7 Reasons Why You Should NOT Eat Breakfast (Blog)

[Mehdi]

Use this thread to discuss the next post from StrongLifts.com's blog:

7 Reasons Why You Should NOT Eat Breakfast

[holvoetn]

Errmmm, I can not function without having had breakfast

[Eivind]

Please, put the last part earlier in the article. I can guarantee you'll have several people reading it halfway through thinking "good, now I have a reason to not eat breakfast". Most people who think like that are the ones who need breakfast.

In addtion, I think the studies you refer too are too inaccurate. The one regarding consentration display the effect of only 27 -young- individuals over the period of only two days. The other studies seem to be based on obese individuals, which are the ones who wouldn't benefit from eating breakfast as well. I don't think an average person has to worry about their blood suger too much.

And as H, I don't function at all without breakfast. The only thing in my mind when not having eaten is food. And I don't buy the whole "feeling hungrier when not eating" thing. Basing an argument on feeling is flawed, and pretty much goes against every single diet out there(eating according to schedules).


Just some random thoughts about the subject. As you can see, I belive everybody apart from people with blood-sugar related problems should stick with their breakfast.

[tenkev]

I don't. I've been Intermittent Fasting for a long time and I definitely feel its been beneficial. Its also much easier.

[Mehdi]

@Eivind
There are follow-up articles coming, no worries. 8 nutrition rules will keep recommending to eat breakfast.

And as H, I don't function at all without breakfast. The only thing in my mind when not having eaten is food. And I don't buy the whole "feeling hungrier when not eating" thing. Basing an argument on feeling is flawed, and pretty much goes against every single diet out there(eating according to schedules).

If you actually try fasting for some time, you'll see that you'll get rid of this kind of cravings forever. Lots of hunger is "mental", not physical.

I don't get that last part. You feel hungrier during the day when you eat breakfast. Not when you don't eat it. Re-read the article and let me know if that part was clear or not.

I don't really care if this post goes against every single diet out there. The training methods on this site goes against what's out there too. You have to stay open-minded. Lots of things have changed during the last couple of years thanks to strong research from the intermittent fasting guys.

Pretty annoying to see articles all over the internet about benefits of breakfast which are plainly wrong. Same info rehashed over & over that's outdated & inaccurate.

[Eivind]

@Eivind
There are follow-up articles coming, no worries. 8 nutrition rules will keep recommending to eat breakfast.

And as H, I don't function at all without breakfast. The only thing in my mind when not having eaten is food. And I don't buy the whole "feeling hungrier when not eating" thing. Basing an argument on feeling is flawed, and pretty much goes against every single diet out there(eating according to schedules).

If you actually try fasting for some time, you'll see that you'll get rid of this kind of cravings forever. Lots of hunger is "mental", not physical.

I don't get that last part. You feel hungrier during the day when you eat breakfast. Not when you don't eat it. Re-read the article and let me know if that part was clear or not.

I don't really care if this post goes against every single diet out there. The training methods on this site goes against what's out there too. You have to stay open-minded. Lots of things have changed during the last couple of years thanks to strong research from the intermittent fasting guys.

Pretty annoying to see articles all over the internet about benefits of breakfast which are plainly wrong. Same info rehashed over & over that's outdated & inaccurate.

I'm pretty much sceptical towards not eating breakfast due to personal experiences. If I don't eat in the morning, my mind can't focus on anything but doing so. That's how I work, but that might only mean that I'm part of a small group of people. If the majority of people feel differently, then it's a valid point.

But I guess I'm being narrow-minded about the whole thing. When people tell me that solid advice my grandparents have given me is wrong, I guess it's natural to protest

[Mehdi]

I still think it's a mental thing Eivind. You've been training for 9 months reading your log. I'd say when you've been training for 2 years or so, start experimenting with fasting (start with fasting 2x/week ala eat stop eat) and see how that works.

