Should breakfast be the largest meal of the day?

2

Replies

  • laddyboy
    laddyboy Posts: 1,565 Member

    You may skip breakfast if you prefer.

    This is wrong. Never Ever Skip Breakfast. After fasting all night your metabolism slow down. Feeding it breakfast gets it moving again. Think of it as a fire that's been sitting all night. It was blazing when you went to be and it's almost out in the morning. Fresh wood on it gets it burning hot again. Eat a good breakfast.
    I've heard it like this.

    Eat
    Breakfast like a King
    Lunch like a Queen
    and Dinner Like a Pauper
    This has helped me to lose a bunch of weight.
  • aimee_md
    aimee_md Posts: 44
    Personal preference really.

    For me it's my largest meal of the day.

    I feel like if I eat a lot in the morning ill have more energy and the rest of the day to work it off, it helps me pace myself throughout the day and eat lighter.
  • glennstoudt
    glennstoudt Posts: 403 Member
    Wait. Where the **** am I?



    Is-This-Real-Life-Or-Is-This-Just-Fanta-Sea.jpeg
    That is an awesome pic. Definitely need to steal it.

    caught in a landslide, no escape from reality
  • bluebird321
    bluebird321 Posts: 733 Member
    Preference. Largest meal of the day for me.
  • pkfrankel
    pkfrankel Posts: 171 Member
    Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a pauper.
  • RonSwanson66
    RonSwanson66 Posts: 1,150 Member
    Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a pauper.

    It was nice while it lasted.
  • EDesq
    EDesq Posts: 1,527 Member
    I know it's the most important. But should I consume the most calories at this time since I have the rest of the day to burn it off? It's just, I feel like a a large "wholesome" breakfast preps me to eat more throughout the day. As if I make my stomach bigger by eating a lot of food, so there's a weird need to keep it full.

    Anyone else have thoughts or opinions on breakfast portion?


    I believe that the largest meal should be whatever one You want it to be. Digestion takes place 24/7 so YOU have to determine your needs, like:
    (1) What is your food tolerance for eating in the early morning?
    (2) Are you a high energy "Morning Person" or "Evening Person"...I'm a Morning Person so I just need coffee, water...until about 11AM-12Noon, then I start getting hungry and need a little energy (But NOT high Carbs, I'll get sleepy)
    (3) What meal do you like to relax with and it is a "Treat"...for Me, they may vary on the weekend...
    (4) Do you need constant balance/blood sugar level steady, then equal calorie meals are for you...

    Basically, You decide Your Needs...example, when I was in Law School, I would NEVER eat before an exam (Stats show not eating before Tests Helps cognitive production...), personally I already knew this, food seemed to slow me down. Do what YOU Need.
  • myfitnessnmhoy
    myfitnessnmhoy Posts: 2,105 Member
    This is wrong. Never Ever Skip Breakfast. After fasting all night your metabolism slow down. Feeding it breakfast gets it moving again. Think of it as a fire that's been sitting all night. It was blazing when you went to be and it's almost out in the morning. Fresh wood on it gets it burning hot again. Eat a good breakfast.
    I've heard it like this.

    Eat
    Breakfast like a King
    Lunch like a Queen
    and Dinner Like a Pauper
    This has helped me to lose a bunch of weight.

    Eat. Breakfast until you feel like you've started your day. Lunch as snacks all day long. Supper to fill any gaps in macros. This has helped ME lose a bunch of weight.

    Eat. Breakfast not at all. Lunch all your calories. Supper not at all. This has helped a friend of mine lose a bunch of weight.

    Eat. Big breakfast, no lunch, huge supper at 10PM. This has helped my uncle lose a bunch of weight.

    Common denominator: we all ate at a net caloric deficit.

    That's what counts. If you're eating your macros in balance, your body has sufficient fuel to run for 24 hours even if you only eat one meal. Timing is largely irrelevant. Timing is far more important to control hunger, and everyone reacts differently to that.
  • Mercenary1914
    Mercenary1914 Posts: 1,087 Member
    Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a pauper.

    It was nice while it lasted.

    LOL! So true....

    I only eat breakfast to keep from punching someone......I am starving like a mofo when I wake up...it's something like a bear right out of hibernation
  • RilantheFirebug
    RilantheFirebug Posts: 207 Member
    Lunch tends to be mine. Do what works for you.
  • aimee_md
    aimee_md Posts: 44
    Wait. Where the **** am I?



