To eat or not to eat breakfast, that is the question

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abbynormalartist
abbynormalartist Posts: 318 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
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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  • Chef_Barbell
    Chef_Barbell Posts: 6,644 Member
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    Whichever you prefer.
  • sardelsa
    sardelsa Posts: 9,812 Member
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    Try it out and see how it goes.
  • StealthHealth
    StealthHealth Posts: 2,417 Member
    edited June 2017
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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.
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,811 Member
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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.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
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    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!
  • hesn92
    hesn92 Posts: 5,967 Member
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    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.
  • rybo
    rybo Posts: 5,424 Member
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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.
  • earlnabby
    earlnabby Posts: 8,171 Member
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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.
  • livingleanlivingclean
    livingleanlivingclean Posts: 11,751 Member
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    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!
  • court_alacarte
    court_alacarte Posts: 219 Member
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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!
  • Muana1005
    Muana1005 Posts: 172 Member
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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.
  • nowine4me
    nowine4me Posts: 3,985 Member
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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.
  • kfizza1
    kfizza1 Posts: 48 Member
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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! :)
  • Bry_Fitness70
    Bry_Fitness70 Posts: 2,480 Member
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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.
  • nokanjaijo
    nokanjaijo Posts: 466 Member
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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.
  • JeromeBarry1
    JeromeBarry1 Posts: 10,182 Member
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    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?
  • livingleanlivingclean
    livingleanlivingclean Posts: 11,751 Member
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    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...
  • piperdown44
    piperdown44 Posts: 958 Member
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    So if one doesn't eat until noon or 1pm is it still "lunch" or is it "breakfast"?

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