Is it cheating to delay breakfast?

[calm201]

Sometimes I delay eating breakfast (porridge) until I'm at the office - I usually stop for it around 9.30ish. Is this cheating?? I have a coffee or orange juice first thing to get me going... Plus it means I can get to lunch without snacking, so come on folks, whats the downside??

[BadHare]

Hi Calm,

Eating more early on, & less later in the day is supposed to be best, but so is doing what suits your routine & your body. Porridge at 9.30 sounds good!

I keep away from coffee early. It's supposed to be bad first thing, as it eventually inhibits the body's ability to wake itself up, so people become dependent on caffeine to get going. I can appreciate that a caffeine & sugar boost is what you feel you need to get up, out, & off to work, but perhaps a banana, orange or whatever fruit you like might be a bit healthier as you're getting some fibre & nutrients, as well as a sugar fix. I usually start the day with a lot of weak green tea, & eat fresh fruit, kefir, nuts, & a date an few hours later. If I still need a boost, I have a coffee (or two) afterwards. I keep a tub of nuts & dried fruit in my bag for snacks.

I've practiced intermittent fasting most days of the week, for the past three years. Initially to see if it would help me loose then maintain weight, & now because it improves the efficacy of medication I take. I probably consume more calories than I ate before, which suits me as I like eating. I usually go without food before 10am & after 6pm, or between 11am & 7pm, though I don't like to eat more than a snack that late. My body seems used to this now, but I'm not always that strict. I'll eat earlier if I wake up hungry, or have a handful of walnuts, brazils & almonds if I'm hungry before bedtime. I was interested to see intermittent fasting was featured on last week's Trust Me I'm A Doctor, which is still on BBCiplayer. I can't remember what they called it, & it was news to me that it helps reduce sugar & fat peaks in the blood, that naturally occur in the evening. Must watch it again to confirm this.

Mel

[Venusflytrap]

Hi Calm, I live in a family of 3 people who all manage breakfast differently. I could eat a Sunday Dinner as soon as I get up. I wake up ravenous and am prepared to take the time to cook and eat, often leftovers, not just breakfast foods. Left to my own devices I would eat about 10.00. One of us feels nauseous if he eats a large breakfast and prefers to follow your pattern but unfortunately not eating anything as good for him as porridge. The third either makes porridge within an hour of getting up or has something larger later. The only comment I can make about the healthiness of these options is that it's the early breakfast eater that has managed to shed excess weight while the others have only "tried". Not sure if such a small sample group is worthwhile and obviously there are lots of factors at play here as well as eating pattern and size of meals. But I would be thrilled if my two followed your morning pattern including Leverette's suggestion about replacing your juice with whole fruit. I definitely can't do mornings without big coffees so she's right about that one too. But isn't a nice coffee one of the pleasures of 21st century living? Keep going with this option if eating your porridge doen't impact on your work environment. Venus.

[GoogleMe in reply to Venusflytrap]

I am much like you Venusflytrap - I wake up thinking about breakfast and enjoy a rich variety of meals (have fried up mashed potato, veggie bacon and egg for this morning, with a small (about 100ml) glass of grapefruit juice to wake up the tastebuds first and a mug of coffee with and one back in bed afterwards)

I can however do mornings without coffee (so long as I have the equivalent volume of water to drink... and I always have a glass of water straight after my visit to the bathroom and 10 minutes or so of gentle yoga) Makes no difference to me whether it is decaff or caff, so long as it is good!

The downside of being a 'breakfast first' person is that I can't go for a run for another couple of hours, so there's that advantage to your approach if you wanted to exercise early. It sounds as though you are enjoying your breakfast, it feels natural and it is working for you in terms of your goals.

[Venusflytrap]

Hi GoogleMe, Thanks for your reply. Interesting about the mashed potato. One of us loves potato cakes made with instant mash and whatever needs using up! One of our favourites, though not necessarily for brekkie, is pilchard fishcakes. With a can of pilchards in tomato, Sainsbury's basics instant mash powder. We once added too much hot water and added oats to sop up the water. Nowadays we add oats on purpose, it gives a lovely nutty flavour. I sometimes skip the pilchards and add half an onion finely chopped. Makes a lovely potato cake. And they open freeze really well. They are very helpful for lowering bad cholesterol. If you want to run before breakfast, how about a 2 breakfast system? I used to do this when I was able to go early for a gym or a swim. Used to have a banana, plain yog + another fruit (canned or frozen) smoothie. That was enough to exercise on, then cooked breakfast when I got home. The yoga stretches sound very good for you. I am reluctant to try that since I had a bad injury doing Pilates. Which took 2/3 years to sort out. Hope you are having a good weekend. Venus

[gabriellestreeten]

As it is said 'Skipping breakfast is more likely to cause weight gain instead of weight loss'. So its better to have breakfast to be fit. I can suggest you to have snacks like macadamia nuts. It is a very healthy snack, and it will keep you healthy and fit. Eating a handful of nuts will not take much time, you can eat it while traveling also. If you are not aware of macadamia nuts you can check here.

duck-creek.com.au/

[stephensam740]

BUT YOU MUST CARE YOUR BODY.....