I adopted a new diet -- skipping breakfast, time-restricted feeding, and intermittent fasting.
You might not be familiar with the feeding and fasting, but you probably screamed NO WAY at the mention of skipping breakfast.
Since young, we have been told that breakfast is the most important meal of all.
But is breakfast really that important?
Could it be another unexplanable culture passed down? Or could it be a movement by some commercial establishment trying to sell more stuff to eat?
The Science Behind Breakfast
Dr James Betts, senior lecturer in nutrition at the University of Bath said:
The idea that breakfast is inherently good may stem from marketing campaigns designed to sell us cereals, eggs and bacon.
When he started looking for evidence to support breakfast, he was surprised.
There is no evidence supporting the benefits of breakfast.
To eat, or not to eat? Unfortunately, there is no simple answer.
The History of Breakfast
But you will be happy to know that breakfast didn't exist for large parts of history.
The Romans didn't really eat it.
They usually consume only one meal a day, around noon. In fact, breakfast was actively frowned upon.
We Are Over Eating
Given the lack of science and the support of history, I am leaning towards skipping breakfast.
The biggest reason is because -- we are over eating.
At least I am sure I have consumed more than I need. Add to the lack of exercise, these extra intake contributed nothing but fat to my waist.
Yet, there is something more sinister than the gain in weight:
Do you know that excess protein causes aging and cancer?
The Easiest Meal to Skip
The choice to skip breakfast (vs lunch/dinner) is obvious for a number of reasons.
After fasting for 8 hours (while you are sleeping), if you continue to extend the fast in the morning, your body will burn into your reserves -- the fat!
There is good reason to fast, which you'll read about later.
If you choose to skip breakfast like me, remember a balanced diet is still the rule:
- don't overeat your lunch & dinner to make up for breakfast
- don't undereat any important nutrients you might consume for breakfast
Another reason for killing breakfast: there is no time to prepare a healthy breakfast (NO to cereals).
Time-restriced Feeding
While science has no simple answer to breakfast, other scientific research has proven that you can become healthier if you restrict your feeding window to 8-hour a day.
That means to consume all your meals within 8 hours. You can still drink water, but not consume any food/drinks with calories.
Benefits include: reduced hunger swings, increased fat burning, improved metabolic flexibility, and improved clinically relevant parameters associated with obesity and diseseas such as diabetes.
Adjust the 8-hour window to your lifestyle. I eat my first meal at around 11am, then dinner at 7pm.
Intermittent Fasting
Another change in my dietary is to adopt intermittent fasting, eg 5:2 fasting.
5:2 fasting means that in 2 days in a week, you will consume only 600 calories (that is 25% of usual consumption).
There are health benefits when you starve your body.
You hear me right.
When you deprive your body of food, it not only induces your body to burn fat, but also induces your body to repair cells, removes toxins/cancerous cells, and change in genes for longevity.
I intend to starve once a month, instead of 5:2 which could be painful (:
More Readings
- Is breakfast the most important meal?
- It is okay to skip breakfast
- This study concluded skipping breakfast does not cause obesity
- The trouble with too much protein
- The history of breakfast
- Diet rich in animal protein carry similar cancer risk to those who smoke 20 cigarettes each day
Great post. I've never follow me times eating, but now I will. Thanks for all the information. Also interested in juicing, do you do it? Cheers
Good post
I don't eat breakfast and I love it. And I eat when I am hungry. My blood sugar is perfect, normal weight and I feel pretty good - at least much better mentally than I was when I was eating all the time. I don't understand why we are supposed to go around eating every 2 hours.
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I've managed to restrict my eating time to 10-12 hours and o many days I skip breakfast. I've always been a healthy kid who rarely got sick. So I don't really see anything to call an improvement. But I can assure that I haven't faced a single negative effect.
I start my day with about 24 oz of water and then I have bee pollen and a brown juice with Explosion to get me going and then no actual food until 11 or noon. That gets me going.
I eat 2 bowls of coco crispies with whole milk for breakfast and then McDonalds big mac meal (supersized) for lunch and then usually a pizza or KFC for dinner downed with 2 or maybe 3 (depending on how crap my day was) beers and then sit and watch TV till I fall asleep. I am still alive but barely.
But I waste not more than 3h a week preparing or purchasing/procuring food. So I think that compensates for the shortening of my lifespan with this "no so super healthy" diet.
Naa just kidding, but I think there are more than a few that may cringe with guilt at this comment.
My wife started making green smoothies for us in the mornings and we only have a small glass of that for breakfast and plenty of water. Many of the greens in the smoothy are from our garden.
But I still think I am eating too much at lunch and dinner and could lay off the beer a little more.
Thanks for the article. Have read many things about intermittent fasting and the reaction of the body to this. Have done several 3-5 day fasts and was amazed at the boost in attention and cognitive activity after about 36-48h of no food at all. Though this fades off after about 72-84h and gives way to general lethargy. Not bad but nothing to brag about either. And you find that most of your thoughts are about food at this time.
But the first meal after a fast is something amazing. It has to be one of your favourites just to exaggerate this sensation.
Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.