Viewer Mail.

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How important is breakfast really? I usually have a pot of coffee…yes a pot! Eat lunch at around 2pm and don’t eat dinner until almost 10pm. my husband often doesn’t get home until 9. He works a lot and I would HATE to not eat dinner with him…even though it’s late.

breakfast? beyond important.

it’s like asking a mechanic how important gas really is to a car.

But let’s back up and answer the night-before query first.

Is it (finger quote) bad (unFQ) to eat late at night?

This is a difficult question. Not for MizFit to answer (no it isnt) just in the sense that it is such a hotly debated topic and every fitness guru hath her own take on it.

For some reason I vaguely recall Bob Greene issuing a decree that Oprah *had* to stop eating by 7 at night (or somesuch time) NO MATTER WHAT.

As a result, the Great & Mighty would hurry rush do *whatever* she had to in order to be finished with dinner by 7.

Not necessarily a bad thing & might actually work for many to prevent night time overeating/binging. If this practice lends itself to your lifestyle (unlike our emailer) you may want to give it a try.

Scientifically? I have not seen anything compelling enough to sway my opinion that as long as what you are eating is within your daily calorie allotment/meal plan timing matters one bit.

back to breakfast.

Im gonna call you on this one, emailer, as Im confident you’re not alone.

You might not be hungryhungry in the morning but I’d bet dollars to donuts flax seeds you do the coffee/wait until 2 pm to eat because you believe you will then eat less over the course of the day.

the result? you never break the fast and your metabolism slows/becomes sluggish as your body burns only what is absolutely necessary until fuel (food) is eaten.

Even if you can resist overeating during the rest of the day as compensation—- when you skip breakfast your body, in essence, clicks into starvation mode and holds on to your body fat.

Now why do I think that might not be your goal….

Thoughts? Questions? Beg to differ? Hit me up in the comments.

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Comments

  1. I used to skip breakfast in high school and I was skinny as a rail! Oh wait, I was also 16. Think my metabolism has changed since then (now at 45)….

    What do you eat for breakfast?

  2. Allison,

    I have that same thought sometimes. I ate XYZ & never worked out EVER and looked great (& had bigger boobs but that’s a post for a different day) and THEN I recall how old I was (16. same.)

    more thank you ever wanted to know about my food habits coming.

    SOON I PROMISE!

    thanks for swinging by,

    M.

  3. Glad you tackled this question. (even if you did answer at 4:56 AM, geez) I never ate breakfast ever! Ever! Until about a year ago when I decided to actually try to get my body in really good shape. My body actually is in much better shape now that I eat, and I am not starving at lunch and eating everything I see.(Including the Barista’s hand should it come to close) Do you ever sleep?

  5. I love breakfast. Of course, it is the best if it is pancakes (without flax seeds), but those are a treat. 🙂

  6. ahhhh Meribeth I do *not* get as much sleep as Id like. With the Tornado up at 530 I need to be up at 4 if I want (want? that might not be the proper word :)) to get work done before she twirls into her day.

    and Im all about the breakfast.

    by noon Ive eaten two meals already.

    works metabolic-wonders huh?

    M.

  7. I have been very guilty of what the viewermail person does, even though it made my husband want to tear his hair out (he’s big into fitness & running). My thoughts at the time were: yeah, yeah, let me get skinny first and then i’ll tone up.

    I no longer believe that. Some protein pretty early in my day has made a big difference to me – and i can even see it in the mirror even though my overall calorie input for the day has gone slightly up.

    Thank you for hammering this home, M!

  8. “dollars to flax seeds”! ROFL! My new motto:) Oh, wait, I’m STILL using your other phrase – “be big, take up space!” I asked for that one on a t-shirt (perhaps it will help my boobs look bigger as well? kids were not kind to me that way!)

    I love breakfast – I probably get 30-40% of my daily cals in the first AM meal. I also have much confusion about the eating at night thing. I understand why it only matters how many calories that I eat in a day, not when I eat them. And yet… one of my sure fire ways to lose those sneaky few that always try to creep back on, is to quit eating after dinner.

