The most important meal of the day?

corblimey

For various reasons (mostly my own laziness), I've gotten out of the habit of eating breakfast. It doesn't appear to have any drawbacks for me - I don't need to eat until lunchtime, I don't have a mid morning snack or anything. Sometimes, I'll end up drinking a lot of water throughout the morning, but I don't think that's related.

Since I'm not snacking any more without a breakfast, am I still missing out on anything by not breakfasting? I thought I read somewhere that having breakfast increases your metabolism for the day and so everything you eat afterwards is digested more readily. Did I imagine that?

Is there ever any good reason to skip breakfast on a regular basis?

Macha

You should try to have breakfast every day.

From a weightloss point of view, it is crucial to eat breakfast. Why?

-Breakfast starts your metabolism off for the day (don't know about the science behind this...G'em??)

-It has been shown that people who eat breakfast actually eat less calories throughout the day - ill try and find a study somewhere, that hasn't been done by a cereal company)

-You should be trying to eat little and often. If you don't eat anything for a long time and then eat a large meal, your body will be more inclined to store the excess calories. So if you have dinner at 8pm and then don't eat anything until 1pm the next day, you've basically been fasting for 17hours.

Hope that helps

g'em

taconnol wrote: »

-Breakfast starts your metabolism off for the day (don't know about the science behind this...G'em??)

Eating first thing promotes endogenous leptin production --> helps regulate appetite & maintains energy balance

corblimey

g'em wrote: »

Eating first thing promotes endogenous leptin production --> helps regulate appetite & maintains energy balance

Well, yeah, but do I really need androgynous leopard production?

Sorry, so okay, a healthy breakfast blah blah. Does it matter how much I eat then? Everything in moderation and all that, but is there a sorta minimum calorie count I should be aiming for to kick start my day?

Macha

Are you male/female? How tall are you? What weight? WHat are your aims?

Example (and I'm not saying my diet is perfect..):

I'm female, 75kg, 5'10", aiming for weightloss, cutting back to 1500-1800 calories a day. So If I'm getting 6 meals a day, that is about 300 calories for each meal. Maybe a bit more fore breakfast, lunch, dinner and a bit less for the inbetween snack/meals.

Fortunately, 40g serving of porridge plus extras = 300. Problem solved

rubadub

corblimey wrote: »

but is there a sorta minimum calorie count I should be aiming for to kick start my day?

I have 300-500kcal for breakfast, my biggest meal of the day and rightly so. If I have 400kcal for breakfast I could go without eating until 7pm (not recommended!) but I could, has a huge effect on me. I can also go without breakfast like you mention.

The answer to the thread title is YES, most important meal, the phrase isnt some new slogan by kelloggs.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/2824987.stm

And sugar puffs are not breakfast, no point deluding yourself, if you are going to eat sugar puffs or frosties just have a couple of kitkats and a glass of milk instead, same thing.

Faith

corblimey wrote: »

Well, yeah, but do I really need androgynous leopard production?

Yes. Leptin is an essential hormone that decreases your appetite and increases your metabolism. It's responsible for telling your brain that you're full, thus stopping you eating too much. People with genetic mutations of the leptin gene cannot tell when they're full and just keep eating.What's more, if you constantly overeat, you can become resistant to leptin (much like people with type 2 diabetes are resistant to insulin). Obese people are often found to have high levels of leptin circulating, but their brain no longer responds to it. It's better to eat small amounts at regular intervals throughout the day than shovelling in huge amounts once or twice a day.

paulksnn

rubadub wrote: »

I have 300-500kcal for breakfast, my biggest meal of the day and rightly so. If I have 400kcal for breakfast I could go without eating until 7pm (not recommended!) but I could, has a huge effect on me. I can also go without breakfast like you mention.

The answer to the thread title is YES, most important meal, the phrase isnt some new slogan by kelloggs.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/2824987.stm

And sugar puffs are not breakfast, no point deluding yourself, if you are going to eat sugar puffs or frosties just have a couple of kitkats and a glass of milk instead, same thing.

