I searched and while the topic has been discussed, there's no one thread dedicated to discussing the benefits of skipping breakfast. This is a thread about discussing the possible benefits and drawbacks of skipping breakfast, if doing so would be suitable to your body and lifestyle (some may not be able to).
This depends on what kind of body and genes you have - some people can't go long without a meal - their blood sugar might drop and they feel weak. Someone whom I worked with told me this last week when I was telling her about fasting - what I didn't tell her was that maybe she should try skipping an entire week of eating and she might look even better.
The idea of skipping breakfast is that breakfast may not even be necessary. Some people seem to be able to eat less, and still function - they are just strategic about it (meal timing). What I found personally is that if I had breakfast, I would feel just as satisfied and full after eating lunch as when I never had breakfast at all. Eventually I questioned why I was even eating breakfast - I felt just the same after lunch when I skipped breakfast, as when I did not. Since there didn't seem to be any negatives, and since I'm lazy, I just stopped having breakfast. This may also work for those who want to skip dinner instead, and have breakfast and lunch. My ex did this - breakfast and lunch, but no dinner, with little exercise besides walking, and she was model-size.
Think about it this way: IF you are able to eat one less meal per day, you may want to look into making this part of your lifestyle. Most days in the morning, we are busy getting started with the day, and with work or school, so we have something with which to occupy our minds. There's usually something to do. We can skip breakfast and still have a lot to keep ourselves busy - there is less temptation to stop and eat something. Lunch is important and we should be eating lunch, and at night (dinnertime) we have more free time, so a lot of people will be tempted to eat at night. But breakfast is different.
Everyone's experience will vary, but this is what happens when I skip breakfast:
- wake up, do morning exercises, drink green tea, and get ready for work (a quick process). Bike to work or take public transportation. I don't feel weak, only a little hungry. I am able to function fine.
- and actually I find that I feel a little sharper, lighter. The slight bite of hunger makes me feel alive and more present. I look forward to lunch but find that I focus better on my work during the morning - it is a nice way to get a good few hours of work out of the way, all the while looking forward to lunch and knowing that I've done something good for my health and fitness. Lunch comes and it's something healthy and of normal-sized portions. After lunch, I do not feel hungry, and I do not feel tired (so long as you eat only until you're no longer hungry and nothing more).
- eat a healthy dinner, again until I am no longer hungry.
It's been years since I ate breakfast regularly. If you can skip a meal each day and if it doesn't interfere with other nutrition and fitness goals, then I recommend it. Some people are afraid of going from nighttime to the following mid-day without eating - won't I be weak and unable to function? To this I say, TRY IT. You might be surprised at how well you are able to function. Just try it. Maybe it is not suitable for you and that's fine. And don't just try it once, try it once a week for a month. A lot of people can function fine without eating for a while.
The benefits:
- less money spent on food
- makes your morning routine simpler, gives you more time. I wake up and do situps, then make some green tea. While it's cooling down, I shave and hop in the shower. Then I get dressed and have the green tea and I'm out on my bike, heading to work. All told, I can wake up less than 45 minutes before I leave for work, looking fresh and clean - I'd have to wake up earlier if I had to add in making and eating breakfast, maybe at least half an hour or so.
- good for weight loss/maintenance. This ties into intermittent fasting. For years, I have been on what some would consider to be an IF routine, though I had no idea. A typical weekday would see me stop eating at like 8pm, then go until about 1pm the next day with no food. But I have always had a lean body skeleton, less is better, keep myself away from the bad stuff and don't eat too much and I'll be thin and healthy. Skipping breakfast ties into that well. Some threads on IF:
Intermittent Fasting
Full blown water fasting
Fret's intermittent fasting journey
Again, some people won't be able to skip breakfast and still function well. When you are lifting, my understanding is that skipping a meal and not eating certain foods regularly can be detrimental to your muscle growth/maintenance. So skipping breakfast may not be suitable for those who want to lift and become more muscular.
I'd say that skipping breakfast will fit better with minimalists - less is more. Eat less, get involved in less drama, spend less money, don't do shit that you don't need to do. Why do we really need to have three meals per day? Why is breakfast even necessary? As I said, it may be necessary for some body types and that's fine. But if you can function fine with just lunch and dinner, I don't see why we should be having breakfast.
