Wait before eating breakfast or best to eat as soon as possible?

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FlavourfulBear
FlavourfulBear Posts: 11 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I know people's bodies are different and I haven't been having any personal problems with the way I've been eating, (except recently I have been experiencing difficulty with self-control which I'm working on >.<), but the reason I'm making this post is because I want to know if what I've been doing might be unhealthy.

When I wake up I drink an 8 oz glass of warm lemon water to cleanse, wait about 20 minutes, have a cup of green tea for a metabolic boost, wait another 20 - 30 minutes then have a glass of water before eating breakfast and after another 30 minutes after eating I do a morning workout.

Basically, my body goes about an hour and 30 minutes before actually eating something, during which I've consumed nothing but fluids after I wake up.

I ask because someone said that you should eat as soon as you can after waking up to stop your body from entering starvation mode. Does fluid curtail this or does the body need actual solids?

I'm still losing weight (when I'm practicing self-control XD) but I still want my body to be healthy, not just lean. Am I putting my long-term health at risk if I keep doing this?
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Replies

  • nutmegoreo
    nutmegoreo Posts: 15,532 Member
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    Starvation mode, as used here, is a myth. Lemon water for "cleansing" is also a myth. Total number of calories for the day is what matters for weight (although many look at this in the context of a week, so lower some days and higher other days is fine). Health is more about balanced and varied nutrition. Feeling satisfied with your meals (not hungry) can be greatly influenced by food choices.
  • Silentpadna
    Silentpadna Posts: 1,306 Member
    edited July 2017
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    People consume their calories on all sorts of ways and times during the day. Although the idea of cleanses and specific metabolic boosts likely don't amount to much....your routine as far as timing is concerned will have no real bearing on weight loss.

    Intermittent fasting is one way people control their eating. Starvation mode in this context our any other is really not a thing.

    Your health is not being jeopardized by meal timing or workout timing.
  • vespiquenn
    vespiquenn Posts: 1,455 Member
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    malibu927 wrote: »
    Starvation mode isn't a thing. I don't eat until 5-6 hours after I wake up and only have a can of diet soda in that time frame. It doesn't stop my weight loss, and some people wait even longer and still lose. Search for intermittent fasting.

    Also the lemon water isn't cleansing you and the green tea isn't boosting your metabolism.

    This. Meal timing is irrelevant to weight loss, so eat when you want to eat as long as it's within your calorie range.

    But you are wasting your time with the lemon water and green tea for weight loss benefits beyond a possibly just enjoying the taste.
  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
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    You are exhausting yourself through overthinking and believing in myths and woo.

    Recommendations for eating breakfast and skipping breakfast should never have been given without context. The right context is: If you want to lose weight, eat breakfast if not eating breakfast makes you overeat later. If eating breakfast makes it more difficult to not overeat later, skip breakfast. In short: Make whatever choices that makes it easier for you to exert self-control.

    Drink whatever you like, but don't expect it to have any effect beyond hydration. Detoxes and metabolic boosts and starvation mode are all just woo.

    Your health is not in any danger from not eating breakfast. Think about it - we hadn't survived as a species if we had to have breakfast first thing in the morning every morning. An besides, breakfast isn't anything magical or special, it's just the first meal of the day - you break your fast.
  • earlnabby
    earlnabby Posts: 8,171 Member
    edited July 2017
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    Whatever works for you. Some like several smaller meals over the course of the day, others prefer to wait and eat one or two larger meals. It doesn't matter for anything other than comfort for the majority of people.

    I eat breakfast because I am diabetic and it helps keep my blood glucose level. If I eat a breakfast containing both protein and carbs (an egg and 1/2 English muffin is my typical meal) my pre-lunch numbers are close to 100. If I don't, my numbers are about 20 points higher because the liver has to send glucose into my system in order to keep me fueled (yes, fasting can actually raise BG numbers).

    ETA: that lemon water and green tea stuff does nothing for you. No cleansing or detoxing. Maybe a little boost from the caffeine in the tea.
  • earlnabby
    earlnabby Posts: 8,171 Member
    edited July 2017
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    FlavourfulBear wrote: »

    I do like tea. I love tea actually. Good to know I don't have to do the lemon water thing anymore though.

    Well, you COULD be like my very British former roommate and drink your tea with lemon ;)
  • FlavourfulBear
    FlavourfulBear Posts: 11 Member
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    earlnabby wrote: »
    Well, you COULD be like my very British former roommate and drink your tea with lemon ;)

    I do still have a bunch of lemons left over, I may as well try that. Might give it a nice zing. Ha ha!
  • earlnabby
    earlnabby Posts: 8,171 Member
    edited July 2017
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    FlavourfulBear wrote: »
    earlnabby wrote: »
    Well, you COULD be like my very British former roommate and drink your tea with lemon ;)

    I do still have a bunch of lemons left over, I may as well try that. Might give it a nice zing. Ha ha!