Rubadub,
Is there not some nutrition to be gained from the rice or corn that sugar puffs and frosties are made from, putting them slightly(only) ahead of kit kats?
I'm not a fan of the sugary cereals myself.
Slightly off topic, but I've a little girl who'll soon want all of these cereals for breakfast. Do I need to ban them altogether, or will moderation be enough?

rubadub

paulksnn wrote: »

Rubadub,
Is there not some nutrition to be gained from the rice or corn that sugar puffs and frosties are made from, putting them slightly(only) ahead of kit kats?

Yes, but slightly as you say! it really is junk food put in a cereal box, there is some brand and they are actually little choc chip biscuits. I was a little extreme with kitkats, some cereals are not too bad, but I do not want people to delude themselves, or allow themselves to believe the marketers trying to make out it is healthy. That type of marketing sickens me. Somebody might fall for it and be eating this crap, not particularly liking it and could be eating something they do like which is just as bad instead.

I would sooner have a portion of porridge and a mini mars, before a bowl of most cereals, and be better for it. Sugar puffs are close to 50% sugar, more than a lot of confectionary.

Slightly off topic, but I've a little girl who'll soon want all of these cereals for breakfast.

Try and dilute them. I get this maple syrup & pecan crunch cereal, loaded with sugar and fat (though some fat from the nuts). I sprinkle it ontop of porridge oats and cold milk. I treat it like a topping, then entire bowl is then sweet enough. Young kids could be fooled. If she NEVER gets to taste "pure" sugar cereals she will be none the wiser. e.g. you could get a pack of dodgy cereal and pour in a load of porridge oats in the bag. Then pour straight from the pack and she will think it is always like that. The oats would take up the empty space in the bag- save you a fortune on the overpriced junk too!

The snakes put toys & stuff in the packs too, when I was a kid we would devour the stuff to get the next toy in the collection, and it was always limited edition stuff. Maybe some similar sort of bonus prize could be given if she ate better stuff?

You can make healthy pancakes too, see the thread here http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055216686
never met a kid that didnt like pancakes

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corblimey wrote:

For various reasons (mostly my own laziness), I've gotten out of the habit of eating breakfast.

You could always keep some dinner from the night before, just cook more if you want. Many have fixed ideas about what can and cannot be eaten for breakfast. The one that amuses/confuses me most is people think it is fine to eat pigs for breakfast, in any shape or form, but think you an oddball if you ate chickens or cows, but chickens eggs are OK for some reason....

corblimey

Thanks rubadub good post. This weekend, gonna add breakfast to my shopping list. Brown bread, eggs, kitkats (j/k ). People swear by porridge, and I've not had it since I was a kid and hated it with a passion - might try it. What about muesli, is that just as good/better/worse?

rubadub

corblimey wrote: »

What about muesli, is that just as good/better/worse?

Most here go for flanahvans Hi-8 museli. Again depending on brand it is OK, some is loaded with sugar. Check nutritional content & ingredients. Some high in sugar might have no added sugar. i.e. it is high in dried fruit which can be 60-70% sugar, like banana & raisins. Some is high in fat, but it can be from nuts. But many have got added veg oil and white sugar for no good reason.

Again you can dilute museli with porridge oats, I find most too sweet now.

Portion size is important, it is easy to down 800kcal of museli. Get/make a scoop with your portion size and stick to it.

Your tastes might have changed with developed taste buds. I also hated porridge as a child, and lettuce, and mayo. I love them all now. Some will grimace before even tasting it so are bound to dislike it, eat with an open mind. I now just have oats with cold milk and a spinkle of other cereal instead of sugar/honey, very quick and it seems you might be stuck for time in the morning, I pour milk on and let it soak up as I have a shower. Or go to Holland & barret and get your own nuts & fruit to make your own museli. Or use fresh fruit chopped up and added, bulks it up more and is fresher so better for you., use the oats as a filler, no need to cook them. or pancakes as per the link I gave.