If you wake up late, should you just skip breakfast?

vaninay
vaninay Posts: 47
edited December 17 in Health and Weight Loss
Because of my sleeping habits, I usually don't wake up until 10 or 11 (usually don't go to bed until 2 or 3 though).
What I do is, I make breakfast and lunch as 1 (brunch). Is it okay? Will it be harder for me to lose weight? :(
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Replies

  • jcomley1
    jcomley1 Posts: 133
    I would really like to know this as well! cause on a saturday- its my day to sleep and recover. and i just let my body rest till its ready to get up (usually 10/11).
  • illecl
    illecl Posts: 30 Member
    I usually do, if I get up late. It's an opportunity to eat a little less on one day or have a nicer brunch. I think it's good to mix up meals a little. Your body gets used to what you ordinarily do.
  • Cilenia
    Cilenia Posts: 208 Member
    I never skip breakfast. I call the first meal i eat within an hour i woke up breakfast, from there onwards i start counting till lunch. I would skip my morning snack tho :)
  • starblazing
    starblazing Posts: 28 Member
    if you are going to bed late, i dont think it should matter. you should eat within 2 hours of waking, the earlier the better, but as far as what time, your body doesnt know that it's almost noon, especially if you are going to bed late. i dont worry about it and i usually get up around 10-12 on my days off too and i am still loosing. good luck!
  • pukekolive
    pukekolive Posts: 237 Member
    I work afternoons 12.30pm to 9pm

    If I do a walk or workout in the morning before 10am I have some cereal but I usually try and have a cooked breakfast (brunch) around 11am to 11.30am. At work my 'lunch' break' is at 4-5pm and I have chicken and/or sandwiches

    When I get home, I try and have something such as a Quick Cup rice with microwave steamed vegies and more chicken or fish

    For snacks I have low fat yoghurt or protein cookies. If I only have cereal in the morning I have a scoop of protein poweder with it, fruit and a couple of tablespoons of low fat yoghurt
  • mswn02
    mswn02 Posts: 38
    I never skip breakfast even when I wake up late. I will just eat something small/light for my breakfast (e.g., a slice of cantaloupe instead of my usual egg whites and sliced turkey).
  • dad106
    dad106 Posts: 4,868 Member
    Honestly, it doesn't matter when you eat your calories as long as you get them all in.

    If you wake up late and are hungry then eat.. if not, then plan to have a bigger lunch/dinner and a few snacks.
  • SueGremlin
    SueGremlin Posts: 1,066 Member
    I skip breakfast all the time. I have been losing just fine.
  • Graciecny
    Graciecny Posts: 302 Member
    Personally I never eat breakfast (ie: a meal shortly after waking up), it just doesn't work for me. I am a night owl and like eating late. On my workdays I get up around 7am, head to work at 8:30 am and eat my first meal at 11am. I have a snack at 3 and a meal at 5. I get off work around 8pm, hit the gym for 60-90 minutes then head home and have my last meal of the day around 10pm, sometimes as late as 11.

    So far this schedule has worked out fine for me. Days I don't have to work/eat late the night before, I might grab a cup of yogurt around 9 or 10am if I'm feeling really hungry, but generally I don't.

    Bottom line, do what seems right for you and your body, IMO!

    ETA: I am, as you can see, still getting in 3 meals on workdays. On days off I only do lunch (12-ish) and dinner around 6pm. As I said above, this doesn't seem to hurt my weight loss, and I can enjoy a reasonably big meal with my family on my days off as I bank a lot of calories for dinner those days, typically.
  • PinkAndSparkle
    PinkAndSparkle Posts: 324
    I just push back my meals if I wake up late and usually dont have many snacks.
  • chrisdavey
    chrisdavey Posts: 9,834 Member
    breakfast as in break-fast. Is the first meal after you fast (sleep). Have it whenever you want. Total cals/macros matters most, not when you intake them.
  • tojam28
    tojam28 Posts: 11 Member
    I don't think you should skip breakfast, which could be anything (i.e. a piece of fruit and a cup of milk). I think that whatever time you wake up, you should eat within an hour of that. It gets your metabolism going for the rest of the day.
  • peachNpunkin
    peachNpunkin Posts: 1,010 Member
    I never skip breakfast, I just move things around. Breakfast is my favorite meal.
  • Mzfoster0517
    Mzfoster0517 Posts: 83 Member
    Because of my sleeping habits, I usually don't wake up until 10 or 11 (usually don't go to bed until 2 or 3 though).
    What I do is, I make breakfast and lunch as 1 (brunch). Is it okay? Will it be harder for me to lose weight? :(
    We are supposed to eat 5 to 6 small meals a day to help prevent overeating and unevenness in your energy levels plus to keep your metabolism up and steady. I'm not sure one day a week will hurt you to bad. I totally understand sleeping in, but even when I sleep in I still eat all my meals, even if I'm not hungry.
  • adamtall
    adamtall Posts: 275 Member
    like others have said it doesnt matter when you eat your calories but for me if i skip breakfast i end up snacking alot more than i usually do on alot worse items so i personally cant skip it

