Eating Breakfast

Diabetes Talking » Diabetic Diet » Eating Breakfast

Categories: Diabetic Diet

Question:

It is often suggested that we eat breakfast each morning. What if you aren’t hungry? Also, Should we eat these six little meals even if we aren’t hungry? Will you lose weight faster if you just eat small portions when you are hungry or should we eat even when we are not? I put on this weight because I was eating when I wasn’t hungry as well as when I was so I am wondering how to make my diet work the best way.

From my experience, planning is better than not planning. If I wait until I am hungry to eat, I am more likely to make bad eating decisions. So if you do decide to skip a meal because of lack of hunger, be sure you have a plan for what you will eat when you do become hungry. Eating smaller, more frequent meals is probably better for your metabolism and athletic performance but it is a relatively small effect in the grand weight loss scheme.

Response:

However, eating breakfast IS one of the things that people on the National Weight Loss Registry have in common (i.e.peoploe who have successfully taken off and kept off significant amounts of weight). So…there is lots of reason to believe that eating breakfast does help – and there is also solid research to suggest that having a serving of protein for breakfast makes you less hungry for the rest of the day. Mary G.

Response:

http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0817/is_4_55/ai_84209252#c…

Warning – this URL is not work friendly; it has a very very annoying, and most noisy advert on it. I closed it rapidly.

Response:

Here’s an article that might interest you. It lists the common habits of people who have been successful at losing and keeping off their weight. http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0817/is_4_55/ai_84209252#c…

Response:

Hiya, Sandy.

It is often suggested that we eat breakfast each morning. What if you aren’t hungry?

Of course, everyone has their opinions, and this is just mine: I have been doing a lot of reading. Well, heck, I’ve been reading about weight loss forever, since I’ve been unsucessful at losing permenently, forever. You know, the professional dieter? That’s me. Anyway, the logic of starting the day with an intake of fuel just makes SENSE to me. (For me) it just feels intuitivly correct, logical, and obvious. Therefore, I began to ensure that I had breakfast every single day, 8 months ago. I wasn’t hungry to start out with either! Never. It was really difficult, actually. But, guess what?! After a couple of months, I WAS hungry for breakfast! Also, Should we eat these six little meals even if we aren’t hungry? Will you lose weight faster if you just eat small portions when you are hungry or should we eat even when we are not?

Again, I followed the same bit of info you are talking about, eat small meals every day, start early, etc., etc., and guess what? After about 2 months I noticed that the more often I ate smaller amounts of healthy foods, the more my body seemed to WANT to eat often! I visualize it thusly: I’m like a great steam ship. If I keep putting in small bits of good, pure coal, and I leave the doors and hatches wide open (lots of air = aerobic activity) my fire is going to burn HOT! And that’s what I want (matabolism on the increase). If I close the doors and hatches, and I stop putting coal into the furnace, the temp is going to drop accordingly. This just makes sense, to me. But of course, YMMV, and everyone has an opionion. I put on this weight because I was eating when I wasn’t hungry as well as when I was so I am wondering how to make my diet work the best way.

Overall, I’d say the best thing for YOU is what works for YOU. Just make it your own, play with theories and ideas, and you’ll figure it out. You have the rest of your life to do so, right? But do keep in mind that, whatever you try, your body has to get used to the changes too, adjusting and changing. It doesn’t happen quickly. But it does happen. Heidi 262/200/199 Losing 100lbs. 1 lb. at a time. Start 10/24/04 Thanks – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Sandy

Response:

http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0817/is_4_55/ai_84209252#c… Warning – this URL is not work friendly; it has a very very annoying, and most noisy advert on it. I closed it rapidly.

Use a pop-up blocker.

Response:

One of my many breakfast eating problems, concerns, having to take a thyroid pill first thing when I wake up, which means no food for the next hour and a half (so as not to interfere with the drug). Yet my doctor recommended eating like a diabetic, (I’m borderline) with meals spaced regularly throughout the day and starting out first thing eating breakfast. Which means I resent eating to a clock when I’m not hungry and also trying to follow the recommendation from the diabetic diet to have all meals about the same portion size. It’s also hard if I’m trying to do weeding in the garden in the morning (or any type of bending work) because if I eat any breakfast I get an acid kickback after bending over a lot. I just discovered this newsgroup while searching for hoodia information, to see if anyone had tried it or knew of any problems.

