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

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  • Luna3386
    Luna3386 Posts: 888 Member
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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.
  • mmapags
    mmapags Posts: 8,934 Member
    edited June 2017
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    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.
  • StealthHealth
    StealthHealth Posts: 2,417 Member
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    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.
  • piperdown44
    piperdown44 Posts: 958 Member
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    mmapags 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.

  • mmapags
    mmapags Posts: 8,934 Member
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    piperdown44 wrote: »
    mmapags 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. :)
  • sourmash1973
    sourmash1973 Posts: 149 Member
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    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.
  • sarahthes
    sarahthes Posts: 3,252 Member
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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.
  • generallyme2
    generallyme2 Posts: 403 Member
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    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.
  • inertiastrength
    inertiastrength Posts: 2,343 Member
    edited June 2017
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    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 1pm
  • inertiastrength
    inertiastrength Posts: 2,343 Member
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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.
  • BusyRaeNOTBusty
    BusyRaeNOTBusty Posts: 7,166 Member
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    I find it easiest to maintain a calorie deficit if I skip breakfast. I'm not a strict IFer, I just "skip breakfast" most of the time.
  • Penthesilea514
    Penthesilea514 Posts: 1,189 Member
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    I feel the same way as a lot of the posters- I don't eat much in the morning because it only made my total daily consumption more as somehow I would get hungrier. I have recently changed this a little due to my workout schedule and routine shifting to lifting weights in the afternoon and I had a huge increase in hunger when I started lifting. I now eat a little something around 10am. Lunch is at noon. Afternoon snack at 2pm and protein shake usually around 3-3:15 on lifting days (about an hour before I start). Dinner around 5:45-6. I guess it is pretty close to IF 16:8 but I don't really hold myself to it. It just kind of naturally flows that way for me, and that is what I am most interested in- having it naturally work into my schedule.
  • everher
    everher Posts: 909 Member
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    You'll have to experiment and find what works for you.

    I skipped breakfast 90% of my life (even as a child I wouldn't eat breakfast). It wasn't until I started losing the weight this go around that I realized that not eating breakfast makes me ravenous by lunch and then it's like I can never eat enough to fill that void.

    I've found though big or small breakfast doesn't matter. As long as I eat something to tide me over to lunch I'm fine. So breakfast is usually my smallest meal of the day calorie wise.
  • iamhylian
    iamhylian Posts: 13 Member
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    It doesn't matter when you eat. Watch your calories.
  • mygrl4meee
    mygrl4meee Posts: 943 Member
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    i recently stopped eating breakfast but was doing a protein shake but recently started just eating one of my fiber bars and coffee.. i feel like i dont get hungry until noon..before it was at 10 am. i dont track calories much to know how it balances out.
  • dragon_girl26
    dragon_girl26 Posts: 2,187 Member
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    Breakfast is definitely a personal choice. I get hangry within an hour or two of waking up if I try to skip breakfast, so that wouldn't work for me. If you don't want it, though, no need to eat it.
  • Froggyh
    Froggyh Posts: 81 Member
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    I eat breakfast because I'm always hungry, if not *when* I wake up, then soon after. And I don't mean just a bit of a rumbling in my stomach, but the whole nine yards - muscle weakness, lightheadeness, it's even a migraine trigger for me. It's to the point where if I'm meeting someone *for* breakfast, I'll have a light breakfast before I head out so I don't get hangry before I get there.

    I always ate breakfast growing up (my mom was very big on the "breakfast is the most important meal of the day" thing), so I suspect that might be part of it; my body is just used to getting food first thing.

    You do you. If you feel better eating later in the day, go for it.
  • BarneyRubbleMD
    BarneyRubbleMD Posts: 1,092 Member
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    I'm a type2 insulin-dependent diabetic that has to eat meals on a 3-hour-between-meals schedule. So, my meals are at 9am, noon, 3pm & 6pm (Note: I'm a "morning" person & wake up around 7am). My meals are about the same "size" to keep my blood sugar more stable but my noon & 3pm meals are typically a bit larger than my 9am & 6pm meals since I just don't have much of an appetite at 9am or 6pm so it's easier for those meals to be a bit smaller. If I skip my 9am meal (breakfast), I feel like I'm dragging until noon & then "starving" & can eat too much which really mucks up my blood sugar control & my cravings go into "overdrive". I rarely eat anything after 8pm unless my blood sugar gets too low since having food in my stomach while trying to sleep (11pm) messes with my quality of sleep.
  • BarneyRubbleMD
    BarneyRubbleMD Posts: 1,092 Member
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    everher wrote: »
    You'll have to experiment and find what works for you.

    I skipped breakfast 90% of my life (even as a child I wouldn't eat breakfast). It wasn't until I started losing the weight this go around that I realized that not eating breakfast makes me ravenous by lunch and then it's like I can never eat enough to fill that void.

    I've found though big or small breakfast doesn't matter. As long as I eat something to tide me over to lunch I'm fine. So breakfast is usually my smallest meal of the day calorie wise.

    same here!
  • Glistel
    Glistel Posts: 3 Member
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    Personally I find breakfast works for me and my goals. But the catch is not to eat too much.
    I wake up, have a full glass of water or sometimes even my full water bottle which holds 24 oz then either have something smaller that is high in protein or a gnc lean protien shake (So far Swiss chocolate is my fave).
    Every time I eat it's less than 300 calories so that leaves more than enough room to snack every couple of hours or splurge a little on lunch or dinner.

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