    the brunch idea is great though i think :)
  • chrisdavey
    chrisdavey Posts: 9,834 Member
    I don't think you should skip breakfast, which could be anything (i.e. a piece of fruit and a cup of milk). I think that whatever time you wake up, you should eat within an hour of that. It gets your metabolism going for the rest of the day.

    this is incorrect

    http://www.leangains.com/2010/10/top-ten-fasting-myths-debunked.html
  • dad106
    dad106 Posts: 4,868 Member
    Because of my sleeping habits, I usually don't wake up until 10 or 11 (usually don't go to bed until 2 or 3 though).
    What I do is, I make breakfast and lunch as 1 (brunch). Is it okay? Will it be harder for me to lose weight? :(
    We are supposed to eat 5 to 6 small meals a day to help prevent overeating and unevenness in your energy levels plus to keep your metabolism up and steady. I'm not sure one day a week will hurt you to bad. I totally understand sleeping in, but even when I sleep in I still eat all my meals, even if I'm not hungry.

    This is incorrect..nothing says you have to eat 5-6 meals. Eating when not hungry is what got us all fat in the first place.. no?

    As long as you get all the calories in, it doesn't matter when you eat them.
  • Graciecny
    Graciecny Posts: 302 Member
    I don't think you should skip breakfast, which could be anything (i.e. a piece of fruit and a cup of milk). I think that whatever time you wake up, you should eat within an hour of that. It gets your metabolism going for the rest of the day.

    [edit to add: while I was trying to search and post about this, chris beat me to it!]

    I am pretty sure I've seen links posted about the whole breakfast/metabolism link being a myth. I'm on a phone (makes surfing and doing links hard for me) but it might be worth doing some looking around to confirm that is fact.
  • randomartisrgirl
    randomartisrgirl Posts: 133
    If you feel like it. Do what feels comfortable! Don't eat unnecessarily if you aren't hungry. If I wake up late, I sure don't make a point of eating breakfast. Early lunch, maybe? Saves more cals for later. :wink:
  • LaMujerMasBonitaDelMundo
    LaMujerMasBonitaDelMundo Posts: 3,634 Member
    NO I don't, I just eat a piece of fruit or yogurt if I wake up around 10-11am then will eat lunch between 12-2pm. I'm a diabetic & so I can't afford to skip any of those 3 main meals.
  • tigersword
    tigersword Posts: 8,059 Member
    Meal timing and frequency don't have any impact on weight loss. You could eat all of your calories at once right before bed if you want and you'll still lose just the same.
  • LaMujerMasBonitaDelMundo
    LaMujerMasBonitaDelMundo Posts: 3,634 Member
    Because of my sleeping habits, I usually don't wake up until 10 or 11 (usually don't go to bed until 2 or 3 though).
    What I do is, I make breakfast and lunch as 1 (brunch). Is it okay? Will it be harder for me to lose weight? :(
    We are supposed to eat 5 to 6 small meals a day to help prevent overeating and unevenness in your energy levels plus to keep your metabolism up and steady. I'm not sure one day a week will hurt you to bad. I totally understand sleeping in, but even when I sleep in I still eat all my meals, even if I'm not hungry.

    This is incorrect..nothing says you have to eat 5-6 meals. Eating when not hungry is what got us all fat in the first place.. no?