Response:

I am one of those people who never could eat in the morning. I am so not a morning person the fact that I can actually shower, dress, and make it in to work each day by 7 AM is pretty much a miracle. I try to take a protein shake first thing in the morning and then actually eat something a few hours later like some scrambled egg beaters with spinach or some oatmeal with protein powder and fruit. I’m still not really hungry in the morning but if I do the shake then I don’t get ravenous at mid-morning and can pass up on the junk food at work. I’m also one of those people who does better eating small amounts at frequent intervals. My DH is not. For me, it helps keep my blood sugar steady and again it keeps me from really getting ravenous which in my case will lead to a serious binge. Initially I balked at the idea of eating when not really hungry because of the same reasons you list, but once I got used to eating regularly, though smaller portions, I realized it was much easier to eat less overall and to identify my body’s signals to eat and to stop eating. Not letting myself get too hungry has helped control the compulsions and the poor food choices of the past. — the volleyballchick

Response:

One of my many breakfast eating problems, concerns, having to take a thyroid pill first thing when I wake up, which means no food for the next hour and a half (so as not to interfere with the drug).

I also take thyroid medication, and have been told to take it on an empty stomach. My approach — which may not work for everyone — is that I take it at around 3 or 4 in the morning. I always wake up a few times during the night anyway, and whatever time is around then I just take my synthroid then. This seems to work fine. If on a rare occasion I don’t awaken in the night, I’ll take it when I get up in the morning and just eat breakfast anyway. I think the difference between taking it on an empty stomach or not isn’t that significant anyway. It’s also hard if I’m trying to do weeding in the garden in the morning (or any type of bending work) because if I eat any breakfast I get an acid kickback after bending over a lot.

I used to have significant problems with acid reflux, but once I began eating smaller meals and a smaller overall quantity, they went away. Your experience may differ, of course. Have you tried any of the reflux-prevention drugs like Prevacid? I never really tried that sort of drug as they weren’t available OTC back when I had reflux problems. Chris 262/130s/130s started dieting July 2002, maintaining since June 2004

Response:

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – It is often suggested that we eat breakfast each morning. What if you aren’t hungry? Also, Should we eat these six little meals even if we aren’t hungry? Will you lose weight faster if you just eat small portions when you are hungry or should we eat even when we are not? I put on this weight because I was eating when I wasn’t hungry as well as when I was so I am wondering how to make my diet work the best way. Thanks "Eating breakfast" is one of those suggestions that "might be helpful for some people". Eating 6 small meals is of the same nature. These two suggestions are not universal. If you are not hungry for breakfast, and are able to stick to your diet otherwise, I see no reason to make changes.

I don’t think there’s any magic in eating breakfast, but I found that once I began eating properly and moderately throughout the day I began waking up hungry. So I became a breakfast eater. I now couldn’t manage without it. As far as the "6 small meals" thing goes, there seems to be evidence that eating smaller amounts more frequently causes one’s metabolism to stay at a somewhat higher level, hence burning more calories throughout the day. Whatever works for you, though, is the thing to do. Forcing food down when you’re not hungry is not a good diet strategy. You might find, though, that if you eat smaller amounts at a time you will naturally want to eat a bit more often. Chris 262/130s/130s started dieting July 2002, maintaining since June 2004

Response:

Use a pop-up blocker.

It’s not on a pop-up. Some flash-type ad. I guess an ad-blocker might work, but they are a PITA as they block as much legit stuff as ads. No matter.

Response:

As far as the "6 small meals" thing goes, there seems to be evidence that eating smaller amounts more frequently causes one’s metabolism to stay at a somewhat higher level, hence burning more calories throughout the day.

I recall reading an interesting article about how important the timing of eating really is. This was around the time of the Olympics and they compared two groups of women athletes with similar training routines, calories per day etc, with the one variable being the timing of their meals. Those who missed or skipped meals, were the fattest(bodyfat measurement over just scale weight). Those who ate every two to three hours, on the other hand, even if they ate the same amount of calories the other group ate, were the leanest. The leaner group, as the article pointed out fueled their body better, so there were no ’surplus’ calories from any meal to be packed away into a fatcell. So the ‘eat 6 small meals’ is really the way to eat if being leaner is ones goal. Food=fuel and not just for entertainment in tickinling your tastebuds joanne

Response:

- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – It is often suggested that we eat breakfast each morning. What if you aren’t hungry? Also, Should we eat these six little meals even if we aren’t hungry? Will you lose weight faster if you just eat small portions when you are hungry or should we eat even when we are not? I put on this weight because I was eating when I wasn’t hungry as well as when I was so I am wondering how to make my diet work the best way. Thanks "Eating breakfast" is one of those suggestions that "might be helpful for some people". Eating 6 small meals is of the same nature. These two suggestions are not universal. If you are not hungry for breakfast, and are able to stick to your diet otherwise, I see no reason to make changes. I don’t think there’s any magic in eating breakfast, but I found that once I began eating properly and moderately throughout the day I began waking up hungry. So I became a breakfast eater. I now couldn’t manage without it. As far as the "6 small meals" thing goes, there seems to be evidence that eating smaller amounts more frequently causes one’s metabolism to stay at a somewhat higher level, hence burning more calories throughout the day.

Right. A normal, active adult will be hungry every 4 hours or so. Whatever works for you, though, is the thing to do. Forcing food down when you’re not hungry is not a good diet strategy. You might find, though, that if you eat smaller amounts at a time you will naturally want to eat a bit more often.

Absolutely! Take what you like and leave the rest. — jmk in NC

Response:

If you are not hungry at breakfast you might want to examine if you are overeating at night. You should be somewhat hungry for breakfast but not hungry during the rest of the day. — jmk in NC

Response:

It does make it *effective*. Making sense or not is irrelevant in the face of what’s effective. If the obvious or sensible actually worked no one would be fat. Being required or optional is irrelevant in the face of what’s effective. The OP said that he is not hungry in the morning. Should he force himself to eat food when he is not hungry?

Ideally, what do eating and hunger have to do with each other? Nothing. If it is possible to eat to prevent hunger from ever happening, that’s what should be done. How many people fall off of their plans because they are constantly hungry? Lots. Hunger is a powerful driver so avoid it if you can and still loss. On the other hand if you haven’t been hungry at all for a while, take that as a hint that it’s time to cut your portions some. So…there is lots of reason to believe that eating breakfast does help – and there is also solid research to suggest that having a serving of protein for breakfast makes you less hungry for the rest of the day.

Making yourself less hungry for the entire day, great goal. By doing something that is not obvious, there’s the rub. Folks are intent on doing the obvious. You know, the stuff that doesn’t work. Folks are intent on avoiding what runs against the obvious, even when it is an established effective action. Sounds to me like the best approach is to learn what’s effective and step out in faith. Even if it may help most people, I cannot see how the OP would benefit from eating when not hungry.

Maybe there’s a mental block? You think food is to cure existing hunger rather than to prevent hunger from ever happening in the first place. Let’s say your goal is to eat fewer total calories in a day. Which strategy works better: eating before you get hungry, or waiting until you are already hungry and then eating. Think of the same when grocery shopping. When do you do more impulse purchases? I do when I’m shopping hungry.

Response:

i usually can’t eat in the morning…today 0500 one hour walk and was hungry – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – It is often suggested that we eat breakfast each morning. What if you aren’t hungry? Also, Should we eat these six little meals even if we aren’t hungry? Will you lose weight faster if you just eat small portions when you are hungry or should we eat even when we are not? I put on this weight because I was eating when I wasn’t hungry as well as when I was so I am wondering how to make my diet work the best way. Thanks "Eating breakfast" is one of those suggestions that "might be helpful for some people". Eating 6 small meals is of the same nature. These two suggestions are not universal. If you are not hungry for breakfast, and are able to stick to your diet otherwise, I see no reason to make changes. i

Response:

However, eating breakfast IS one of the things that people on the National Weight Loss Registry have in common (i.e.peoploe who have successfully taken off and kept off significant amounts of weight). It does not make it mandatory. It does make it *effective*. Effective for absolutely everyone, with no exceptions?

Nothing ever is so the question is not material to the observed reality. The best strategy is to find the best trend with the best data, and take that as the very first thing to trfy, no matter whether that trend is what is obvious or not. In this case the best data is from the registry and the trend is eating breakfast. As such "it’s obvious" is not a rational reason to skip breakfast. On the other hand "Sure, I knew about the data, tried it first for 3+ months, it didn’t help me, so then and only then I started skipping breakfast" is a rational reason to skip breakfast. The world is a numbers game and those who don’t pay attention to what the numbers are miss out. One of the best comments in this thread was by Aspiring Tortoise. Planning is better than not planning. I sometimes phrase a similar rendition as following the directions is better than not following the directions. There’s plenty of discussion of why having breakfast works better, but in the long run discussions of why need experiments that can confirm or deny their theories, and none of the discussion of why changes the hard data. For all I know the planning issue is the overwhelming factor. Making sense or not is irrelevant in the face of what’s effective. If the obvious or sensible actually worked no one would be fat. Being required or optional is irrelevant in the face of what’s effective. The obvious and sensible for weight loss is eating less, in one fashion or another.

