Hi there!
So I know that you are supposed to eat breakfast, because it is good for you and boosts your metabolism and helps you lose weight, BUT I hate it.
it seems like every morning I force myself to eat something, when all I want is coffee, and then as a result I seem hungrier for the rest of the day, and I feel like I eat even more than normal!
Do other people feel this way?
Does everyone eat breakfast?
Has anyone had success while skipping breakfast?
Hey there!! Don't feel alone... I feel the EXACT same way. I even ate the right things for breakfast and I swear it still made me hungrier throughout the day and I know I ate more on those days. lol. I know everyone says it is the right thing to do... yadda yadda... but I lost 50 lbs not doing it (in a healthy way, the first thing I ate was normally around 11:30am). That worked for me. I tried everything for breakfast. Just couldn't do it. I still can't. In fact I occasionally try to do the breakfast thing because people say I'm supposed to (today in fact) but it's always the same result.
So... do what works for you. If you can eat a nice healthy breakfast every morning, GREAT. If not, I don't think it's that huge of a deal. Just my opinion. You can keep trying new foods and you might find something that works for ya.
I find that if I don't eat breakfast, it undeniably sets me up for failure the rest of the day. I get too hungry, and I overeat. It's how I got to my weight in the first place, or at least partly, so I try to avoid skipping breakfast.
When you say you get hungrier on days you eat breakfast, what are you eating? I find that if my breakfast doesn't have protein, I'll have that same result (but that'll happen ANY time I eat without having some protein or fat to blunt carb overload). What's a sample day for you, food-wise?
One thing I have found is after a few weeks of seriously staying on plan, I just naturally became hungry is the morning, (but I still can't eat as soon as I wake up, I usually get up at 6:30am and eat around 7:30am.). When I reduced my calories and didn't eat a huge load in the evening, I just got naturally hungry faster. When I was eating a 2000 calorie supper at 8:00pm I wasn't hungry until noon the next day. When I started eating a 500 calorie supper at 7pm and a small snack at 8pm, by morning I was READY to eat. I look forward to breakfast every morning...breakfast is awesome! I also make sure around 1/2 of my breakfast calories are from protein/good fats and that really helps get me through the morning without even a second thought about snacking. Just remember though, the best "diet" is one you can live with and stick with forever!
I find that if I don't eat breakfast, it undeniably sets me up for failure the rest of the day. I get too hungry, and I overeat.
Ditto for me to. If I skip breakfast by lunch I am starving and it sets up a domino effect.
If I eat 4 small meals and two snacks evenly spaced out during my waking hours I am never hungry.
I ALWAYS eat breakfast whether I am hungry or not. If hungry I will eat a bigger breakfast if I am not so hungry I'll just have a cup full of cereal and a piece of fruit.
I have noticed the days I mess up are almost always days I skip meals and get too hungry and give in to temptation.
I'm on the no breakfast side of things. I honestly dislike eating breakfast. On the days I do I always go over my calories. When I eat something in the morning, no matter what it is I always feel like I'm HUNGRIER for lunch and then overeat at lunch. I purposely don't eat in the morning unless my body is really compelled to because I hate the really hungry feeling I get before lunch.
I eat 2 meals and 1-2 snacks throughout the day and love it. I get enough calories and it works really well for me.
I think breakfast is a person to person thing. I don't think everyone needs breakfast to have a healthy diet.
I've never been a first-thing-in-the-morning breakfast eater either. I have a big coffee (with 1/2 cup whole milk and a tsp of sugar) around 8:00am and then have breakfast (usually cereal with 2% and fruit) around 10:30am, which is when I naturally get hungry. Maybe my coffee counts as breakfast since it has 4g protein the way I prepare it??
My usual food schedule is 8:00am coffee, 10:30am breakfast, 2:30pm lunch, 5:00pm snack if hungry, 7:00pm dinner.
wow! it's really interesting to read everyones opinions.
I have tried to stick with breakfast for the last three weeks and feel like I have only gained weight, so I think I will go back to my no breakfast routine, like Jpye suggested.