    NO its not when, what or the frequency of our meals. Its over consumption of calories that made us fat. There are many foods that we think are OK to eat but it turns out to be a high-calorie one. Eating 5-6 small meals doesn't make one fat, its over consumption of calories + sedentary lifestyle that make us fat. Just because you eat frequently doesn't mean you're over consuming calories. You can eat 6 times a day but still not going over your calorie goal & on the other hand, you can eat only once or twice a day but still can end up over 1,000 calories which one factor that makes us fat.
  • Lift_hard_eat_big
    Lift_hard_eat_big Posts: 2,278 Member
    We are supposed to eat 5 to 6 small meals a day to help prevent overeating and unevenness in your energy levels plus to keep your metabolism up and steady. I'm not sure one day a week will hurt you to bad. I totally understand sleeping in, but even when I sleep in I still eat all my meals, even if I'm not hungry.
    5-6 meals a day is NOT required to keep metabolism up and steady. That's a huge myth, and one in particular that really irks me.
  • Lift_hard_eat_big
    Lift_hard_eat_big Posts: 2,278 Member
    Meal timing and frequency don't have any impact on weight loss. You could eat all of your calories at once right before bed if you want and you'll still lose just the same.

    ^^^ = Winning!!!
  • LaMujerMasBonitaDelMundo
    LaMujerMasBonitaDelMundo Posts: 3,634 Member
    Because of my sleeping habits, I usually don't wake up until 10 or 11 (usually don't go to bed until 2 or 3 though).
    What I do is, I make breakfast and lunch as 1 (brunch). Is it okay? Will it be harder for me to lose weight? :(
    We are supposed to eat 5 to 6 small meals a day to help prevent overeating and unevenness in your energy levels plus to keep your metabolism up and steady. I'm not sure one day a week will hurt you to bad. I totally understand sleeping in, but even when I sleep in I still eat all my meals, even if I'm not hungry.

    No it doesn't necessary required to keep your metabolism up & steady. It can only help normalizing blood sugar. As a diabetic I have to eat frequently to regulate my blood sugar & to avoid hypoglucemia (low blood sugar) which is one of the complications of diabetes.
  • margreynaert
    margreynaert Posts: 4
    If nothing else, have a banana. You need to start with something
  • meagalayne
    meagalayne Posts: 3,382 Member
    Eventually you'll have to break that fast - I'm telling you, you'll get really hungry if you don't eat eventually :wink:

    Eat whenever's most comfortable. If you don't keep "normal" hours, why keep a normal eating schedule? Total calorie in take and satisfying your macros is what really counts. Eating breakfast within 1-2 hours of waking up is most common because people are usually fairly hungry after sleeping for 6-8 hours ... It's a preference, not a requirement.
  • akafayefaye
    akafayefaye Posts: 2 Member
    I'm researching now for a paper on this exact topic! I'll try to keep this simple.

    I found some in favor of skipping breakfast (or who think it doesn't matter), but those studies seem to be much fewer, and more recent. I found input from one scientist whose results indicate it's healthier to skip, because a person can have fewer daily calories. BUT, he only allowed his test subjects to eat 1 meal per day - dinner for which they had no restriction on calories. Most were not able to eat all of the calories for the day in that meal, and they lost weight.

    The overwhelming majority of what I found is in favor of breakfast, and says that people who skip breakfast are more likely to become obese (4 times more likely - said one statistic). Some say it happens simply because the hunger form skipping leads to poorer choices later; some say it happens because the long period without eating causes spikes in insulin which slows metabolism (and long-term could even damage the pancreas, and increase the risk of diabetes).

    One more thing - a LOT of the results I read said that "what" is eaten is more important that eating. Meaning - eating a crappy breakfast tested worse than skipping breakfast. They say eat foods that release energy slowly and keep the body satisfied for a long time (whole grains, protein, fruit, low fat dairy). Just avoid sugar.

    I didn't read anything about how soon within waking it should be eaten though. I think I've always heard 2 hours or so,
  • krystina_letitia9
    krystina_letitia9 Posts: 697 Member
    Because of my sleeping habits, I usually don't wake up until 10 or 11 (usually don't go to bed until 2 or 3 though).
    What I do is, I make breakfast and lunch as 1 (brunch). Is it okay? Will it be harder for me to lose weight? :(

    I eat 3 meals and a couple snacks, regardless of what time I wake up. I work night shift so my body is always confused, so I need to give it proper fuel. Not giving it what it needs is a poor decision. Feel free to look at my diary or friend me if you want to see what I do.
  • kassied09
    kassied09 Posts: 397
    Never skip breakfast.
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