This depends on what kind of body and genes you have - some people can't go long without a meal - their blood sugar might drop and they feel weak. Someone whom I worked with told me this last week when I was telling her about fasting - what I didn't tell her was that maybe she should try skipping an entire week of eating and she might look even better.
The idea of skipping breakfast is that breakfast may not even be necessary. Some people seem to be able to eat less, and still function - they are just strategic about it (meal timing). What I found personally is that if I had breakfast, I would feel just as satisfied and full after eating lunch as when I never had breakfast at all. Eventually I questioned why I was even eating breakfast - I felt just the same after lunch when I skipped breakfast, as when I did not. Since there didn't seem to be any negatives, and since I'm lazy, I just stopped having breakfast. This may also work for those who want to skip dinner instead, and have breakfast and lunch. My ex did this - breakfast and lunch, but no dinner, with little exercise besides walking, and she was model-size.
Think about it this way: IF you are able to eat one less meal per day, you may want to look into making this part of your lifestyle. Most days in the morning, we are busy getting started with the day, and with work or school, so we have something with which to occupy our minds. There's usually something to do. We can skip breakfast and still have a lot to keep ourselves busy - there is less temptation to stop and eat something. Lunch is important and we should be eating lunch, and at night (dinnertime) we have more free time, so a lot of people will be tempted to eat at night. But breakfast is different.
Everyone's experience will vary, but this is what happens when I skip breakfast:
- wake up, do morning exercises, drink green tea, and get ready for work (a quick process). Bike to work or take public transportation. I don't feel weak, only a little hungry. I am able to function fine.
- and actually I find that I feel a little sharper, lighter. The slight bite of hunger makes me feel alive and more present. I look forward to lunch but find that I focus better on my work during the morning - it is a nice way to get a good few hours of work out of the way, all the while looking forward to lunch and knowing that I've done something good for my health and fitness. Lunch comes and it's something healthy and of normal-sized portions. After lunch, I do not feel hungry, and I do not feel tired (so long as you eat only until you're no longer hungry and nothing more).
- eat a healthy dinner, again until I am no longer hungry.
It's been years since I ate breakfast regularly. If you can skip a meal each day and if it doesn't interfere with other nutrition and fitness goals, then I recommend it. Some people are afraid of going from nighttime to the following mid-day without eating - won't I be weak and unable to function? To this I say, TRY IT. You might be surprised at how well you are able to function. Just try it. Maybe it is not suitable for you and that's fine. And don't just try it once, try it once a week for a month. A lot of people can function fine without eating for a while.
The benefits:
- less money spent on food
- makes your morning routine simpler, gives you more time. I wake up and do situps, then make some green tea. While it's cooling down, I shave and hop in the shower. Then I get dressed and have the green tea and I'm out on my bike, heading to work. All told, I can wake up less than 45 minutes before I leave for work, looking fresh and clean - I'd have to wake up earlier if I had to add in making and eating breakfast, maybe at least half an hour or so.
- good for weight loss/maintenance. This ties into intermittent fasting. For years, I have been on what some would consider to be an IF routine, though I had no idea. A typical weekday would see me stop eating at like 8pm, then go until about 1pm the next day with no food. But I have always had a lean body skeleton, less is better, keep myself away from the bad stuff and don't eat too much and I'll be thin and healthy. Skipping breakfast ties into that well. Some threads on IF:
Intermittent Fasting
Full blown water fasting
Fret's intermittent fasting journey
Again, some people won't be able to skip breakfast and still function well. When you are lifting, my understanding is that skipping a meal and not eating certain foods regularly can be detrimental to your muscle growth/maintenance. So skipping breakfast may not be suitable for those who want to lift and become more muscular.
I'd say that skipping breakfast will fit better with minimalists - less is more. Eat less, get involved in less drama, spend less money, don't do shit that you don't need to do. Why do we really need to have three meals per day? Why is breakfast even necessary? As I said, it may be necessary for some body types and that's fine. But if you can function fine with just lunch and dinner, I don't see why we should be having breakfast.