Is Breakfast REALLY necessary?

efriling
efriling Posts: 58 Member
edited October 2024 in Food and Nutrition
Sometimes I'm fine with it, wake up hungry, ready to fix something yummy....but other mornings, I don't even want to walk into the kitchen until lunch time. I'm just totally disinterested in anything foodwise and I'm forcing myself to eat a granola bar or a little something....is skipping breakfast really going to kill my metabolism and end up in weight gain or at least no weight loss?
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Replies

  • xAdrianax
    xAdrianax Posts: 269 Member
    How long have you been trying to have breakfast? I used to be the same but i have trained my body to have the three main meals and hardly ever snack. Now in the mornings my belly grumbles if i haven't had my breakfast by 10am!! Train your body and find something you love for breakfast. I love oatmeal at the moment
  • Zara11
    Zara11 Posts: 1,247 Member
    if I have no interest, I'll grab a handful of nuts. You kinda gotta get used to it, like the above poster said. I try to eat a little something every morning no matter what.

    EDIT: Also, as I've tried to eat dinner as early as possible and then not snack at all, it means that I'm def hungry when I wake up - and I feel the best in that rhythm.
  • dcgonz
    dcgonz Posts: 174 Member
    For me it is. I eat between 400-500 calories high in protien at Breakfast. Once I started doing this I started to lose weight more quickly. I'm not starving by snack time nor through the rest of they day. I feel for me it keeps my metabolism going and I feel good and have the energy I need to get through the day. I also do my workout first thing in the morning then have breakfast so that probably helps with me being hungry and wanting breakfast.

    diana
  • Acg67
    Acg67 Posts: 12,142 Member
    nope, if you're not hungry i wouldn't eat breakfast and instead use those cals for bigger meals later in the day
  • sryan8408
    sryan8408 Posts: 244
    If you eat in the morning you will be less likely to binge later. Your body is like a car. You wouldn't leave your house on the way to work with 3 miles to empty would you? No, you'd fill up right after you left your house. Even if its just an apple or just a banana. Something is better than nothing. And you do not want your body to go into starvation mode.
  • vim_n_vigor
    vim_n_vigor Posts: 4,089 Member
    There are going to be many different views on this - eat in the morning to kick start your metabolism and intermittent fasting will say you don't need to. What works for you? Are you not hungry in the morning because you cleaned out the refrigerator at night? Do you feel sick if you eat breakfast when you aren't hungry? Not every path works for every body. What will you be able to do as a lifestyle change you can live with?
  • ProTFitness
    ProTFitness Posts: 1,379 Member
    At least something small with in 30-45 in of waking up to get the metabolisim going. If your wait to eat your not getting you engine running. Breakfast is the MOST important meal of the day.

    Eat like a King for breakfast

    Eat like a queen for lunch

    Eat like a pauper for dinner
  • sunkisses
    sunkisses Posts: 2,365 Member
    I think you should eat when you feel hungry. It's been keeping the human race going since the dawn of time.
  • vim_n_vigor
    vim_n_vigor Posts: 4,089 Member
    If you eat in the morning you will be less likely to binge later. Your body is like a car. You wouldn't leave your house on the way to work with 3 miles to empty would you? No, you'd fill up right after you left your house. Even if its just an apple or just a banana. Something is better than nothing. And you do not want your body to go into starvation mode.
    Skipping breakfast isn't enough time without food to trigger starvation mode.
  • MissMaryMac33
    MissMaryMac33 Posts: 1,433 Member
    I am not a breakfast eater either.... sometimes on weekends I get the urge to make an omelet or something...
    During the week, I'll do oatmeal/quinoa in the crock pot and put it in individual servings so its easy and fast to nuke.
    Generally I'm just not hungry so I make a protein shake and drink it on the way to work.

