breakfast

M

Mariela

Cathlete
I have read that breakfast is very important and one should never skip it. I wake up very late (because I go to bed late) and I take my breakfast at about 10:00am. Is that too late for a breakfast? Does this count as skipping my breakfast?
Also, Is it true that the best time to workout is in the morning, with an empty stomach?
 
Mariela

Sorry had to jump into this one eat breakfast no matter when you get up. It is the most important meal of the day.

When I am not working and if I sleep late I still eat breakfast. There is an old rhyme I'm sure its known in the US but it says

Breakfast like a King
Lunch like a lord
Dine like a peasant
Supe like a pauper.

You burn most calories in the morning after having not eaten whilst you slept. Takes your body alot of effort to go from totally relaxed (as in sleep) to waking up.

Babs
 
What I mean is... Am I skipping my breakfast if I take it at 10:00am? Should I force myself to get up earlier to take my breakfast? Or is that OK if I take it when I wake up (usually at 10:00am)?
 
Hi Mariela,

IMHO, if you are eating within a couple of hours of getting out of bed in the "morning" after your "night's" sleep (whatever hour of the day that is) then you have not skipped breakfast. If you get up and don't eat for 4 or 5 hours then I think you have skipped breakfast.

How many times do you eat from the time you get up until the time you retire? And when? I think that should be the criteria for deciding if you have skipped a meal and what meal you have skipped.

-joy
 
Oh geez, I'm sorry. I forgot to start the previous post with
"I'm not Cathe but...." Forgive the intrusion. I just love to give my opinion.
-joy
 
Thank you for your opinion. All of your opinions are welcome.

I eat a big breakfast at about 10:00 or 10:30, then about 12-12:30 a snack or small meal, then at 3:00pm, a big meal, then at 6:00pm a small meal or snack, and that's it. Oh, Then at about 9:00pm or 10:00 I have to take medications that must be taken with food or milk. What I do is I take a small glass of skim milk (about 4 oz).
 
Mariela,
I'm not Cathe either, but I am an exercise physiologist. Exercising first thing in the morning without eating at least a little something is a bad idea. Here's why.

After a night of no food, your body's glucose/glycogen stores are depleted. Because of the way your body breaks down fat to fuel exercise and because glucose is a necessary fuel for both aerobic and anaerobic metabolism, you have to replenish your supply before asking your body to work--that is, unless you want to compromise lean muscle tissue.

The idea that you have to deplete glucose/glycogen stores before you burn fat is a big myth. Both fat and glucose are being burned at all times in varying amounts. In truth, if blood glucose and glycogen stores are depleted, fat can't be metabolized at all as a fuel for exercise. What will happen is the body will then have to make glucose from other substances. While a little fat is used in this process, protein is used to a much greater degree, so the result is a greater loss of lean tissue than fat tissue.

Also, when the body has to make its own glucose from other sources, it doesn't keep up with the fuel demands of exercise. You poop out and won't be able to exercise nearly as intensely, especially with your strength training.

The moral of the story is to stoke your engine before you ask it to work--eat breakfast, even if it is only a piece of toast and a glass of juice, or a banana. Just don't go for it without refueling!
Maribeth
 
But what if you work out within 30 minutes of rising? How quickly can your body make that food available for energy? Jeanne
 
If you work out within 30 minutes of waking up, your best bet is to drink 4 oz of orange juice mixed with 4 oz of water 10-15 minutes before your workout. The OJ is very quickly absorbed and will give you the blood sugar boost you need to keep your body going. The water keeps the juice from being absorbed too fast and from giving you a stomach ache (in people who are sensitive to the acid in the juice). A piece of whole grain toast and juice is even better--if you choose this, though, do it as soon as you get up to give the toast a little extra digestion time. The complex carbs in the toast will help you even more, so if you can manage it, too, have both.
Maribeth
 
Thank you, Maribeth!

I have read so many contradictory reports about this topic.

I just did my own unscientific experiment this week:

On Monday, I ran on an empty stomach - was able to run for only 30 minutes and really, really struggled.

On Wednesday, I had a small bowl of raisin bran with 1% fat milk. I ran for 40 minutes and felt strong the entire way.



"Pain is weakness leaving the body."
 
