Why you shouldn't eat breakfast

[CopyCat]

Why You Shouldn’t Eat Breakfast…Again | TheIFLife - Simple Fat Loss, Muscle, Health and Longevity


Why You Shouldn’t Eat Breakfast…Again
May 21, 2008

Photo by hoveringdog
So when you see that stack above….what’s the first thing that comes to mind? Well they are “whole wheat” so it must be healthy. Ha! You know what I think of? Going into a coma and sleeping for hours after I eat it. I imagine huge brain fog and needing a pot of coffee to stay awake for the day. I picture getting nothing really done but taking all day to do it. Breakfast….the illusion for health and weight loss as sold by the general public. Think of the name….”Break” Fast…..you break the fast…..well if I am doing IF…I don’t want to break the fast just now. But how will I survive? Will I lose all my muscle by skipping one meal? Will my metabolism pack up it’s bags and leave? I mean….without breakfast how will I ever get anything done all day…I need energy right? Sound familiar?
While we are talking about it, I came across this great read from Ori Hofmekler (author of the warrior diet). It actually goes very nicely with the Why Workout Fasted post and the Why Stress is Making You Sick and Fat post. Here’s the article (seen here):
When you wake-up, your body is already in an intense detox mode, clearing itself of endotoxins and digestive waste from the past evening meal.

During the morning hours, when digestion is fully completed (while you are on an empty stomach), a primal survival mechanism, known as fight or flight reaction to stress, is triggered, maximizing your body’s capacity to generate energy, be alert, resist fatigue and resist stress.

This highly geared survival mode is primarily dominated by part of the autonomic nervous system known as the SNS (sympathetic nervous system). At that state, the body is in its most energy-producing phase and that’s when most energy comes from fat burning. All that happens when you do not eat the typical morning meal.

If however you follow what “normal guys” do and eat your morning bagel and cereal and egg & bacon, you’ll most likely shut down the above energy producing system.

The SNS and its fight or flight mechanism will be substantially suppressed. Instead, your morning meal will trigger an antagonistic part of the automatic nervous system known as the PSNS (Para sympathetic nervous system), which makes you sleepy, slow and less resilient to fatigue and stress.

Instead of spending energy and burning fat, your body will be more geared towards storing energy and gaining fat. Under this state, detox would be inhibited. The overall metabolic stress would increase with toxins accumulating in the liver, giving the body another substantial reason to gain fat. (Fat tissues serve as a biological storage for toxins)

The overall suppressing effects of morning meals, can lead to energy crashes during the daily (working) hours, often with chronic cravings for pick-up foods, sweets, coffee and tobacco. Eating at the wrong time, would severely interrupt the body’s ability to be in tune with the circadian clock. The human body has never adapted to such interruptions. We are primarily pre-programmed to rotate between the two autonomic nervous system parts: the daily SNS and the nightly PSNS.

The SNS regulates alertness and action during the day, while PSNS regulates relaxation, digestion and sleep during the nightly hours. Any interruption in this primal daily cycle, may lead into sleepiness during the day followed by sleeping disorders at night.

Morning meals must be carefully designed not to suppress the SNS and its highly energetic state. Minimizing morning food intake to fruits, veggie soup or small amounts of fresh light protein foods, such as poached or boiled eggs, plain yogurt, or white cheese, will maintain the body in an undereating phase, while promoting the SNS with its energy producing properties.

*Note: Athletes who exercise in the morning should turn breakfast into a post-exercise recovery meal. Such meals should consist of small amounts of fresh protein plus carbs such as yogurt and banana, eggs plus a bowl of oatmeal, or cottage cheese with berries.

An insulin spike is necessary for effectively finalizing the anabolic actions of GH and IGF1 after exercise. Nonetheless, after the initial recovery meal, it’s highly recommended to maintain the body in an undereating phase by minimizing daily carb intake in the following meals. Applying small protein meals (minimum carbs) every couple of hours will keep sustaining the SNS during the daily hours while providing amino acids for protein synthesis in the muscle tissues, promoting a long lasting anabolic effect after exercise.

In conclusion, breakfast isn’t the most important meal of the day. The most important meals are post-exercise recovery meals. Saying that, for a WARRIOR every meal is a recovery meal helping to recuperate from either nutritional stress (undereating) or physical stress (exercise). It’s when you eat that makes what you eat matter.

