A recent study compared weight loss among people who ate breakfast with those who didn't. The meal didn't make any difference. If you're dieting, don't think cutting calories by skipping the meal will help. Studies show that most people who lose weight and keep the weight off eat breakfast every day.
Does Skipping Breakfast Help You Lose Weight? Breakfast skipping may help you lose minimal weight in the short term, but the practice is far from sustainable and can even backfire. According to a 2022 study in Nutrients, skipping breakfast was related to insulin resistance and weight gain.
Breakfast has become the most common option for people to skip when following some form of time-restricted eating or intermittent fasting. People tend to find it easiest because generally, it's the meal commonly taken at a time of hurry, as you rush out the door in the morning.
While skipping breakfast is not recommended, good nutrition is not just about the number of meals you have each day. If you don't have breakfast, aim to make up for the nutritional content you missed at breakfast with your lunch, dinner and healthy snacks.
Despite the belief that skipping breakfast can aid in weight loss by reducing overall daily caloric intake, most randomized controlled studies have shown no weight-loss benefit to omitting breakfast.
While there is no one perfect way to time your meals, there is some evidence that suggests that eating most of your food earlier in the day, going lighter at your evening meal and leaving at least 12 hours between dinner and breakfast may have some health benefits—including enhanced weight loss.
Regarding the analyzed association between breakfast skipping and body weight, all nine studies showed an increased relative risk regarding overweight/obesity. Within this, seven out of nine studies reported that skipping breakfast was associated with weight gain [36,37,38,39,91,93,94].
There are plenty of reasons why many health professionals say breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Eating breakfast can help jump-start your metabolism.
After a night's sleep, your body's fuel stores are depleted. Breakfast replenishes these stores with glucose, the brain's main source of energy. Skipping breakfast leaves you feeling sluggish, foggy-minded, and unable to concentrate at work or school.
However, eating breakfast really is important. In fact, eating within 30 minutes of getting up is needed to get your body re-energized and re-hydrated after fasting and dehydrating overnight.
Eating all three meals—breakfast, lunch, and dinner – provides essential nutrients, supports metabolism, and helps maintain energy levels and mood throughout the day. By prioritising balanced meals, you're not just feeding your body, but also setting the foundation for long-term health and well-being.
Research shows that eating a breakfast high in protein and fiber-rich foods, like eggs, vegetables, beans, and Greek yogurt, can help improve feelings of fullness and help you eat fewer calories later in the day, encouraging healthy weight loss.
Water is more than just a thirst-quencher. It offers various benefits that can aid in weight loss. These include boosting metabolism, suppressing appetite, aiding in detoxification and enhancing exercise performance.
"There are numerous studies showing that people who skip breakfast have an increased risk for heart disease and many other ailments," he says. Not only that, there's also some evidence to suggest that heart attacks are more likely to happen in the morning.
There are various ways you can carry out intermittent fasting. The most common method is following the 16:8 diet, where you fast for 16 hours and eat during an 8-hour interval. In other words, you will be skipping breakfast and eating lunch and dinner.
Although the actual time doesn't really matter, many people who eat late at night choose high-calorie foods, which brings weight gain. Late meals and snacks can also make it harder for you to fall asleep. Aim to stay out of the kitchen from a couple of hours before bedtime until you wake up the next morning.
Skipping breakfast is not a good weight loss strategy
Many believe the simple math of the calories-in-calories-out model of weight loss — if you reduce your calorie intake and increase your exercise, you will lose weight. If that were true, skipping breakfast would mean fewer calories, which would equal weight loss.
One of the best ways to lose body fat is through steady aerobic exercise, such as brisk walking. Work up to at least 30 minutes of aerobic exercise most days of the week. Some people may need more exercise than this to lose weight and keep it off. Also aim to do strength training exercises at least twice a week.
It's true that one should have low quantity of food at night, but completely skipping the meal is not ideal. It will only lead to weight gain. "The body enters a mode where you start accumulating fat.