Breakfast made me fail. What do I do?

Tashlovesfood
Tashlovesfood Posts: 51 Member
edited November 19 in Health and Weight Loss
I've had a very slow weight loss despite being on 1200-1300 per week for the past 3 weeks. Quite a few people recommended that I have breakfast as it will help speed up my metabolism and get me burning fat. I tried eating a healthy breakfast of oats and chia seeds with a little bit of rice milk this morning. However since then I've had constant craving that I have not been able to resist. I've just been starving all day long and it has ended in a binge, which I haven't done for 3 weeks of not eating breakfast. I think it's because my meals have been so small that I haven't felt satisfied. Whereas one bigger meal would have left me feeling more satisfied. Do any of you have any tips?
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Replies

  • Unknown
    Unknown
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  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    Figure out what meal pattern makes things easier for you, and if skipping breakfast is part of it, there's no harm in that.

    I like breakfast but I eat 3 meals, no snacks, because that makes it easier for me.

    I also do like to get in a decent amount of protein at breakfast and prefer lower carb breakfasts (so your breakfast wouldn't have been ideal for me, but for others it would be). Again, you just need to figure out what works for you by experimenting.
  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
    Technically speaking, breakfast is whatever meal breaks your fast so skipping a morning meal and eating later in the day makes that later meal breakfast.

    But, as has been said, you do not have to eat what we traditionally call breakfast if you don't want to.
  • Ready2Rock206
    Ready2Rock206 Posts: 9,487 Member
    Do what works for you and don't worry about what other people do. Don't eat breakfast if it doesn't work for you.
  • Bry_Fitness70
    Bry_Fitness70 Posts: 2,480 Member
    If I skip breakfast I just constantly think about food with my stomach growling until lunch, which is not ideal.

    I essentially eat the same breakfast every morning and it is always the meal that I look forward to the most. I have a Greek yogurt with a scoop of protein powder, oatmeal, and a Quest bar. This 550 calories (68 carbs, 10 fat, 56 protein, 14 fiber). I just have a protein bar around 10am and lunch around noon, without having any sorts of problems with "cravings".
  • PaigeInTechnicolor
    PaigeInTechnicolor Posts: 164 Member
    Breakfast is the devil for me, too. If I eat fruit, oatmeal, toast or anything remotely carby I feel hungry all day long. So, I skip it unless I am hungry. If I am hungry, I will have a couple of eggs. Not saying that carbs are bad in general, just that for me they have little staying power.

    And yeah, metabolism does not get "kickstarted"

    Lots of people here swear by intermittent fasting. I think it is one of those things where you figure out what is easiest for you, and do that.


    No bonus points will be awarded for making your life more difficult. If it is less calories in then out, you will lose weight.
  • Karen_DisneyFan
    Karen_DisneyFan Posts: 130 Member
    I normally only eat breakfast on Sunday when I go out to eat with my husband. I might have something small around 10am (I get up at 6am during the week) if I get hungry. Otherwise I wait until noon when I have lunch. I find that if I eat "breakfast," I want to continue eating all_day and am never satisfied.
  • DX2JX2
    DX2JX2 Posts: 1,921 Member
    edited July 2017
    The thing about speeding up metabolism is a crock. If that's the only reason you're eating breakfast, don't bother. If you're not losing without eating breakfast, adding a meal won't help any (unless it allows you to make your other meals smaller, which doesn't sound to be the case).
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,809 Member
    Breakfast didn't make you fail - believing a silly myth from friends has made you fail (more of a bump in the road than failure really).

    But on the plus side you have learned something very valuable about what makes calorie adherence easier for you or harder for you. Fewer but bigger meals by skipping eating first thing in the morning would seem to make sense for you.

    I don't like rigid rules so didn't enjoy 16:8 fasting but I do find skipping breakfast a very painless way to cut some calories from my day when I want or need to.
  • cnbbnc
    cnbbnc Posts: 1,267 Member
    lemurcat12 wrote: »
    Figure out what meal pattern makes things easier for you, and if skipping breakfast is part of it, there's no harm in that.

    I like breakfast but I eat 3 meals, no snacks, because that makes it easier for me.

    I also do like to get in a decent amount of protein at breakfast and prefer lower carb breakfasts (so your breakfast wouldn't have been ideal for me, but for others it would be). Again, you just need to figure out what works for you by experimenting.