Interesting stuff. One type of IF I do not recommend is what is known as Ramadan fasting, in which you eat when you wake, fast during light hours and then eat at night. (this is a Muslim practice done for a month) But during that month of Ramadan, there are also many reports of increased daytime sleepiness, children falling asleep at school, more mental “fogginess” and increased amount of motor vehicle accidents during this observance. Could it be in part to a large meal in the AM and it’s response on our system? I personally have never had so much mental clarity and consistent energy as when I decided to do IF daily and skip morning meals….and have never looked back. People are so paranoid nowadays that they will starve themselves if they skip breakfast or it will crush their metabolism….that is so untrue…as your metabolism requires many many days of low intake to even start to slow down. To think one meal can cause your metabolism to come to a screeching hault or all your muscle will be destroyed, is science based on comic book research (or just reading too many bodybuilding and fitness magazines…which are owned by supplement companies who want you to eat 6x a day and buy all their shakes and bars). Having breakfast is only hailed as the weight loss king because some people may just end up over eating later on from not being able to handle a little hunger and think they are wasting away…..in the end it’s still total calories in a day…whether 3 meals or 6.
izza:

[Omen]

Actually, your metabolism is raised for 2 days if you fast, then and only then will it start, going to normal, then slow down.

That is assuming you eat NO FOOD whatsoever, I posted the study 2 times here, not doing it again

I usually wake up at noon, first meal at 5, second meal at 10-11 and usually a 50g ATW WPI in water with 5g of fish oil at 12:30-1am, unless I have a workout, which is at 1am and finishes at 2.

A little words of wisdom:

If the official opinion is that option A is good and option B is bad, then stick to the bad option and follow that. High protein diets, creatine, most supplements, CKD, low carb, heavy weights, vitamins, etc.... are all bad and unnecessary according to the "officials", need I say more?

CopyCat, How many people are actually going to look into this and consider it and how many are going to just dismiss it as being detrimental to "anabolism"

Is it too early to start recommending empty stomach workouts?

[jakellpet]

Is it too early to start recommending empty stomach workouts?

haven't been reading the entire thread - but I can vouch for fasted early am workouts for recomping.

You don't have the same strength, but you can anilliate fat without any loss of lean mass as long as your workouts are within a certain timeframe.

During this phase I would do weights for 30-40 minutes (intense, compound, superset-based) then light cardio for 20-30min.

Just sip on some BCAAs or Leucine during

[planetfuzz]

Skip breakfast? I would never consider that. Not because I'd be afraid my muscle will fall off but I when I wake up...I AM HUNGRY.

[lennoxchi]

Skip breakfast? I would never consider that. Not because I'd be afraid my muscle will fall off but I when I wake up...I AM HUNGRY.

exactly. when i wake i am hungry as well, normally due to the fact that me dinner is my smallest meal of the day, and the cottage cheese i eat before bed is digested by morning. over the years i have learned a bit about training and diet, probably the most important thing i now know is, listen to your body. and as far as ANY "study" goes, there is ALWAYS a portion of people who do not fall into a percentile, e.g. 70% of people responded when...blah,blah,blah, well what if i'm in the other 30%? spend time listening to your own body and trying to figure out what works for you and what does not and you will never have the need for yet another "study".

[PowerlifterMB]

This is interesting but somewhat absurd at the same time.

This right here makes me rethink the credability of the article.: "Such meals should consist of small amounts of fresh protein plus carbs such as yogurt and banana, eggs plus a bowl of oatmeal, or cottage cheese with berries."

That's not a post workout meal, cottage cheese? Are you serious? Yeah casein PWO great idea, and let's create an insulin spike with berries wooo.... No, insulin spikes are caused by fast digesting carbs and the best form is glucose because it's such a simple form of carbohydrate that digetion can actually begin in the mouth! And I hope I don't have to explain why cottage cheese is stupid PWO. Slowest digesting form of protein...

Interesting article and I think a balance is in order. I eat a protein shake and creatine mono either in juice or water, creating an insulin response, not spike, but response, in the morning is benecially as well.

[CopyCat]

I will admit that I eat breakfast, but not usually a big one and 4 days a week my breakfast is my post workout meal anyways. Just came across this article and found it interesting.

However, I don't believe it's saying NOT to eat breakfast, just that breakfast shouldn't be the way people are used too and time it differently.

[Mulletsoldier]

Is it too early to start recommending empty stomach workouts?