  9. Toddlerman said “I say Hi!” and typed the following:
    lkjkkjjjjbbjjjbjbyyylkd

    Eating beakfast makes all the difference in my toddler-chasing freshman-teaching world. I just don’t have enough energy without it!

  10. I’ve always been a big breakfast eater – when I was younger and got it in my head that I “didn’t like breakfast foods,” my mother would wake up early every day to cook me – I’m not kidding – a Hungry Man turkey TV dinner. This is before microwaves were popular so she used a good old convection oven, 45 minutes for my turkey and mased potatoes. This was in fifth, sixth grade. When I learned the monstrous calorie/fat count involved (I started reading labels early. Such an advanced girl!), I switched to Cambells Vegetable Beef. In high school, I finally made the jump to cereal and now it’s oatmeal and fruit, every day, chased with a little bit of chocolate.

  11. Mmm, breakfast! I never ate it, never had time, never cared, unless it was to (shudder) grab a McDonald’s sausage biscuit on the way to work. (double shudder)

    I completely agree with everything here. When I started trying to get healthy, breakfast was universally mandated by all my sources of advice and inspiration and I started getting up a bit earlier to make time…started eating every day…lost weight…had more energy…and all the other stuff we are told will happen. Heh. Who knew?

    The science behind it is completely logical…no fuel, no mileage. It’s a hard leap for a lot of people but my goodness, it is SO worth the adjustment!

    Also, I have an evening snack every single night as mandated by my eating plan. A healthy one of course! Usually a piece of fruit and some cheese or other form of protein. Keeps me from feeling deprived, keeps my body from shutting down completely at night, and I don’t wake up quite as nauseous and weak in the morning. (I have blood sugar issues.) Also, I lose weight more steadily and consistently this way. I agree that it’s not the timing, it’s the quantity and quality of what you’re eating.

    So…you know…preach on, MizFit! 🙂

    V.

  12. Breakfast foods are all my favorite foods. Plus you don’t have to feel guilty about eating a big breakfast, you can just pretend that you’ll eat less the rest of the day.

    I wonder if questioner drank the pot of coffee to give her the energy she lacks due to metabolism not “starting” until much later? Eating breakfast would probably make her not need the coffee, know what I’m saying?

  13. I was never a breakfast eater because I found if I didn’t eat breakfast, I wasn’t that hungry the rest of the day. But I finally figured out that I then craved crap (sugar and caffeine and carb type things) when I did get hungry. I now eat breakfast daily (well brunch on the weekend sometimes).

  14. It is amazing how many don’t realize how important breakfast is….I couldn’t function without it.

    My routine is pretty simple – egg whites, plain tea (yeah, haven’t given up the caffeine), and “real” oatmeal…..I like a mixture of regular (not quick cooking) oats and steel cut oats. That’s about it unless I’m skiing in the morning- then I add a banana and strawberries. 😉

  15. Oh, I’ve always eaten breakfast. Usually cereal, but on the weekends I’ll do eggs or some pancakes. If I skip breakfast, I get really shaky and nauseous.

    As for eating late at night, it doesn’t really matter. Calorie consumption is what it’s all about, and what time of day those calories are consumed play little to no impact. Look at the Europeans: in most of those countries, the last meal isn’t consumed until 9 or 10 at night. This was really evident when I was in Italy this summer. DH and I would be starving by 6, but no restaurants would be open yet. In Spain, many people don’t eat until after 10 or 11 PM. Yet Europeans don’t have as high a rate of obesity as Americans.

    The only thing to pay attention to is that you aren’t starving by the time you have dinner. If you choose to eat late, make sure you have a snack earlier in the day to ward off overeating at the meal.

  16. man, I LOVE you guys.

    smart, sarcastic (MizFit HEARTS the ‘casm), silly, savvy and simply chock full o’tips.

    what’s not to love?

    M.