You're most welcome! I know--when it comes to exercise and nutrition, the myths abound! But, take your info from registered dietitians and exercise physiologists, not some Joe Blow who wrote a book just because he looked good. What these pseudo-science people do is take a tiny grain of truth and make factoids out of them, usually in hopes of making scads of money by playing on the fat fears of the American public.

Maribeth
 
Thank you so much for saying what I wanted to hear. I workout in the nights, usually around 7:00pm, and I was worried that I wasn't getting the most of my aerobic workouts because of the myths that it is best to do it first thing in the morning, on an empty stomach.

As a separated issue I was worried that I am not getting a breakfast because I take it too late because I wake up late. I *DO* eat my breakfast(but late) and I want to get the most out of it. That's why I ask the question. But besides Joy, no one seems to have a response for this. Do you know? Again the question is: A breakfast at 10:00am still counts as a breakfast (when one wakes up at 9:55am)? Or is it so late that it counts as a skipped breakfast? Should I try to wake up earlier to take my breakfast?
 
It really doesn't matter when you get up. Breakfast is the first meal after a prolonged period of sleep. If you eat at 10:00am, and it is your first meal of the day, it's breakfast.

As long as you eat at regular intervals, it doesn't matter what the clock hour is. I would imagine that if you have breakfast at 10:00, your lunch is a bit later, yes?

Maribeth
 
Thanks so much Maribeth! I belong to a lot of Body building forums and they all SWEAR by cardio FTITM on a empty stomach, and I've questioned this all the time. However, I have to realize that a lot of them are using anabolic steriods and it is much easier to retain lean body mass. So I guess I shouldn't take advice from those that "supplement" with anabolic agents. It's like comparing apples to oranges. Thanks again.
 
Breakfast means 'breaking the fast'. Whatever the time of day, when you sleep, you are fasting, and when you wake up, you should break the fast by eating. People who do shift work sleep all day, and breakfast to them could be at 4 in the afternoon. So it really doesn't matter what time it is as long as it is soon after waking.
 
Maribeth

I personally prefer to workout first thing in the morning with nothing in my stomach. I feel my workouts are very strong too. I just make sure I eat well at dinner time. Not going over board, but making sure I have fuel for the next mornings workout. I am at a very good weight and I have a lot of muscle, but I do have some body fat that I am trying to get rid off. Is my working out on a empty stomach causing me to hold on to this body fat by burning muscle tissue? I am so confused with all the conflicting theories on fat burning. I know you are definetely for eating or drinking something before excersise. Would doing this make a difference in losing body fat? Thanks.
 
RE: Maribeth

If you are going 8 or more hours without eating then exercising, you are not fueled, regardless of eating well at dinnertime. And yes, not having anything in your stomach will make a difference with being able to utilize fat as a fuel for your aerobic exercise. Without at least a little something to prime the pump, you aren't optimizing your workouts.

I know there's conflicting information out there, but not from qualified exercise and nutrition scientists--the conflicting info comes from these goofballs who pretend to be informed or who are trying to sell diet books. Ask any registered dietitian or exercise physiologist--not the local gym rat or personal trainer--about the necessity of fueling before working out first thing in the morning. Or, pick up a nutrition or exercise physiology text, none of which will advise exercising after a prolonged period of no food (like first thing in the morning) without eating.

Let me know if you want some reliable sources--I'll give you the names of scads of texts.

Maribeth
 
Thanks Maribeth!

First thing tomorrow morning I will drink some juice like you suggested and go from there. Maybe I can make myself eat a banana. It does make sense that you need to have fuel. I have been working out for around 3 years without eating anything before hand since I switched to morning workouts. I still complain about some body fat so obviously what I have been doing doesn't work. Thank you for your advice. I will try it out.
 
RE: Maribeth

Maribeth,

Please do post the names of some good nutrition and exercise physiology books.

Thanks in advance.

Alexandra
 
RE: Thanks Maribeth!

Just my .02 cents based on personal experience: I too eat a late breakfast, around 10 a.m., because of my unconventional work schedule. In turn, all my other meals come later in the day too than is traditional, and I end up eating dinner around 10 p.m. It's not a problem for me because of the 12 hour lapse--the fast--between dinner and breakfast the next day. That's why I think you should take with a grain of salt all the conventional wisdom about what time of day to eat which meal (for example, the maxim that you shouldn't eat dinner after 6 or 7 p.m.) That's fine if you're up at the crack of dawn every day, but for some of us that "eating schedule" is neither possible nor wise.
 
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