Breakfast Tradition
For your entire life, you have been told to eat breakfast immediately upon awakening.
What if I told you eating breakfast in the morning is the reason why you are so hungry and not losing weight.
Eating breakfast in the morning is the reason why you are so hungry and not losing weight.
Breakfast Opens The Food Floodgates!
I am never hungry before eating breakfast in the morning. In fact, I feel nauseous trying to force breakfast down my throat. But the moment I finish eating breakfast, I suddenly feel starved. In fact, eating breakfast makes me so ravenous that I start eating more food within 20 minutes of having finished eating breakfast! It is as if I had not even eaten breakfast!
For me, eating breakfast first thing in the morning is the equivalent of opening up the floodgates to an all-day bingefest. Not only does eating breakfast in the morning cause me to gain weight, but it also makes me irritable as I constantly count down the seconds until my next calorie-restricted meal.
Eating breakfast in the morning opens the floodgates to insatiable hunger all day
Why Does Eating Breakfast Make You Hungrier?
About 20-30 minutes after you wake up in the morning, your blood cortisol levels increase by about 50%. This is the Cortisol Awakening Response (CAR), and it happens in anticipation of the demands of your upcoming day (it gets your butt out of bed).
So your cortisol levels rise and reach a peak around the same time as you eat your morning breakfast. This augments your feeding-induced insulin secretion. In other words, if you eat something during CAR, your insulin secretion is boosted. The insulin surge is followed by a speedy drop in your blood glucose, with the result being extreme hunger.
This would NOT occur if you ate the same meal later in the day.
The Hunger Solution: Skip Breakfast
Skipping breakfast is referred to as intermittent fasting. Omitting breakfast and putting an end to my “six meal-a-day” approach to dieting has been the smartest and easiest way for me to get and stay lean.
Thanks to intermittent fasting, I was able to overcome chronic hunger and finally lose weight. It didn’t take me more than a day to get used to the feeling of not eating. The best part is no longer worrying about my next meal. I’ve finally found freedom from hunger! Now I’m in control of food! And even when I do get hunger sensations (which is rare), they go away pretty quickly because I drink water. Most of the time, I’m just thirsty.
Once You Start, You Can't Stop
If you eat breakfast in the morning, and then you just can't stop eating thereafter, then perhaps it's wiser NOT to eat breakfast in the morning. Trust me when I tell you not eating breakfast is easier than trying to stop yourself from eating once you start.
Not eating breakfast is easier than trying to stop yourself from eating once your start.
If You Want To Burn Fat, Then Skip Breakfast
Do you think you could handle skipping breakfast (i.e. fasting) and postponing your first meal of the day?
Three Reasons to Skip Breakfast (i.e. Fast):
- End Chronic Hunger
- Anti-Aging: Fasting allows the body to discard damaged parts of your cells. This is integral to anti-aging.
- Fat-Burning: Fasting promotes the release of body fat for fuel. Why? In order to burn body fat, your insulin levels must be very low. This can be achieved through short-term fasting. As long as you are in a fed state, then you are not burning fat. So if you skip breakfast after your overnight fast, then you will finally be able to burn your stored fat for fuel!
As long as you are in a fed state, then you are not burning fat. So if you skip breakfast after your overnight fast, then you will finally be able to burn your stored fat for fuel!
Learn the How's & Why's of Intermittent Fasting
Want to know when to eat your first meal? Want to know why you're not going to faint if you don't eat breakfast in the morning? Want to know why you don't need to eat breakfast in the morning for energy? Want to know why skipping breakfast allows you to burn fat? Then get started today by clicking here to get my Fat Loss Fast System.
Final Thoughts:
- Don’t knock something until you have tried it.
- Always think critically. Don’t be deceived into thinking something is right just because it’s been that way for a long time.
- I dare you to send this to a friend or family member who insists on eating breakfast in the morning as part of their weight loss plan ... but they never lose weight!
Tony
This makes total sense. I used to always eat breakfast and it seemed like I was always hungry. Even eating my 5 meals. I stopped eating breakfast about 2 weeks ago. Not hungry and loosing bodyfat. Didn’t know why. Because society tells us to eat breakfast so that’s what we do. Great article makes great sense. Thank you!
Stewart
Hello Sara,
I have tried this approach to skipping breakfast also and you are right it does help burn fat. I was just wondering if you approach your last meal of the day with more protein? Also wondering what your thoughts are on working out in the morning with skipping breakfast from a building lean muscle perspective? Do you think the body would start to rob protein to use as fuel to get you through your workout and if so wouldn’t skipping breakfast be pro productive? After all we want to build lean muscle as that helps to burn fat right?
Thanks Sara, looking forward to your next post!
Stewart
Dr. Sara Solomon
Hey Stewart, Sara explains all of this in the 6 Day Kickstart Program, as well as in her e-Books.
Tiffany Gaidish
I don’t believe this will work for me. I have skipped or delayed breakfast b4 and I am totally irritable and have no energy all day. It ruins my whole day. I know my sister in law is more like you. She has said “You know how when you wake and you aren’t hungry…” I was thinking ummmmmmm No I’m starving when I wake up. However, there are times throughout the day, 1 hr. after eating, I’m hungry. But I attribute that to the type of (processed, starchy) food I have eaten. No fruits of vegetables.