    If I do eat breakfast, this is where I tend to put higher carb foods so I have the whole day to burn them off.
  • Acg67
    Acg67 Posts: 12,142 Member
    If you eat in the morning you will be less likely to binge later. Your body is like a car. You wouldn't leave your house on the way to work with 3 miles to empty would you? No, you'd fill up right after you left your house. Even if its just an apple or just a banana. Something is better than nothing. And you do not want your body to go into starvation mode.

    yeah you're not going to go into "starvation mode" from not eating breakfast
  • pippyrlz23
    pippyrlz23 Posts: 40 Member
    I agree with what most people have said...even if it's just a granola bar or a piece of fruit try to eat something. It will help you in the long run.
  • efriling
    efriling Posts: 58 Member
    I guess about a week now, I've always just been a coffee person in the morning...which kind of kills the appetite, so I'm not hungry until lunch. But what I've been doing in the past obviously hasn't worked or I wouldn't be here, so I thought I'd try eating breakfast, and I do love oatmeal too, some days I just don't want any part of it tho...."Give me my coffee and go away!" LOL! But I don't want to foil my attempts before I really get started so I thought I'd get some input first. I ate a granola bar this morning before my coffee...didn't want it, wasn't really hungry, took me 10 min to eat it....but it's done now and I don't have to worry about food again for another few hours...it can be done, I just feel like whining I guess ;)
  • MarinaPacheco
    MarinaPacheco Posts: 95 Member
    I didn't used to eat breakfast but nowadays, what with counting the calories and having smaller meals in general, I find that I am hungrier in the mornings than I used to be. I also found that skipping breakfast made me overreact and eat more at lunch time. I've found that my ideal is a larger breakfast and dinner and a smaller lunch - but everyone has to find what works best for them really.

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  • Acg67
    Acg67 Posts: 12,142 Member
    At least something small with in 30-45 in of waking up to get the metabolisim going. If your wait to eat your not getting you engine running. Breakfast is the MOST important meal of the day.

    Eat like a King for breakfast

    Eat like a queen for lunch

    Eat like a pauper for dinner

    and what advantage does tapering off your cals throughout the day have compared to let's say skipping breakfast and having a larger lunch and dinner?
  • trelm249
    trelm249 Posts: 777 Member
    You are going to get a lot of conflicting advice on this.

    Log your results skipping it for about 4 to 6 weeks.
    The next 4 to 6 weeks try a breakfast of 300 to 400 calories including 20< grams of protein and log your results from that. Be careful of too much sugar.

    That should help you find your answer.
  • Qarol
    Qarol Posts: 6,171 Member
    I never wake up hungry. I have zero appetite for a few hours after I've woken up. I used to fight with my parents about breakfast. I got in trouble a lot for lying about eating breakfast b/c I was a lousy liar. Now that I'm an adult, I get to decide not to eat breakfast. And coffee is all I need...
  • SoDamnHungry
    SoDamnHungry Posts: 6,998 Member
    Eat when you're hungry. That's all you have to worry about. Not eating breakfast won't slow your metabolism and it won't lead you to binge.
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
    Sometimes I'm fine with it, wake up hungry, ready to fix something yummy....but other mornings, I don't even want to walk into the kitchen until lunch time. I'm just totally disinterested in anything foodwise and I'm forcing myself to eat a granola bar or a little something....is skipping breakfast really going to kill my metabolism and end up in weight gain or at least no weight loss?

    No, at least it has never caused me to gain or prevented me from losing. I'm just not hungry most mornings so I don't eat until I get hungry.
  • Pangui
    Pangui Posts: 373 Member
    A few months ago, if I ate breakfast, I would binge all day. It was a trigger that I could not control. Adding to that, I wasn't really hungry until sometime after 10 AM, so it made no sense to eat.

    I finally had to give myself permission to eat only two meals a day with no snack to get started on weight loss. This allowed me to eat large meals until I was full, but kept me from gaining weight. Little by little, I was able to make changes and adjustments. I started having small breakfasts of only about 150 calories. Now, four months later, I am on a much healthier eating plan and I try to get 250-300 calories in for breakfast. I like to make lunch my biggest meal.

    It can take time to get your head in the right place. Only you can gage what you are willing to do. It wasn't until I gave myself permission to stop doing what everyone was advising, that I finally had the control and ability to tackle my weight issues. Take one step at a time and work on maintaining your focus. Little successes add up and then you can work yourself into better habits.

    So for now, if you don't want to eat breakfast, don't do it. Realize that including it can be a goal when you are ready to take that step.
  • Egger29
    Egger29 Posts: 14,741 Member
    At least something small with in 30-45 in of waking up to get the metabolisim going. If your wait to eat your not getting you engine running. Breakfast is the MOST important meal of the day.