Oh no. As Jake said, I have designed a fasted training program utilizing energy-modulating [cAMP, AMPk, PPAR agonists] and anti-lipogenic/lipolytic supplements meant to catalyze a psuedo-ketogenic state, so to speak. Training fasted merely forces the body to use FFAs, and not glucose, as its oxidative substrate. Luckily for us, 2/3 of contractile energy transactions use FFAs as their currency.

IMO, fasted resistance training is the quickest, easiest, and most beneficial program for recomposition purposes. There is a reason why Ketogenic diets are the most efficacious for fat loss! In my particular program, the benefits of a CKD and full-carbohydrate diet are both realized in their best aspects [though, obviously, not fully!].

[Omen]

Oh no. As Jake said, I have designed a fasted training program utilizing energy-modulating [cAMP, AMPk, PPAR agonists] and anti-lipogenic/lipolytic supplements meant to catalyze a psuedo-ketogenic state, so to speak. Training fasted merely forces the body to use FFAs, and not glucose, as its oxidative substrate. Luckily for us, 2/3 of contractile energy transactions use FFAs as their currency.

IMO, fasted resistance training is the quickest, easiest, and most beneficial program for recomposition purposes. There is a reason why Ketogenic diets are the most efficacious for fat loss! In my particular program, the benefits of a CKD and full-carbohydrate diet are both realized in their best aspects [though, obviously, not fully!].

Well?

How about some more info??? I'm changing up some things in my workout/ pre-WO supps this week, so hook it up

[crazyfool405]

Oh no. As Jake said, I have designed a fasted training program utilizing energy-modulating [cAMP, AMPk, PPAR agonists] and anti-lipogenic/lipolytic supplements meant to catalyze a psuedo-ketogenic state, so to speak. Training fasted merely forces the body to use FFAs, and not glucose, as its oxidative substrate. Luckily for us, 2/3 of contractile energy transactions use FFAs as their currency.

IMO, fasted resistance training is the quickest, easiest, and most beneficial program for recomposition purposes. There is a reason why Ketogenic diets are the most efficacious for fat loss! In my particular program, the benefits of a CKD and full-carbohydrate diet are both realized in their best aspects [though, obviously, not fully!].

what about high intensity training and hypoglycemia especially a risk if not eating? what about low blood sugar following a fast after you eat high GI carbs? which will then eventually lead to a crash.

[PowerlifterMB]

Yeah I agree with what you're saying Copycat. That's rough not being able to eat before a workout. I don't think I'd have the energy.

[planetfuzz]

exactly. when i wake i am hungry as well, normally due to the fact that me dinner is my smallest meal of the day, and the cottage cheese i eat before bed is digested by morning. over the years i have learned a bit about training and diet, probably the most important thing i now know is, listen to your body. and as far as ANY "study" goes, there is ALWAYS a portion of people who do not fall into a percentile, e.g. 70% of people responded when...blah,blah,blah, well what if i'm in the other 30%? spend time listening to your own body and trying to figure out what works for you and what does not and you will never have the need for yet another "study".

Agreed! I listen to my body. I think the idea of a fasted workout is a novel one but not for somebody like me. I need all the calories I can get and working out on an empty stomach would be bad. I've tried it before and it wasn't good. When I wake up...my body is telling me to eat. My evening meals and usually small also.

[PowerlifterMB]

Oh no. As Jake said, I have designed a fasted training program utilizing energy-modulating [cAMP, AMPk, PPAR agonists] and anti-lipogenic/lipolytic supplements meant to catalyze a psuedo-ketogenic state, so to speak. Training fasted merely forces the body to use FFAs, and not glucose, as its oxidative substrate. Luckily for us, 2/3 of contractile energy transactions use FFAs as their currency.

IMO, fasted resistance training is the quickest, easiest, and most beneficial program for recomposition purposes. There is a reason why Ketogenic diets are the most efficacious for fat loss! In my particular program, the benefits of a CKD and full-carbohydrate diet are both realized in their best aspects [though, obviously, not fully!].

Cosign Crazyfool.

Also by not eating before a workout you're still in catabolism from last night. Then you go and burn more glucose calories and glycogen!? You'll just be inducing more catabolism, that's the reason that ketogenic diets are the most efficient for cutting. On a cut I'd rather maintain muscle and burn fat slower than lose muscle and burn fat faster.

[jakellpet]

what about high intensity training and hypoglycemia especially a risk if not eating? what about low blood sugar following a fast after you eat high GI carbs? which will then eventually lead to a crash.