    Is-This-Real-Life-Or-Is-This-Just-Fanta-Sea.jpeg
    That is an awesome pic. Definitely need to steal it.
    Just made this my cover photo on facebook lol
  • myfitnessnmhoy
    myfitnessnmhoy Posts: 2,105 Member
    caught in a landslide, no escape from reality
    Open your eyes, look up to the skies and see
  • EDesq
    EDesq Posts: 1,527 Member
    Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a pauper.

    It was nice while it lasted.

    LOL! So true....

    I only eat breakfast to keep from punching someone......I am starving like a mofo when I wake up...it's something like a bear right out of hibernation


    Maybe that is because you did NOT have a good Dinner before your nightly Fast...so when you Break your Fast in the morning you are STARVING. Maybe Ample eating Before the Fasting period would have a different result.

    ALL of THESE CRAZY MYTHS "WE" have here about food, eating, weight loss/maintenance... There are many people in the world who only eat once a day and even more who eat once a week! NO wonder the USA and the "West" are the Fattest and most unhealthy people in the world..errybody is a GURU and know junk!
  • CrystalFlury
    CrystalFlury Posts: 400 Member
    Yeah, really it doesn't matter as long as you aren't stuffing your self before bedtime (I'm sort of guilty of that right now :-( ). I'd prefer to make breakfast my biggest meal, but don't because that wouldn't work well for me socially. If I'm likely to go out to eat it's going to be dinner time and if I use most of my calories during breakfast then it would screw me over for dinner. If that makes sense.
  • jakeyz
    jakeyz Posts: 2
    Wow, this was pretty refreshing. I've heard plenty of people who are in the health profession tell me otherwise but the majority seems to say that breakfast/metabolism is wholly a myth. Good to know. Someone who understands these types of old wive's tales should make a post with common health myths. Seriously.
  • Mercenary1914
    Mercenary1914 Posts: 1,087 Member
    Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a pauper.

    It was nice while it lasted.

    LOL! So true....

    I only eat breakfast to keep from punching someone......I am starving like a mofo when I wake up...it's something like a bear right out of hibernation


    Maybe that is because you did NOT have a good Dinner before your nightly Fast...so when you Break your Fast in the morning you are STARVING. Maybe Ample eating Before the Fasting period would have a different result.

    LOL! You are waaaaaayyy OFF Man I eat at dinner..and I drink Casein Protein shakes before bed

    I am hungry every 2.5 to 3 hours....I have always been like that...If I didn't watch myself...I'd eat you out of your house
  • weatherlover1
    weatherlover1 Posts: 17 Member
    This is interesting. I tend to skip breakfast a lot during the week and have always thought I was doing it wrong. Good to know that in the end it only matters to eat your calories not which meal. I like supper to be my biggest meal.
  • zenchild
    zenchild Posts: 680 Member
    If I eat a whole meal at once for breakfast I want to eat more the rest of the day. For me, the solution is a grazing breakfast. I take an hour or two to have my coffee, another hour for my yogurt, maybe a handful of berries for another hour or so. I nibble very slowly from the time I get to work at 7:30 until about 11. I eat a smallish lunch at noon, a snack (almonds or fruit) in the afternoon, then a regular dinner at 6, workout 7-8 and then a shower and a snack before bed.
    A regular size meal earlier in the day makes me too full. Then I wait too long till the next meal and get hungry and eat more and my whole day is a mess.
  • HeidiJ810
    HeidiJ810 Posts: 20 Member
    I like to eat 2 breakfasts, that way I can pretend its doubly important!
    One as a shake at 5am. One as 14 eggs at 9am.
    -

    Do you really eat 14 eggs in one sitting? I am not dissing this, just curious because it looks like you have been successful. I try to eat low carbs and high protein. Are you on some special diet or something?
  • pkfrankel
    pkfrankel Posts: 171 Member
    I think it is the most important meal of the day. Here's why. Likely the last meal you ate before breakfast was last night's dinner. Maybe that was 7:00 pm. Maybe you ate a snack at 9:00 and went to bed at 11:00. If you sleep eight hours, get up and go to work until 12:00 before eating, that's 15 hours between meals (17 if you didn't have a snack). For me that's a really long time.
  • HeidiJ810
    HeidiJ810 Posts: 20 Member
    I get sick when I eat too much for breakfast. I think it is good to eat something to get your metabolism going, but I don't think it needs to be the biggest meal.
  • Mercenary1914
    Mercenary1914 Posts: 1,087 Member
    Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a pauper.

    It was nice while it lasted.

    LOL! So true....

    I only eat breakfast to keep from punching someone......I am starving like a mofo when I wake up...it's something like a bear right out of hibernation


    Maybe that is because you did NOT have a good Dinner before your nightly Fast...so when you Break your Fast in the morning you are STARVING. Maybe Ample eating Before the Fasting period would have a different result.