    Eat like a King for breakfast

    Eat like a queen for lunch

    Eat like a pauper for dinner

    This is true. Look at it this way. Your body has spent the night working hard to repair tissues and cells damaged from the stress of the previous day. This is where the majority of your cellular rebuilding happens and it's a huge part of your overall fitness growth.

    So you when you get up after 7-8 hours of rest, your body needs additional nutrients and fuel to function effectively through the day.

    Ask yourself this: Would you go through and entire 8hour workday, and then come home and skip dinner? Not likely so by the same token, you need to fuel in the morning in order to be able to perform your best through the day.
  • efriling
    efriling Posts: 58 Member
    Thanks everyone, I think I'll stick with it a little longer and see what the results are. I have also been breaking my meals into 5-6 smaller meals throughout the day which I like better, I'm never really starving by the next meal which keeps me from binging and helps me make more rational food choices, though dinner is and always has been my biggest meal which is prob why I'm not so hungry in the morning (coupled with the fact that I know I can just have a small snack in a few hours anyway). I don't "clean out the fridge at night" as someone mentioned, lol! But it is about 1/3 of my daily calories so it fills me up. Thanks for all of the input, if this doesn't work I'll try some of the other ideas like eating dinner earlier when possible so I wake up hungrier :)
  • MrsCon40
    MrsCon40 Posts: 2,351 Member
    No - it doesn't matter how many meals you eat a day or the time of day you eat them. It takes an extreme caloric deficit over a number of days to affect your metabolism - so you absolutely will not go into starvation mode if you skip breakfast, or even if you skip breakfast and lunch.

    There are folks, though, that do better eating a number of small meals throughout the day - and for them eating breakfast is important. If you are not one of those people (I am not) then you are fine skipping breakfast - just be sure that you do make up the calories later in the day.
  • lor007
    lor007 Posts: 884 Member
    No, it isn't.
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
    I think you should eat when you feel hungry. It's been keeping the human race going since the dawn of time.

    Gee, what a concept! Letting your body tell you when it needs fuel instead of trying to fit it into a schedule.
  • eviltwinkie
    eviltwinkie Posts: 153
    You are going to get a lot of conflicting advice on this.

    Log your results skipping it for about 4 to 6 weeks.
    The next 4 to 6 weeks try a breakfast of 300 to 400 calories including 20< grams of protein and log your results from that. Be careful of too much sugar.

    That should help you find your answer.

    ^^ This.

    Although I'm a firm believer for ME in having something for breakfast (skipping it for me was part of my 'bad habits routine'), you need to track what works for you. If you feel good, remain on track for your goals, and you skip breakfast... then it works for you. Tracking both and seeing the results 'in writing' should be better than a bunch of conflicting (albeit very well meaning) advice.

    I think we DO fuel a little differently, nor do we 'trip up' over the same things.
  • anubis609
    anubis609 Posts: 3,966 Member
    Nope. Unless you have medical issues that require some sort of sustenance every few hours, it's not necessary to eat at specific times of the day.
  • rileysowner
    rileysowner Posts: 8,339 Member
    Three meals a day is purely a cultural construct just like 5 or 6 meals a day is. I have seen no clinical trials that show eating breakfast revs up your metabolism any differently than starting eating later in the day. I rarely eat breakfast before 12PM, and doing so has not hurt my weight loss at all.

    As for the energy metaphor, you have lots of stored energy our fat. That is what fat is. You won't run out of gas just because you don't eat until a little later in the day. Just eat all your calories for the day when it works for you, and don't go over your calorie budget. When you eat them is pretty much irrelevant.
  • summertime_girl
    summertime_girl Posts: 3,945 Member
    It's important if you're hungry. Otherwise, do what you want. The problem is that most people don't listen to their bodies, and they eat when they have been conditioned to, at 8, noon, and six. Some days I'm starving right when I wake up, and some days I don't eat a bite until the afternoon. There's a difference between hunger and thirst as well, and studies have proven many people can't recognize the difference.
  • LickyNees
    LickyNees Posts: 101 Member
    is skipping breakfast really going to kill my metabolism and end up in weight gain or at least no weight loss?

    No.
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