  19. The Bag Lady always eats breakfast, but her Cowboy doesn’t. The Bag Lady is overweight, but her Cowboy isn’t. Can you imagine how much this pisses the Bag Lady off!!?? But she will continue to eat her cereal, or her half grapefruit and toast, even if it means unclenching her jaw to do so!!

  20. Oh Baglady. My Renaissance Man? the exact same way & I was totally lamenting that to him the other morning.
    it IS easier for men.

    THANKS for stopping by & be sure and come back so I can nag you to add *protein* to yer breakfast.

    🙂

    M.

  21. I am so loving your blog. 🙂 I totally agree with you on breakfast. I have seen the difference in my metabolism and I know breakfast has alot to do with it. Can’t wait to see what breakfast suggestions you have.

  22. okay so……………..if i plan on exercising about a half hour after I get up, should i eat something first? no, yes

    i thought you or someone said to eat right away to get your metabolism going? am i dreaming this?

    i thought I would get up and eat a banana or something and then TRY to work out?

    thoughts.

  23. I am not an expert, but I know that when I used to not eat breakfast I was even more of a cow than I am now. So I definitely think breakfast is important.

  24. AHHHHHH!!! I’m literally cringing over the posts that read, “I don’t eat breakfast!” I can’t NOT eat breakfast! I would turn into a pile of shaky, grumpy, unfocused mush!

  25. Eileen, thanks for the prodding about the breakfast post. Im *quite* opinionated so I may as well share & the MizFits can take or leave it all I guess. One word: protein.

    Jules? short answer? I say do what you like if the exercise is that soon after waking. ..but also depends on WHAT you are doing.

    Jennifer? I couldnt read your comment. It says I LOVE HOW MUCH MORE FAB I APPEAR & ENERGETIC I FEEL NOW THAT I AM CONSUMING THE MORNING MEAL WITH REGULARITY. Yes?

    and Susan? Id be mush–sure–but quite b*tchy to boot.

    M.

  26. Miz – the Bag Lady eats Vector cereal most days – she thinks it has protein in it. She also thinks it’s fattening, and addictive. What SHOULD she be eating? (Considering she is a lazy ol’ ranch hand and doesn’t exercise on a regular basis…)

  27. late to the party as usual. i always ate b’fast when i was working, but since the move to retirement (ha. ha ha ha. more like the brief interlude in which I stay home until I have to go back to work so my husband can retire for reals) i don’t. perhaps that is why i am such the space cadet/zombie in the am??

    i like the kashi tlc bars in the morning. my fave b’fast when i was a working girl (ooh i feel like the porn music just queued up) was oatmeal or a turkey sandwich. unconventional but tasty, and easy to eat on the run.

  28. Hey Bag Lady—-Ive never seen vector (in real life 🙂 I gooooogggled it) but next week? more than you’d ever wanna know about my thoughts on the first meal of the day.

    hope all is well on the ranch,

    M.

  29. I find if I’m not a hungry then a cup or less of the leftovers from the last night’s dinner is good start. I find that even eating only a few bites of food in the morning makes a difference. One small piece of fruit and a half a bowl of cereal is often enough if there aren’t any leftovers. A little food is so much better than coffee loaded with sugar.

  30. I live for my breakfast! I go to sleep thinking (drooling) about it! I roll out of bed and waddle my way to the kitchen to throw some old fashioned oats/bulgur/Irish oatmeal in the microwave/stove. I even have trouble eating eggs for breakfast- I feel jipped. Mmmm! I can’t wait for tomorrow!

    Anyway…. I’m glad eating breakfast is good for me!

    The yummiest: Oatmeal cooked with a banana, cinnamon, a bit of sugar/light maple syrup– cook. Add a drop of milk and a dallop of vanilla yogurt and savor!

  31. I saw a billboard ad yesterday that was put out by Tylenol. There was a huge glass cup overflowing with fresh berries and the text read “skipping meals can cause headaches” I’m not sure how this helps Tylenol, but I though the billboard was encouraging people to eat all their meals, especially breakfast. If I could get my hands on the fruit that was in the ad, how could you NOT want to eat it?

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