It's all in this log:

http://anabolicminds.com/forum/worko...ser-turns.html

[Omen]

what about high intensity training and hypoglycemia especially a risk if not eating? what about low blood sugar following a fast after you eat high GI carbs? which will then eventually lead to a crash.

You guys are taking this whole hypoglycemia/catabolism thing too goddamn seriously......

F**K me.

[AE14]

personally I only truly like fasted cardio bright and early. I find it burns the excess right off of you

[Omen]

It's all in this log:

http://anabolicminds.com/forum/worko...ser-turns.html

Thanks for the link.

Too many supplements, too many USP supplements to make it even worse. :P

[CopyCat]

In fairness I do 4 workouts a week in the morning on an empty stomach and have done serious workouts, runs, hikes etc on empty stomachs and been fine. No hypo nothin, but I usually manage to consume more than a 1000cals. I get cranky just thinking about it..hahaha

[Mulletsoldier]

Cosign Crazyfool.

Also by not eating before a workout you're still in catabolism from last night. Then you go and burn more glucose calories and glycogen!?

This displays a fundamental misunderstanding of the body's energy metabolism in regards to meeting the demands of contractile tissue! The body has two oxidative substrates: FAs [fatty acids, derived from hydrolyzing stored triglycerides to produce 1 glycerol and 2 fatty acid chains] and glucose. In fact, the body meets its demands in the opposite way you are thinking:

The mitochondrial b-oxidation of FFAs and triglycerides, and not the phosphorylation of glucose, is usually the primary mechanism to meet intracellular demands during [especially] resistance training. In fact, the more trained an individual is, the less glycolytic mechanisms are used. Most of the long-term resistance training research displays an increased utilization of intramuscular fatty acid stores, and a decrease in glucose phosphorylation. Actually, PFK [phosphofructokinase, the first signaler of glycolysis] has even been shown to decrease after long-term training, while FA oxidative capacity has increased; suggesting that intracellular FA oxidation is the primary method to meet intracellular energy demands.

In regards to catabolism and all that, we must remember this caveat: The glycogenic pathway is not about what you ate 4 hours ago, but what you ate 4 days ago. You seem to feel there is an immediacy to glycogen storage, when that is not the case! If you have a solid diet, you will not enter into a 'catabolic' state in fasted training.

You'll just be inducing more catabolism, that's the reason that ketogenic diets are the most efficient for cutting. On a cut I'd rather maintain muscle and burn fat slower than lose muscle and burn fat faster.

No, my misinformed friend, that is not why Ketogenic diets are used, nor does that display an understanding of the general process of Ketosis! Ketogenic diets are successful because of the body's [successful] adaptation to chronic glucose depravation. As a result of this depravation, intracellular FA oxidative capacity is increased, and the body habitually catalyzes the hydrolyzation of stored triglycerides [intramuscular and subcutaneous] as a means for fuel provision! I.e., the body literally burns fat as its main source for fuel, and glucose becomes secondary. In fact, after a certain amount of glucose depravation the brain can successfully curtail its glucose utilization by 60% This, of course, is via the production of ketone bodies [the byproduct fatty acid oxidation] - hence the name Ketosis: The perpetual production of Ketone bodies in a state of chronic glucose depravation.

[Mulletsoldier]

what about high intensity training and hypoglycemia especially a risk if not eating? what about low blood sugar following a fast after you eat high GI carbs? which will then eventually lead to a crash.

Do you know how the glycolytic/gluconeogenic pathway operates in reference to resistance training? That is an honest question, by the way; no disrespect intended.

I ask because 'hypoglycaemia' is a bit of a misplaced term here. Also, the GIndex is a bit outdated, CF! I dislike using tools like that, as they are terribly inaccurate, but: The Insulin Index is a better indicator of what we really want to know from the GI. At any rate, who is prescribing utilizing High II foods after a fast?

I think what is being misunderstood here is the role of FA oxidation in response to training. I think most of you would be plenty surprised at how little the body truly needs glucose to function. For [most likely] the first 185, 000 years of our existence we fed off of animal fat and protein. There is a reason why our bodies have such a high FA Oxidative capacity!

We were initially meant to consume protein and fat; have you not ever wondered why we are so predisposed to glucose-related diseases? What do you feel the incidence rate if for Impaired Fatty Acid synthesis is? Hint: Nada!