    ^^ Exactly what I was going to say. Don't pay attention to what anyone else is doing or what they're eating. We all have different preferences for what we prefer eating...when we eat it...how much we eat, ect. It took me well over a year of experimenting to really nail down what foods kept me full and energized while staying in a deficit.

    Don't beat yourself up over this. Just try to figure out what went wrong and come up with a way to remedy it that you'll be happy with. It really does take some time so just keep at it. :wink:

  • lorrpb
    lorrpb Posts: 11,463 Member
    I eat breakfast and it helps a lot of people keep more satiated throughout the day, regardless of all the naysayers here on MFP. You can try different food for breakfast, especially high protein like eggs.
  • 4legsRbetterthan2
    4legsRbetterthan2 Posts: 19,590 MFP Moderator
    breakfast will not boost your metabolism. if you prefer to not eat breakfast then don't. I find that strategy also works for me personally.
  • fbmandy55
    fbmandy55 Posts: 5,263 Member
    I find that foods higher in fat and protein keep me more full. If I ate a high carb breakfast (oats with seeds), I'd be starving like 5 minutes later.
  • OliveGirl128
    OliveGirl128 Posts: 801 Member
    deannalfisher wrote: »
    1) eating breakfast doesn't help "speed up metabolism and burn fat" that is a misnomer - your metabolism is always burning
    2) are you weighing/measuring everything you are eating? what is your weekly weight loss goal (potentially too aggressive for your current height/weight)

    This.

    Meal timing is irrelevant for weight loss, being at the correct calorie deficit for your weight loss goals is what matters.
  • YvetteK2015
    YvetteK2015 Posts: 654 Member
    I can't eat breakfast, and it doesn't matter whether it's carb or high protein. It sets off my hunger and I feel like I'm starving all day. At that point, I can't stick to my calorie goal. So I skip breakfast and don't eat until around 2 pm. Then I have no problem sticking to my calories.
  • Kristen8912
    Kristen8912 Posts: 32 Member
    Everyone is different. I do not eat breakfast as it makes me want to constantly eat all day. I usually start with a late AM snack which I label as breakfast in my diary. I eat light all day and save most of my calories for dinner and late snacks. Once I start eating, I just want to keep munching so saving the big amounts for later in the day works for me. Good luck.
  • jenilla1
    jenilla1 Posts: 11,118 Member
    Personally, I need to eat breakfast in order to get moving in the morning. But, I find that it needs to be higher protein first thing. If I eat a bunch of carbs and hardly any protein first off, it starts me in a cycle of craving sweet stuff and junk all day long. So I save my carbs for later in the day and it works out well for me. (Eating most of my carbs later in the day seems to help me sleep better, too, for some reason.) Eat whatever way works best for you. We all have different preferences and needs. You don't have to eat breakfast just because somebody said so. Try things out, see how it goes, and then adapt as needed. :)
  • manderson27
    manderson27 Posts: 3,510 Member
    I am fine if I eat a protein based breakfast (egg bacon sausage) that will see me through until around 3 pm sometimes. But a carb based breakfast and I am hungry again around 11am. You need to do what suits you. As long as you are within your calorie allowance it doesn't really matter when you eat it.
  • InkAndApples
    InkAndApples Posts: 201 Member
    Count me in the "breakfast naysayers crew" I have black coffee only until lunch most days. Eating too early will often make me sick and eating early is a recipe for nibbling and snacking all day. I tend to eat at around 11am on workout days as it's the only way I can get in enough calories but otherwise I tend to avoid it.

    If eating breakfast derails you for the day then don't eat breakfast. Simple.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    lorrpb wrote: »
    I eat breakfast and it helps a lot of people keep more satiated throughout the day, regardless of all the naysayers here on MFP. You can try different food for breakfast, especially high protein like eggs.

    I'm not naysaying breakfast. I love breakfast (although it doesn't make me feel more or less satiated, I just enjoy eating in the morning). But OP seems to think she did better without eating it (and doesn't say she was hungry not eating it). Anyway, that's why I recommended experimenting, to see what she likes.

    (As an aside, I love eggs and have them most mornings -- a 2 egg omelet with vegetables and some smoked salmon or cottage cheese on the side is my most common breakfast -- but they aren't really high protein. 2 eggs is about 13 g of protein.)
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