    ALL of THESE CRAZY MYTHS "WE" have here about food, eating, weight loss/maintenance... There are many people in the world who only eat once a day and even more who eat once a week! NO wonder the USA and the "West" are the Fattest and most unhealthy people in the world..errybody is a GURU and know junk!

    The reason we are the fattest and most unhealthy people in the world has nothing to do with eating one meal or 10 meals a day...it has to do with gluttony...

    We simply eat WAY too much...

    I know people who eat 3 meals a day and I know folks who eat 9 meals a day....and they are extremely healthy...AND I know folks who do that exact same thing and they are obese...

    My best friend eats only lunch and dinner...and he is so over weight he can barely go up steps without passing out
  • Leimaro
    Leimaro Posts: 148 Member
    I think often guidelines are mistaken as the rule when it comes to losing weight. In the end, I feel that anyone would need to find what works best for them in achieving their goals. I used to eat breakfast (big or small) when I felt like it. Now, I eat only 1 cup of cold oatmeal cereal for breakfast just about everyday. It give me the energy I need to exercise in the morning.
  • ironanimal
    ironanimal Posts: 5,922 Member
    Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a pauper.

    It was nice while it lasted.

    LOL! So true....

    I only eat breakfast to keep from punching someone......I am starving like a mofo when I wake up...it's something like a bear right out of hibernation


    Maybe that is because you did NOT have a good Dinner before your nightly Fast...so when you Break your Fast in the morning you are STARVING. Maybe Ample eating Before the Fasting period would have a different result.

    ALL of THESE CRAZY MYTHS "WE" have here about food, eating, weight loss/maintenance... There are many people in the world who only eat once a day and even more who eat once a week! NO wonder the USA and the "West" are the Fattest and most unhealthy people in the world..errybody is a GURU and know junk!

    The reason we are the fattest and most unhealthy people in the world has nothing to do with eating one meal or 10 meals a day...it has to do with gluttony...

    We simply eat WAY too much...

    I know people who eat 3 meals a day and I know folks who eat 9 meals a day....and they are extremely healthy...AND I know folks who do that exact same thing and they are obese...

    My best friend eats only lunch and dinner...and he is so over weight he can barely go up steps without passing out
    Man, you need to buy him a harness and tie him to your waist. It'll help him get his *kitten* up the stairs and you get a free workout.

    I also eat Breakfast to avoid breaking stuff/people. I usually have dinner late, like 7 or 8pm and then a protein shake about 11, midnight even.
  • Mercenary1914
    Mercenary1914 Posts: 1,087 Member
    Man, you need to buy him a harness and tie him to your waist. It'll help him get his *kitten* up the stairs and you get a free workout.

    I also eat Breakfast to avoid breaking stuff/people. I usually have dinner late, like 7 or 8pm and then a protein shake about 11, midnight even.


    LMAO!

    No doubt man
  • SPNLuver83
    SPNLuver83 Posts: 2,050 Member
    I never used to eat breakfast. But lately I have been and trying to eat a lot at breakfast, particularly high in fiber. I find that it keeps me fuller throughout the day so I'm not overeating. I also tend to make it something on the sweeter side because it makes saying no to random chocolate eating throughout the day much much easier lol.
  • wackyfunster
    wackyfunster Posts: 944 Member
    What's breakfast, precious?
  • B_Running
    B_Running Posts: 158
    If I eat a whole meal at once for breakfast I want to eat more the rest of the day. For me, the solution is a grazing breakfast. I take an hour or two to have my coffee, another hour for my yogurt, maybe a handful of berries for another hour or so. I nibble very slowly from the time I get to work at 7:30 until about 11. I eat a smallish lunch at noon, a snack (almonds or fruit) in the afternoon, then a regular dinner at 6, workout 7-8 and then a shower and a snack before bed.
    A regular size meal earlier in the day makes me too full. Then I wait too long till the next meal and get hungry and eat more and my whole day is a mess.

    This happens to me too. I also noticed that if I eat a large breakfast, my willpower to eat right is weakened for the rest of the day.
  • ColleenAtherton
    ColleenAtherton Posts: 230 Member
    I don't think it matters very much. I tend to eat the same breakfast every day, and have lunch as my biggest meal of the day.

    This is me.
  • moochachip
    moochachip Posts: 237 Member
    I like to keep my breakfast small, like a small bowl of cereal, simply because it's the meal I remember the least. I want to be awake when I enjoy my food, so lunch/dinner is where I eat something more delicious and satisfying.