    Don't do it in green tea though, it overwhelms the flavor.

    You can also throw a slice in your plain water to give it a little flavor. Or, you can make lemonade. (1 part fresh squeezed lemon juice, 1 part sweetener of your choice, 4 parts water)

    ETA: "sweetener of choice means 1 part sugar, if you use it, or the equivalent of artificial sweetener to that amount of sugar if that s what you prefer.
  • lorriemb
    lorriemb Posts: 39 Member
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    I do best if I eat a nutrient dense breakfast within the first hour after I wake up.
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 25,031 Member
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    I get up in the morning and dash off to work.

    An hour after getting up, I have a cup of black coffee, and start drinking a glass of water.

    2.5 hours after getting up, I have another cup of black coffee, more water, and a small crackers and cheese.

    4.5 hours after getting up, another cup of black coffee, more water, and a banana.

    Lunch is 6 hours after waking up.

    I eat the bulk of my calories later in the day.
  • Midnightwine5
    Midnightwine5 Posts: 11 Member
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    kommodevaran wrote: »
    You are exhausting yourself through overthinking and believing in myths and woo.

    Recommendations for eating breakfast and skipping breakfast should never have been given without context. The right context is: If you want to lose weight, eat breakfast if not eating breakfast makes you overeat later. If eating breakfast makes it more difficult to not overeat later, skip breakfast. In short: Make whatever choices that makes it easier for you to exert self-control.

    Drink whatever you like, but don't expect it to have any effect beyond hydration. Detoxes and metabolic boosts and starvation mode are all just woo.

    Your health is not in any danger from not eating breakfast. Think about it - we hadn't survived as a species if we had to have breakfast first thing in the morning every morning. An besides, breakfast isn't anything magical or special, it's just the first meal of the day - you break your fast.

    I agree wholeheartedly with this. The only thing it could cause is excess hunger, which in turn can result in eating high calorie foods or overeating in general. As long as you're not too hungry, there's no issue with you waiting that long to eat breakfast.
  • nutmegoreo
    nutmegoreo Posts: 15,532 Member
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    kommodevaran wrote: »
    FlavourfulBear wrote: »
    I learned a lot of new things today and am reading up on intermittent fasting right now.

    *Whew* It's a relief to know that I don't have to plan my meals around a schedule anymore. Sometimes I'd feel hungry but I'd check the clock and see it's not 'time to eat' yet or I'd still feel satisfied and realize that I have to have a meal now.

    I do like tea. I love tea actually. Good to know I don't have to do the lemon water thing anymore though.

    Thank you everyone!

    Wow, I loved this response! Did you know that you're the 1 in 1000* who's actually open to take in a new perspective?

    I too feel such a relief by not thinking I have to eat a certain number of meals to prevent "slowing my metabolism" or risk overeating later, while in fact, I usually get increased appetite whenever I eat - so for me, fewer but larger meals is better.

    *89% of all statistics are made up on the spot.

    99.9999% of those made up statistics don't take into consideration confounding variables, so tend to be over inflated.

    OP, glad this thread brought you a sense of relief. Many people do become so convinced that what they hear/believe is correct and they don't want to consider alternatives. Simplify this for yourself.

    Also a tea drinker here, for taste and caffeine.
  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
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    Eh, this is much ado about nothing. Drink your lemon water or green tea or what have you or don't do it. It's not going to make a difference wrt weight loss unless drinking that stuff keeps you from ingesting other calories throughout the day.

    People really focus on so much stuff that doesn't matter when all they need to do is find a way to not eat as much and/or move more.
  • earlnabby
    earlnabby Posts: 8,171 Member
    edited July 2017
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    animatorswearbras wrote: »
    earlnabby wrote: »
    FlavourfulBear wrote: »

    I do like tea. I love tea actually. Good to know I don't have to do the lemon water thing anymore though.

    Well, you COULD be like my very British former roommate and drink your tea with lemon ;)

    I'm British and I don't know anyone that drinks tea with lemon, black tea (preferably yorkshire) with milk and sugar and you can burn in the fiery pits of hell if you put the milk in before the water lol. ;P

    LOL. I asked her about the fact that she drinks it with lemon instead of milk and she said that is how everyone in her family always drank their tea: lemon and sugar. She even was given tea like that in her baby bottle. It has been 30 years so I don't remember where in England she is from. I seem to remember some port city in the Northeast but could easily be wrong.

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