Does it really matter how fast you eat in the morning? - 3 Fat Chicks on a Diet Weight Loss Community

HadEnough · 01-02-2013, 10:10 AM

I remember hearing that you should eat protein 1/2 hr within waking to start your metabolism? Does that really matter? I really don't have the time or desire to do that. I get up at 5:30, to work at 7:30 and eat breakfast about 8:30. Is that good, or is eating protein right away in the morning that important that if I don't do that, I am sabotaging myself?

GlamourGirl827 · 01-02-2013, 10:22 AM

I've actually never heard of that rule specifically. I know its not healthy to skip breakfast altogether. I could never eat with in a 1/2 of waking up. IMO I don't think waiting to eat until 8:30 is going to make or break your weighloss.

krampus · 01-02-2013, 11:52 AM

Doubtful, I don't eat breakfast at all and some mornings I lift weights and run in a fasted state. Hasn't impacted weight loss even a little.

twinieten · 01-02-2013, 12:28 PM

Do some reading on intermittent fasting. Eating breakfast later is perfectly healthy and revs the metabolism just the same.

Really, it doesn't matter when you eat. What you eat matters and how much you eat matters. it's calories in-calories out. Of course if you eat too many calories or poor quality foods, you're going to sabotage yourself, even if you eat them first thing in the morning.

I don't think your weight loss efforts will be harmed by not eating first thing. I used to wait until around 8:30 to eat too. Like you, up at 5:30 (coffee and vitamins= breakfast), work by 7, and then my stomach starts grumbling for food. I started eating breakfast when I was feeling nauseous by not eating it. Then it became necessary. My weight loss did not increase as a result of that.

Also, I found that even if I ate breakfast first thing in the morning (when I wasn't hungry and ate anyways to "speed up my metabolism"), I'd still be famished by 8 or 9 anyways. So why not skip the eating part first thing when I'm not hungry, and wait to eat later when I actually am hungry? Sometimes I won't eat until lunch time. I'm just not hungry or I become hungry an hour before my lunch break. Not worth eating then. I'll have a little munch, and wait for lunch. Then I have a few extra calories to add towards the end of the day for snacks and dinner where I need them most, when I'm really hungry!

It's calories in and calories out. Period. Eating first thing in the morning or eating protein first thing in the morning isn't going to speed up your metabolism. I'm a slow loser, take what I have to say with a grain of salt, but even when I was eating breakfast, I was still a slow loser.

sacha · 01-02-2013, 12:54 PM

People really over tout any benefits of meal timing. Just do what works for you. Unless you are an actual athlete (and I train 6 days a week but I'm not 'elite' or anything) then really, it's not a big enough difference to work your life around.

vabs · 01-02-2013, 01:02 PM

It doesn't matter for physiological reasons. It does make a difference if not eating breakfast at a certain time makes it harder for you, psychologically. This is why some people do fantastic with 6 meals a day and horrible on intermittent fasting, or vice versa! It all comes down to compliance.

shcirerf · 01-02-2013, 10:23 PM

I roll out of bed at 5:15 and don't eat until 7ish. Then I don't eat again until about 1. Plus I work out on my lunch hour several days a week. Some days it's a struggle, but that's my job and what I have to work with. So I work with it!

I think breakfast is important, but you have to do what works for you. If eating at 8:30 works for you, go with it!

alaskanlaughter · 01-02-2013, 10:32 PM

ive always hated to eat breakfast, even when i was a kid...when i was younger though, skipping breakfast would lead me to eat like crap later in the day...now i'm more aware of that and how i react to food

i find that, once i eat something, i want to eat MORE and keep eating...like once the switch is "on" that it's super hard to turn it back "off" again...i still dont like to eat breakfast and often work out, running, in the mornings at the gym on an empty stomach...it hasnt affected my weight loss in any way...then i come home and make a protein/fiber shake for after that...

energie · 01-02-2013, 10:43 PM

I only drink water or fruit juice(I have a blender) when I get up. Breakfast isnt necessary.

DecemberSun · 01-02-2013, 10:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HadEnough

I remember hearing that you should eat protein 1/2 hr within waking to start your metabolism? Does that really matter? I really don't have the time or desire to do that. I get up at 5:30, to work at 7:30 and eat breakfast about 8:30. Is that good, or is eating protein right away in the morning that important that if I don't do that, I am sabotaging myself?

Well, I think it's sabotaging yourself if skipping breakfast leaves you feeling low on energy and run down by lunchtime and causes you to eat more than you would have otherwise (aka what happens to me). However, if not, I don't think it matters if whatever you're doing works for you. I eat breakfast anywhere from 1/2 hour to an hour after getting up. Sometimes I eat protein like scrambled eggs, sometimes I only eat something like a banana, but I have to eat something.

twinieten · 01-02-2013, 11:22 PM

It's interesting to me how many people really don't like eating breakfast, even though you're "supposed to" to "speed up metabolism".

TripSwitch · 01-03-2013, 12:04 AM

I pretty much stick with 2 meals a day and some sort or snack like some nuts or a piece of fruit... So "breakfast" isn't usually one of them... And I have plenty of energy to work out.... And it hasn't "slowed" my metabolism at all, since I'm maintaining my weight loss fairly easily...

Don't get me wrong... I love "breakfast"... I just don't think that you necessarily "have" to have it in the morning...

baker23 · 01-03-2013, 02:08 AM

I do intermittnet fasting. Because of my schedule, I usually end up waking up around 10 in the morning, don't eat anything before 3 pm, and get my running/workout in before then...It hasen't effected my weightloss to where I've noticed, I rarely feel hungry until around the time I eat at 3, and I still have plenty of energy

Just depends...I've never been an eat in the morning person, even when I was at my heaviest...

Angeldove97 · 01-03-2013, 04:56 AM

If I'm hungry, I'll eat breakfast- if I'm not, then I won't. I like sticking to the basic rule of calories in and calories out. I do try to have a bigger lunch or an afternoon snack so that I'm not overeating during dinner time and I'm trying to stick to no snacking past 8pm. So no, I haven't noticed a difference of if I'm eating breakfast or not.

emurph · 01-03-2013, 07:31 AM

I get up around 6:30, take my thyroid pill with a glass of water, shower, have coffee, and then eat when my 2 year old is up and decides His Highness is ready for breakfast.

I have never been hungry right away in the morning and even when I was working I'd eat something small before I left and then bring oatmeal and a banana for later in the morning. I think it probably varies a lot based on the person as to when the ideal breakfast time is. My husband needs to eat something immediately.