And the obvious and sensible leads far too many to cut too much. That triggers hunger and resentment and reactions against an extreme plan. The non-obvious and still sensible is that while less is better, even less still isn’t necessarily better. There’s a right size to be found where the long term results are worse both above and below. On the surface it can easily sound like my statement here is that moderation is the key. I know better than that. If moderation worked no one would be fat. Taking a pragmatic approach that recognizes that too little can be as much a problem as too much is a moderate approach, but how anyone achieves a sustainable level of calorie reduction isn’t necessarily moderate. Both low carb and low fat approaches are immoderate yet both work for lots of people. They are immoderate methods on one front (percentages of source fuels) to achieve an important moderation on another front (reduction of both total calorie intake and hunger at the same time). The OP said that he is not hungry in the morning. Should he force himself to eat food when he is not hungry? Ideally, what do eating and hunger have to do with each other? Nothing. Actually, ideally, they should have something to do with one another.

Hunger is an indictation of a problem. Sometimes it is an indication of insulin swings caused by too much of one type of fuel. Sometimes it is an indication of incorrect mixture of types of dietary fat. Sometimes it is an indiction that the same total calories for the day was eaten poorly timed (aka missing breakfast). Oh yeah, and sometimes it just means too little food has been eaten recently. All of those plus psychological drivers, addiction drivers and such. They all point to a problem. Why do so many people fall off of plans? Mostly because the pleasure of eating foods exceeds the pleasure of lost weight in the long run, but in the shorter run plenty fall off because they are hungry much of the time. Addressing why people fall off of plans addresses the single largest reason for failure – quitting. This is why I endorse puzzling out a level that keeps a dieter not hungry on the one hand and losing on the other hand. If it is possible to eat to prevent hunger from ever happening, that’s what should be done. How many people fall off of their plans because they are constantly hungry? Lots. Hunger is a powerful driver so avoid it if you can and still loss. On the other hand if you haven’t been hungry at all for a while, take that as a hint that it’s time to cut your portions some. Well, some amount of hunger is a good thing, although being constantly hungry is not fun.

Exactly my point. Exactly what I’ve been writing about. I suggest that "some amount of hunger" means "not every day" in the ideal case. How much you have left to lose also factors in. Folks with a lot to lose can often find a sweet-spot where it is possible to lose without feeling hunger every day, maybe not even every week. Folks with 10 to go, very doubtfull. Human bodies really want to hang on to a bit of fat. So…there is lots of reason to believe that eating breakfast does help – and there is also solid research to suggest that having a serving of protein for breakfast makes you less hungry for the rest of the day. Making yourself less hungry for the entire day, great goal. By doing something that is not obvious, there’s the rub. Folks are intent on doing the obvious. You know, the stuff that doesn’t work. Folks are intent on avoiding what runs against the obvious, even when it is an established effective action. Sounds to me like the best approach is to learn what’s effective and step out in faith. That’s a very broad statement that does not support any particular strategy.

Exactly. It does explain why extreme measures are more of a problem. Reading ASD and ASDLC, lots of folks advocate extreme measures. I work at countering them. Let’s say your goal is to eat fewer total calories in a day. Which strategy works better: eating before you get hungry, or waiting until you are already hungry and then eating. When I was "eating less" and not low carbing, I was not hungry between about 1 pm until about 3 pm. The rest of the day I was hungry.

Sounds to me like "eating less" was miserable for you. I know you tried changing the mix of fuels by going to low carb and that turned off your hunger. Did you also try more and less total carbs with the same mix of fuels? That would be controlling the degree of "eating less" knowing that if less is good lesser may not be good. Think of the same when grocery shopping. When do you do more impulse purchases? I do when I’m shopping hungry. I do the same. But is that a good justification to eat when not hungry? Hardly.

Agree to disagree. I shouldn’t go the the grocery store hungry for the same reason that I shouldn’t arrive at a meal already hungry. Being hungry erodes my will to eat less or buy less.

