be those which immediately follow sleep, or those which immediately precede sleep?
Follow sleep... I like being hungry and looking forward to meals, not being hungry and reminiscing about them...4 -
So if one doesn't eat until noon or 1pm is it still "lunch" or is it "breakfast"?0
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I can only do IF if I sit in bed until eating time, otherwise I get pretty sick.
Try it out and see, that's the only way you'll know.0 -
piperdown44 wrote: »So if one doesn't eat until noon or 1pm is it still "lunch" or is it "breakfast"?piperdown44 wrote: »So if one doesn't eat until noon or 1pm is it still "lunch" or is it "breakfast"?
It's whatever you want it to be. For me, sometimes a protein shake, sometimes eggs and bacon, sometimes a salad with protein. What does it matter what you label it? FWIW, I do 16/8 most days with a dinner to dinner fast occasionally.0 -
livingleanlivingclean wrote: »JeromeBarry1 wrote: »I'm also curious about something and this isn't a complete hijack.
We fast when we sleep. Do IF operators find it easier for the waking fast hours to be those which immediately follow sleep, or those which immediately precede sleep?
Follow sleep... I like being hungry and looking forward to meals, not being hungry and reminiscing about them...
Same. I eat until bedtime and then fast until lunch.0 -
piperdown44 wrote: »So if one doesn't eat until noon or 1pm is it still "lunch" or is it "breakfast"?piperdown44 wrote: »So if one doesn't eat until noon or 1pm is it still "lunch" or is it "breakfast"?
It's whatever you want it to be. For me, sometimes a protein shake, sometimes eggs and bacon, sometimes a salad with protein. What does it matter what you label it? FWIW, I do 16/8 most days with a dinner to dinner fast occasionally.
Shoot, that was supposed to have a smiley winky face at the end of it.
Was just a random thought how we label stuff. Regardless of what it is I'm eating or whether it is 8am or 2pm I secretly think "breakfast" because it's my first meal of the day, "breaking fast" from the day before. And there's nothing like breakfast being a 10oz ribeye, baked potato and grill asparagus at 1 in the afternoon.
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piperdown44 wrote: »piperdown44 wrote: »So if one doesn't eat until noon or 1pm is it still "lunch" or is it "breakfast"?piperdown44 wrote: »So if one doesn't eat until noon or 1pm is it still "lunch" or is it "breakfast"?
It's whatever you want it to be. For me, sometimes a protein shake, sometimes eggs and bacon, sometimes a salad with protein. What does it matter what you label it? FWIW, I do 16/8 most days with a dinner to dinner fast occasionally.
Shoot, that was supposed to have a smiley winky face at the end of it.
Was just a random thought how we label stuff. Regardless of what it is I'm eating or whether it is 8am or 2pm I secretly think "breakfast" because it's my first meal of the day, "breaking fast" from the day before. And there's nothing like breakfast being a 10oz ribeye, baked potato and grill asparagus at 1 in the afternoon.
Correct on all points! You are breaking the fast and that rib eye way of doing it sound wonderful. 2 -
I never eat until noon. I love breakfast foods, just not in the morning. I also get two workouts in on an empty stomach every week day and never lack in energy. I have about 550 calories for lunch, around 430 for an afternoon snack and then that leaves me a little over 1000 calories for dinner and maybe a snack after. I've been IF for quite a while and I just don't see myself doing it any other way. It's not a diet to me, just my way of eating.0
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I work out fasted in the morning so I would be gnawing my own arm off if I didn't eat breakfast. My routine is to take my synthroid, work out, do the mad morning scramble of shower, kids to daycare, and eat in the car on the way to work (husband & I carpool).
Then lunch at 11:30 and an afternoon snack of fruit & cheese sometime around 2-3 and dinner at 5:30. I sometimes skip breakfast on weekends because I'm up later and by the time I'm ready to eat it's nearly lunchtime anyway.1 -
I feel like it can change over your life, depending on what you need.
When I was growing up and very poor, I 'skipped' breakfast because there was no breakfast and by the time I was in high school, I had convinced myself that breakfast made me sick.
As an adult, I started eating small amounts for breakfast (toast, yogurt, etc) because I often wouldn't get a chance to eat lunch with my demanding job. Now, I feel like I'm actually hungry for breakfast in the morning even though I eat lunch regularly (and dinner, etc).
I keep it around 300 cals or less and make sure there is protein, usually a couple eggs and ham and fruit, or yogurt with PB so nothing heavy. If I do skip it, I don't feel ravenous at lunch but I do notice I'm hungry. Go with what feels right to you and don't be afraid to try something new. You can always go back if it doesn't work Note: I usually workout in the afternoon so I don't need the AM fuel or feel starving due to a workout. 1 -
If I eat early, I can almost certainly guarantee I'll be over or inhumanely hungry at day's end. I fast till 1-1:30pm (minus my morning coffee) and I do most of my eating into the evening because of this. If I have breakfast; even a modest, balanced one... I'm famished the rest of the day. I skip it for a reason haha Strangely enough I'm not even hungry in the am, I start to get peckish at 11:30 and by that time I don't mind waiting till 1pm1
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for me personally, being hungry with food coming in 1.5 hours beats going over or being hungry in the evening with no macros to spare and going to bed like that.2
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