I don't get overly hungry like some people mentioned and then binge eat so maybe it will work for me?
I do have a messed up schedule in the sense that I am usually up until 2 in the morning and some days I sleep in until noon and other days I get up at 7:30, due to my school schedule, so maybe because I can't create a reliable routine, my belly isn't going to like a forced routine.
I think I will try to eat when my stomach tells me too, and see how that goes.
thanks for all of the advice and opinions!
when I eat normal and listen to my body, I sometimes don't have my first meal until 11:30am or sometimes even 12. not everyone has to eat breakfast if they aren't hungry. I love breakfast foods but no breakfast times. it's ok you aren't going to gain weight because you don't eat breakfast.
I hate breakfast too... well I did until I almost completely went to smoothies. Got the idea from the Abs Diet book, just mix up berries, yogurt, flax, protein powder and blend, and drink. Great for on the go too. I also sometimes do smoothies with green tea or red bull my bad habit for the caffine. I've been losing, and from what I've read you must do breakfast so can you find something quick and easy to help your poor blood sugar after sleeping?
I skipped breakfast for years. Purely from a weight loss standpoint, I don't think it matter when in the day you eat your calories, it's the total intake versus outgo that matters. When I went on my latest (and hopefully last) weight loss plan, I still skipped breakfast and ate all of my calories later in the day. It still worked.
However, I found over time that this isn't the best pattern for me. I get up very early and work out first thing, but wasn't having anything other than coffee before lunch (and lunch was pretty light too). Then I was absolutely starving when I got home and would eat massive amounts then. Because I ate so much at night, then I wasn't hungry in the morning, and the cycle continued. Sure, I was still eating within my calorie budget and could still lose/maintain weight, but it isn't optimal for body refueling and sets up an almost binge-like pattern.
One of my New Years' resolutions was to intentionally spread out my calories more during the day. I shifted some of my calories to breakfast, and eat a little less at night. At first, I was just like you -- I felt like I was hungrier and wanted to eat more overall. The trick is to incorporate protein into the breakfast which has more staying power. If I have pure carbs, then I'll definitely want more carbs in 3 hours. But if I mix protein powder into my oatmeal, or have eggbeaters or something like that, it holds me over better and doesn't trigger my carb-craving mode. It took several weeks to adjust to the new eating pattern, but now it works just fine. I do think I feel better, with more sustained energy and better hunger management during the day. For me, the secret is no pure carbs, add protein.
So -- it CAN work either way. But having done it both ways, I do believe that spreading out your calories works better.
I've grown accustom to making sure I eat breakfast. It can range from a couple of hard boiled eggs, to a bowl of cereal, to a ham sandwich, or chicken. If I don't eat breakfast, I'm starving by 11 and eating everything in my sight.
I'm going to repeat the shake/smoothie suggestion. You can take it with you to work. You can sip it in the car. You can sip it gradually over time. The mixture possibilities are endless.
Lots of food plans (including Tom Venuto's) maintain that eating something prompts your metabolism. This is also the thinking behind plans that advocate eating a little something 5 or 6 times a day. Even if this only makes a few calories difference at a time, it's worth considering.
I'm also going to repeat the notion that breakfast need not be commonly accepted 'breakfast foods'. There's not much wrong with eating a handful of cherry tomatoes and a piece of cheese while you're getting yourself ready in the morning. Try cutting up a few things and keeping them in the fridge in containers. If it's easy to get at, I'm far more likely to eat it.
I don't know if you don't like breakfast because you just don't feel like eating that early or because you don't like the breakfast type of foods, but try eating different types of foods (like Susan suggests). I like to eat dinner/lunch like foods in the morning like sandwiches, chicken salad, etc. because I just don't like breakfast type of foods. I just make it the night before so it'll be easy in the morning.
I was one to never eat breakfast, always skipped it. For the first few weeks I had to get used to eating breakfast, but now I'm on a regular schedule. I feel much better when I eat breakfast and I find that I am able to stick to my plan!! But I do agree with the other comments...your body knows when your hungry!
breakfast?
