Is breakfast REALLY necessary?

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Replies

  • silvergurl518
    silvergurl518 Posts: 4,123 Member
    i'd say it's good to get energy in the morning....i can't go without eating even a small something in the morning. but like folks have said, do what's best for your body. just don't deny it anything.
  • michellezigs
    michellezigs Posts: 15
    I am the same way. If I eat, I'm starving by 10:30 am. If I don't I can go until 1 or 2. Here's what I started doing. I have 2 cups of coffee with one cup of soy milk and some sweet & low. Its a 75 cal breakfast without eating and the protein in the soy milk keeps me full (probably along with the cafeine!)
  • grimmer51
    grimmer51 Posts: 8
    you wouldnt be able to start a car without food but you expect your body to work without fuel ?
    If you skip breakfast your more likely to eat more next time you eat.
    If your hungry after 2 hours after having breakfast have a snack or some water.
    Good luck with weight loss :-)
  • Greenwellj
    Greenwellj Posts: 45
    You need breakfast to get your metabolism going. I never ate breakfast either, but now I just do a quick protein shake. I get all the nutrients I need and I feel amazing!
  • Acg67
    Acg67 Posts: 12,142 Member
    Breakfast is not necessary. Lots of interesting facts though: such as most obese folks skip breakfast. Eating a little something as soon as possible definately helps to maximize weight loss. But it is not necessary.

    '" such as most obese folks skip breakfast"

    Correlation =/= causation

    " Eating a little something as soon as possible definately helps to maximize weight loss."

    why does it help to maximize weight loss? assuming 2 identical diets in terms of macros and calories, one skips breakfast, one does not, would the diet with breakfast lose more weight?
  • shellbell525
    shellbell525 Posts: 80 Member
    I believe every person is different. Personally I don't eat breakfast just black coffee. I feel weighed down when i have a big breakfast. Besides i find that if I'm trying to stick to my "ideal" calorie count of between 1300 and 1400 for the day, breaking it down into 5 meals is difficult. I like two larger meals and one snack much better than eating nonstop. I feel like a slave to when I'm eating and what I'm eating instead of truly enjoying my food. Just a personal preference, do what feels best to you.
  • Matttdvg
    Matttdvg Posts: 133 Member
    Breakfasts are beneficial to a lot of people's weight loss because it fills you up and prevents snacking through the morning. Those snacks are likely to be more unhealthy than a nice healthy breakfast. If you find you have the urge to snack through the morning, a breakfast might be beneficial for you. But contrary to what some will tell you, eating a breakfast will not boost your metabolism.

    Personally I don't eat breakfast. I'm not normally hungry when I get up. I might start to get a bit peckish at about 11am and I might have a piece of fruit. Or some days I won't eat a thing until lunch. I find this approach gives me more wiggle room with my other meals, and I can eat something at lunch or dinner that isn't necessarily the healthiest thing in the world, and I'll still come in under my calorie target. It means I'm not depriving myself of foods I love, yet I'm still losing weight. It works for me, but it might not work for other people. Everyone is different. Do whatever works best for you. Ultimately, if you're losing weight, keep doing whatever you're doing. If it's working, there is no need to change what you're doing.
  • MinnieInMaine
    MinnieInMaine Posts: 6,400 Member
    The reason it helps me with weight loss is, like others have noted, I'm not starving later in the day. I used to skip breakfast thinking that would help with my calorie intake then I'd eat lunch and wonder why I was still so hungry and would graze on whatever was handy (mostly junk) the rest of the afternoon. So when I started with my weight loss, I also started eating breakfast. At first it was something very light like a cup of dry cheerios or a bowl of regular oatmeal but as my body, diet & fitness level changed, I found carbs weren't cutting it anymore. I either have protein powder, Kashi oatmeal or eggs now and they stick with me pretty well.

    The time I eat breakfast changes every day. Like today, I was a bit more hungry in the morning because I was under my calories yesterday so I ate right after I got out of the shower (around 7am) and also had a mid-morning snack. Some days I don't eat until 9 or 9:30. It's still breakfast because, as someone else pointed out, I'm breaking that overnight fast.

