Ok, so I know that breakfast is supposed to be the most important meal of the day, and I've heard that it jumpstarts the metabolism in the morning so that more calories are burned throughout the day, but it seems that eating breakfast makes me so much hungrier all day...

If I eat breakfast, it is usually something small like a gluten-free waffle with cinnamon, some juice-sweetened rice bran cereal with unsweetened almond milk, or a piece of fruit with some almonds, because I don't have time to cook. But then I am so ravenous for the rest of the day that I want to (and often do) eat everything in sight.

It's so much easier for me to limit my daily calories if I wait until like 3 o'clock without eating (I usually wake up around 10:30, so 3 is lunch time for me), then eat a light lunch and a healthy dinner.

Is it really that bad for me to go without breakfast? It seems much easier to lose weight when I skip breakfast, but I am afraid of all the horror stories I've heard about messing up my metabolism in the long run by skipping meals.

What do you all think? Eat or skip? Why? What should I eat, if I have to eat something (I'm pescatarian and gluten-free) in the morning? How do I stop breakfast from setting me on a day-long eating extravaganza? Please advise...

How many calories do you eat approximately throughout the day? To me it sounds like maybe you eat too little, and you getting hungry is nothing more than a normal reaction. My preferred breakfast is a bowl of yoghurt with fruit and muesly, I guess you could substitute the muesli with nuts or maybe something like flax seed? I find I can do way more during the day when I eat a decent breakfast. Have you noticed any effect on productivity?

I usually don't eat breakfast because I don't feel hungry in the morning.. If I do eat breakfast it is usually small like a granola bar.

Give us an example of your typical day, it could just be that you're not eating enough food like one of the other posters said.

Seriously, breakfast is important. It's up to you whether you believe it or not but I find that if I eat a healthy breakfast, I'm less hungry throughout the day. You need protein and healthy carbs and fiber, not a bowl of cereal in the morning. Eggs and toast with some fruit, yogurt and peanut butter on toast, oatmeal with flaxseeds and fruit. Heck you don't even have to have "breakfast" foods! Have a burrito or something.

I think the problem is that you're not getting enough protein and fiber with your breakfasts, which is what's causing you to be hungrier throughout the day.

Woot, you sound like another gluten-free chica.

I'm interested like the other girls in seeing what you eat typically. Once you get that metabolism rolling in the am, maybe you should be carrying around a container of grapes, or rice crackers, or some other low-calorie snack. If you're actually feeling hungry, then your body probably needs the energy just to get through your daily routines.

Also... you must have a teensy tiny frame, m'dear! 105, eep! I think my bones alone probably weight that much.

[Edit:] Oh, and my vote is that you keep eating breakfast. It's been proven to help in weight loss, and your body needs the food to function properly. If you don't eat from 8 pm until noon the next day... that's 16 hours that your body is trying to run without fuel!

Thanks for the replies...

Depending on how "good" I am, I eat anywhere from 1200-2000 calories per day. My Fitday says I burn between 1500-1700 calories per day with my semi-sedentary lifestyle (I am a student and do a lot of sitting in class and lying in bed studying, but I do wait tables 3 nights a week), although I just ordered the 30 day burn video, so hopefully that will change. I've been eating a bit too much lately (hence my need to lose weight).

Maybe I will try the yogurt thing. Eggs are not really for me in the morning, because I am always running late, but I can get protein from unsweetened yogurt, I guess. I do like almond butter and unsweetened applesauce on rice cakes, so perhaps that could be a stand in for peanut butter and toast. I am never actually *hungry* in the morning, though, so I have mixed feelings about training myself to eat when I am not yet hungry.

I'll give it a week and see how it goes. I'll check in with you guys to see what you think about my breakfast progress and if y'all have any suggestions about what I should do differently.

Edit: @ Jelbb -- Yeah, I do have a small frame (except for big feet and a big head for some reason, lol). Not only that, but I carry all my weight around my middle and in my chin. No matter how much or how little I weigh, I have small boobs and a flat butt. The more that I weigh, the more I begin to look like a keg with legs. Case in point: I am under 130 lbs., yet have a 29" waist right now. 105-113 is actually my happy range -- any less and I start to look too thin, and any more and I feel chunks of chub hanging over the waist of pants that fit otherwise.

That sounds like a healthy number of calories. I agree, maybe you should try the yogurt in the morning..

Out of curiosity, are you anti-wheat/gluten by choice, or do you have a bad intolerance/celiac?

Because oatmeal... organic oatmeal, a half cup of organic with organic honey and blueberries is SO filling and yummy. Apparently scientists have proven that oats don't have the same kind of gluten proteins as wheat, barley, etc... the only issue still is cross-contamination. So if it's just a choice you've made, maybe cheating and eating oatmeal for breakfast is an idea?

Really, half a cup expands to a giant bowl of oatmeal, and I feel full straight through to lunch, something that doesn't happen with a gluten-free piece of toast or two.

..also... I weigh 157 and I don't have a butt either, lmao. By the time I'm your weight... my bottom will be concave, lol.

I have a mild gluten intolerance. Mostly it just gives me really annoying eczema on my elbows, which I then compulsively scratch at until I have ugly scales there. Also, it is more likely to give me food-coma symptoms than other grains. So I stay away from it for the most part, but I do cheat with the occasional beer or for a special occasion and as long as I am good for the most part, the eczema stays gone.

So I tried the plain yogurt thing (I added cinnamon, some almonds, canned apricots, and 1/3 cup Millet Rice cereal to make it crunchy), and here it is just a couple of hours later, and I am starting to feel ridiculously hungry again. My breakfast contained 10.6 grams of protein.

I am following the advice listed here, and have brought with me some snacks: baby carrots, 2 brown rice cakes, raw almond butter, unsweetened apple sauce.

And I brought some of my very-filling vegetarian chili for lunch. We'll see if I make it through this school day (which lasts until 7:30) without hitting up the greasy chinese place across the street. Hunan tofu is one of my weaknesses... I'll let you know how it goes.

Sounds like a great breakfast! Kinda disappointing that it isn't filling you as much as it should.
So, this week I tried preparing my breakfasts in advance. I cooked up some eggs, salsa and cheese and made breakfast burritos. I dont know if there are any gluten free tortillas in existance... but less than a minute in the microwave and I'm out the door.
Stay away from the chineese!

Aurelie - being hungry a few hours later is normal. A meal or snack can only really carry you 3-4 hours, unless it is abnormally large or heavy. You DO have to eat to fuel your body.

If you're hungry a few hours after your breakfast, plan in a healthy snack between breakfast and lunch. I eat seven (SEVEN) times a day! Otherwise, I get hungry and tend to overeat at meals.