At what point does breakfast become pointless?

Okay, we all know that breakfast is GOOD for losing weight. I even seem to remember reading something the other day (was it here?) stating that sumo wrestlers will routinely skip breakfast to GAIN weight.

But what about the people like me who are a little slow to wake up in the morning. I got up today, sat on the computer, checked my email and did various other things. Before I knew it, almost two hours had passed. I still had a small meal, even though I don't think it jump-started me (and my metabolism!) in the same way breakfast at the proper time would have.

So tell me this, do you think there is a specific "window" of time where breakfast is beneficial to your metabolism? Or... well, I can't even think of what the alternative would be.

Fri. Dec 21, 5:42pm

All I know is the sooner the better. It's better to get that jumpstart at 6:30 than it is at 9:30. However, i will tell you that I eat small meals several times a day. If I start at 6:30 i have to eat that many more times so I purposely wait until 8:00 so that my meals are evenly spaced and it still works for me.

Friday, December 21, 2007, 6:08 PM

I think I heard "eat within an hour of waking" so your body "knows" there's not a famine.

Friday, December 21, 2007, 7:00 PM

I'm a college student so on the weekends and on breaks I will sleep til past noon. At that point there is no way I am going to eat my typical "budget" of 1400 calories unless I sit around pigging out all day. So I subtract about 300 calories which is my average breakfast and try to eat "lunch" (which is often a breakfast meal anyway) as soon as I can get it in.

I know that my situation isn't the same as the OP's but the point is that you aren't going to have a "perfect" day every day so you should just use common sense and adapt your diet to your life. In your situation I think you should still eat as soon as you remember, then eat again in 3-4 hours.

Tuesday, January 1, 2008, 4:06 PM

TCM & breakfast

I am not an expert on this but to the best of my understanding, TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) and some other disciplines as well, believe that our bodies are in elimination mode until noon & eating just mucks that up. Fruit is the only acceptable thing to eat until noon according to TCM. The Skinny Bitch diet suggests the same thing.

Tuesday, January 1, 2008, 6:53 PM

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