    Like any other part of this weight loss stuff - everyone is different so do what works for you and change it if it stops working.
  • vmusic
    vmusic Posts: 2
    YES YES YES !!!
    I have been all over the board with this over the years but truly believe it is vital. This is the meal that fuels your body AND BRAIN for the beginning of your day. In the past 6 months that I have been incorporating the following advice into my diet [noun, not verb], I have lost 10 pounds without starving and have no longer fallen asleep at my desk in the afternoon!!! My bootcamp coach, a nurse practitioner friend [and others] say [1] every time you eat, eat, protein, fat and carbs. [2] Dr Oz says - reverse your meals: make breakfast your biggest meal of the day to fuel your body and brain. This is the time to eat the simpler carbs like toast, cereals and the higher sugar carbs like fruit. though I also will eat carrots, cukes, etc. [3] Eat every 3 hrs. [4] dinner is the smallest meal.

    The trick is finding the foods that the body metabolizes slowly and spreading your calories over the course of the day to minimize the blood sugar spikes. Wishing you the best! :happy:
  • rileysowner
    rileysowner Posts: 8,330 Member
    you wouldnt be able to start a car without food but you expect your body to work without fuel ?
    If you skip breakfast your more likely to eat more next time you eat.
    If your hungry after 2 hours after having breakfast have a snack or some water.
    Good luck with weight loss :-)

    But we are fat and our bodies are covered with extra fuel.
  • awilson2010
    awilson2010 Posts: 9
    It has definitely helped me! In my first attempt at changing my lifestyle I changed what foods I ate and how often I ate, but still couldn't do breakfast.. however, when I started eating breakfast I lost almost10lbs in 2 weeks.

    The reason you get hungry quicker & more often is because your body is burning better, its a good thing! stock up on raw veggies & fruit so you can eat when you're hungry. I used to be the same way (going all day without eating as long as I didn't eat breakfast, I only used to eat one meal a day and be fine with it) and it was my problem. I wasn't eating often or enough to keep my body burning the fat. It just held on to what I already had & what it could get from the food I ate when I finally did eat.

    I don't eat as soon as I get up, but since I am an early riser a few hours can pass before I eat and its still very much morning so I am still eating breakfast.

    I don't eat a meal. I have one package of reduced sugar Quaker oatmeal, a protein shake, toast with peanut butter or a bowl of cereal. Something small, but enough to kickstart my matoblism and give me the energy to start my day.

    What works for me doesn't work for everyone, and what works for you may not either :) My advice would be to push yourself for a week or two and see if it makes a difference at all - if its going to, you'll notice since its something you don't do often, and if it doesn't you know its not detrimental to keep going without it.
  • 4theking
    4theking Posts: 1,196 Member
    Most obese folks skip breakfast because when they wake up they are still stuffed from their over consumption of everything under the sun the night before.

    Eating a little something when you wake up does nothing to your metabolism and increases blood sugar and insulin, and blunts growth hormone and your adrenal hormones, all of which are bad for someone trying to lose fat. Your body has a great source for energy already in place, and most people have plenty of fat to spare. The mindset that you have to eat every three hours and as soon as you wake up, to have energy, is the exact reason most of us are fat in the first place. Glad I no longer think this way. Feeling hunger pains sometimes is a good thing.
  • theginnyray
    theginnyray Posts: 208 Member
    It's my favorite meal of the day. I do think it is the most important, but apparently that's just me. I also don't put restrictions on how late I eat either.
  • Lakerlady5747
    Lakerlady5747 Posts: 77 Member
    I never used to be a breakfast eater. However, I have found that when I do eat breakfast, I have more energy to start my day (which means I am more likely to get moving and doing things, which is good) and I can solve problems easier when I'm at work. I try to think of what I eat (aka the calories I consume) as "fuel" for my body. I need to make sure I have "fuel" in my body when I start my day! Plus, I have found that if I skip breakfast, I eat a TON later in the day.

    My typical breakfast is about 1.5 cups of Special K with 1/2 cup of fat-free milk and a cup of orange juice (I love orange juice and can't give it up!). Sometimes I'll have Cheerios instead of Special K or oatmeal instead of cold cereal. I find that this usually holds me over until lunch. If it doesn't, I snack on a piece of fruit.
  • HMonsterX
    HMonsterX Posts: 3,000 Member
    you wouldnt be able to start a car without food but you expect your body to work without fuel ?
    If you skip breakfast your more likely to eat more next time you eat.
    If your hungry after 2 hours after having breakfast have a snack or some water.
    Good luck with weight loss :-)

    But we are fat and our bodies are covered with extra fuel.

    This. I would expect my car to dip into its reserve fuel tank and take what it needs.
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