Response:

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – As far as the "6 small meals" thing goes, there seems to be evidence that eating smaller amounts more frequently causes one’s metabolism to stay at a somewhat higher level, hence burning more calories throughout the day. I recall reading an interesting article about how important the timing of eating really is. This was around the time of the Olympics and they compared two groups of women athletes with similar training routines, calories per day etc, with the one variable being the timing of their meals. Those who missed or skipped meals, were the fattest(bodyfat measurement over just scale weight). Those who ate every two to three hours, on the other hand, even if they ate the same amount of calories the other group ate, were the leanest. The leaner group, as the article pointed out fueled their body better, so there were no ’surplus’ calories from any meal to be packed away into a fatcell. So the ‘eat 6 small meals’ is really the way to eat if being leaner is ones goal. Food=fuel and not just for entertainment in tickinling your tastebuds

A popular book right now among some of the weightlifters is Nutrient Timing, by John Ivy and Robert Portman (http://tinyurl.com/dzucj). It’s aimed at athletes, and deals with what to eat when for optimal performance. (I haven’t read it yet — am waiting to borrow Elise’s copy .) Chris 262/130s/130s started dieting July 2002, maintaining since June 2004

Response:

I’ve heard expert recommendations both for and against eating breakfast/meals even if you are not hungry (ie. Pro: Barry Sears, Harvard Epidemiology – Against: David Katz and Yale Epidemiology) Generally, I think it depends which ‘camp’ you fall in. If you believe metabolism, hormones, blood sugar, etc. play a relatively large role in diet and health then ‘yes’ – you should eat even if you are not hungry. If you believe that endocrinology plays a relatively minor role (ie. you think it mostly a case of calories in vs. calories out) then ‘no’ – you should not eat if you are not hungry. I belong to the first camp.

Response:

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I’ve heard expert recommendations both for and against eating breakfast/meals even if you are not hungry (ie. Pro: Barry Sears, Harvard Epidemiology – Against: David Katz and Yale Epidemiology) Generally, I think it depends which ‘camp’ you fall in. If you believe metabolism, hormones, blood sugar, etc. play a relatively large role in diet and health then ‘yes’ – you should eat even if you are not hungry. If you believe that endocrinology plays a relatively minor role (ie. you think it mostly a case of calories in vs. calories out) then ‘no’ – you should not eat if you are not hungry. I belong to the first camp. Then there is the third National Institute on Aging camp that believes metabolism to play major role in health and aging and yet recommends skipping meals – http://www.sciencenews.org/articles/20030607/food.asp Like Mattson I haven’t eaten breakfast for perhaps 20 years and eventually came to eating once a day. It’s a matter of getting used to such regimen – I do my 1 hour daily resistance and aerobic training in the evening without "fueling up" for it and it doesn’t affect my performance. When I wake up I drink black tea without sugar and that’s it.

Yes, I’ve been following Mattson’s stuff – it’s pretty interesting. There have also been a couple trials since, involving people (rather than mice). One by UC Berkely… I forget who did the other one. Also, Ori Hoffmeker<sp has a similar program, and a book called ‘The Warrior Diet’. Also, a second book ‘Maximum Muscle, Minimum Fat’ which explains a little more of the science (though I haven’t read the 2nd one yet). Still a little too ‘untested’ for my taste :-) I had considered trying it, but breakfast is one of the healthiest meals I eat, and to give that up – it would be hard for me to replace the nutrition I normally get at breakfast.

Response:

It is. The OP said that he is not hungry in the morning. It is a specific piece of information that is useful in his case.

"Breakfast" derives from "breaking the fast." After up to 12 hours of no fuel, you need some. I have wonderful breakfasts, and many of them would be ideal for low carbers. — Diva ****** There is no substitute for the right food

Response:

Thanks for this post, Chris. I think sometimes people get a little hung up on studies and data etc. etc. We don’t all have to define our lives by statistics, half of which contradict each other anyway. I missed the original post but I would have to say that one should eat when they’re hungry (not ravenous, simply feeling a need to eat). One should do what works for him, not only the things researchers say work for other people. I never used to be a breakfast eater (would have something small usually, like 2 pieces of toast or a bowl of cereal). I became one when I started eating smaller and more frequent meals. But I’ve always been lean regardless and I don’t find that breakfast or even a higher-protein breakfast makes a difference in my hunger level throughout the day, especially late at night. I think much of this stuff is both more individual *and* psychological than we think.

Response:

I just found this article in a recent newsletter: http://www.active.com/story.cfm?story_id=11485&sidebar=573&category=e… or http://tinyurl.com/aok8u — the volleyballchick

Diabetes Talking