Like I wrote above: 8 nutrition rules will keep recommending to eat breakfast - but not to stabilize blood sugar/Increase metabolism/stop catabolism/etc because that is all false. Rather to build healthy eating habits. People who have that last part settled, should know there are more things out there they can play with like skipping breakfast and decide for themselves how they feel on it. I consider this more of advanced stuff.

Imo human beings adapt quickly to eating or skipping breakfast (and pretty much anything else) as long as they give it a try for long enough.

[mkawa2k3]

Hey Mehdi,

First time on here in a while, great to see site being constantly updated - keep up the good work!

I'm slightly confused, however, as to your views on breakfast. In your "Top 3 Breakfast Recipes for Fat Loss" blog post you state that "A healthy breakfast is key to fat loss. By eating a healthy breakfast, you’re less likely to eat something unhealthy the rest of the day. Eating breakfast will also make you less hungry which prevents cravings". But in your next blog post you seem to contradict yourself by claiming that, "Breakfast Increases Hunger. Many people — including me — feel hungrier during the day after eating breakfast".

Just wondered where you stand on the issue?

[holvoetn]

mkawa2k3, I merged your question into this thread

[amir85]

Same here. I'm totally confused. He seems to suddenly changed his "side" to Hofmekler's side lol
I'm still inclined to traditional breakfast even though as he pointed out breakfast sometimes makes more hungry like 3-4 hours later which could also mean your metabolism is up and kicking. Unfortunately I also sincerely love "overeating" for one meal as Hofmekler tries to convince us that it is our primal instinct to eat only one huge meal at night.

[IceMan]

Like I wrote above: 8 nutrition rules will keep recommending to eat breakfast - but not to stabilize blood sugar/Increase metabolism/stop catabolism/etc because that is all false.

I'm gonna need a lot of proof for this, because skipping breakfast is terrible for me.

[jakemcmillan]

Good post Mehdi, I wanted to write the same article.

I suppose you've read Ori's article on why not to eat breakfast?

[jakemcmillan]

He's not switching sides, just giving reasons to eat breakfast and why not to eat breakfast. It's a personal choice, try both. But you also can't eat a shitty diet or you will feel hungrier.

[Caphel]

Up until January this year I had not eaten breakfast in about 15 years. Yes I was overweight, but that was due to eating a bunch of crap in the evenings and sitting on my arse playing computer games.

I have been eating breakfast every day since January and I still struggle to this day to eat early in the morning. Some mornings I really have to force myself to eat. I eat breakfast at around 07:00 and find I am hungry again at 10:00.

When I used to skip breakfast I would be fine until 12:00 or 13:00. Quite often on a busy day at work I would go all day without eating until I got home at around 18:30. I never had any concentration issues and found it easy to focus on my work.

I have tried eat stop eat for a few weeks in the past and found that my favourite days of the week were the ones when I was fasting as I was not up cooking breakfast and having to force it down. I have given up eat stop eat for the time being as I wanted to get stronger before losing weight, but I will be back doing eat stop eat in the next few weeks.

For a few weeks now I have been thinking about skipping breakfast, the only thing that has been stopping me is the conventional wisdom that says you need to eat breakfast. Based on this I think I will try skipping breakfast again and see how I get on.

The only slight issue with this is that I will need to make up the lost calories throughout the day, but I am sure I can work that out.

[doit]

Those who are skeptical here about the skipping breakfast, who has not even tryed it isn't being very open-minded. Skipping breakfast 1-2 times if you are used to eating breakfast for years is surely going to make you feel crap. The body have adapted and is used to the get the breakfast over years, so the body would surely notice you missed the breakfast and react on it.

When I say those who haven't tryed, then I mean tryed skipping breakfast over a long period so the body have a chance to adapt to those eating routines.
When younger I never ate breakfast. I was used to it. Never felt crap through the day.

I think anyone can adapt their body to skip breakfast, if they really want to and stick to it. Its just what you are used to.

My humble opinion.