Do You Eat Breakfast? Survey Reveals 4 Out of 6 Overweight

[Moonbear]

Yeah, I was forced to eat breakfast as a kid. At least there was enough time between breakfast and my first class for the nausea to go away. I had more trouble in my after-lunch classes when I just wanted to nap. I functioned better in college when I discovered I could schedule my classes to include time for an afternoon nap. If I get up early, I need an afternoon nap. If I just sleep until my body wakes up on its own, I function much better. I think I was born in the wrong time zone.

 

[Pseudo Statistic]

I usually don't eat breakfast before going to school. However, I've been noticing that I haven't been thinking straight in my math and physics classes recently on days when I haven't gotten much sleep or any breakfast. So I've been gradually eating more.

 

[Rach3]

Having been condemned to a college life (almost over, four more months...) I've had the same thing for breakfast for as long as my memory goes back - cereal (any non-sweetened) and a large volume of coffee, with bananas.

 

[Azael]

If I don't eat breakfast I get so hungry after 2 hours or so that I feel like throwing up and get stomach cramps. Without a solid breakfast and a solid lunch I don't survive through a 8 hour study day.

I didnt used to get it though. Back when I was in high school and had the body composition of a sea cow I never ate breakfast and never really got hungry either I just ate when I craved something not because of hunger. Its only after I started working out and forced myself to eat regulary and eat breakfast that I started to get hungry in the morning.

I usualy eat a big bowl of oatmeal, lots of seeds, a banana or apple and a big whey shake, but it usualy doesn't keep me full long enough so I am going to switch to egg, bacon and some lean sausage now that semester starts. Fat and protein baby Carbs are useless to my body in the morning.

If I oversleep or in a hurry I cram down a shake with whey and some flax oil and chew down 2 mouthfulls of mixed seeds(most often sesame, flax and psyllium) and pray that I survive to lunch.

 

[JasonRox]

If I don't eat breakfast I get so hungry after 2 hours or so that I feel like throwing up and get stomach cramps. Without a solid breakfast and a solid lunch I don't survive through a 8 hour study day.

I didnt used to get it though. Back when I was in high school and had the body composition of a sea cow I never ate breakfast and never really got hungry either I just ate when I craved something not because of hunger. Its only after I started working out and forced myself to eat regulary and eat breakfast that I started to get hungry in the morning.

I usualy eat a big bowl of oatmeal, lots of seeds, a banana or apple and a big whey shake, but it usualy doesn't keep me full long enough so I am going to switch to egg, bacon and some lean sausage now that semester starts. Fat and protein baby Carbs are useless to my body in the morning.

If I oversleep or in a hurry I cram down a shake with whey and some flax oil and chew down 2 mouthfulls of mixed seeds(most often sesame, flax and psyllium) and pray that I survive to lunch.

Sounds like the same thing that happened to me. It seemed to have begun when I started working out. I seriously can not go on without breakfast.

I eat a good amount of calories everyday. I eat lots all day, but my calorie count is about where it's suppose to be. I guess healthier choices allow you to eat even more!

 

[hypatia]

I eat yogurt, and drink coffee, errr make that lots of coffee.

 

[marcusl]

I feel that breakfast powers my morning, and an advantage to eating cereal is it's quick. I've been shifting to disgustingly healthy (why do those two words travel together?) now that I'm getting older--Organic raisin bran, Optimum cereal (10g of fiber per bowl!), hot oatmeal about 3 times a week, a cup of fruit and a handful of raw nuts each morning. My doctor finally wore down my defenses, so I'm also taking multivitamins (nothing reminds you daily of aging quite like taking "Centrum Silver"!), baby aspirin and fish oil. Sure you bring up briny burps and the oatmeal tastes like wallpaper paste even when disguised with milk (skim), cinnamon and berries, but I get to hear the doc ooh and ahh over my cholesterol each year.

 

[Azael]

Sounds like the same thing that happened to me. It seemed to have begun when I started working out. I seriously can not go on without breakfast.

I eat a good amount of calories everyday. I eat lots all day, but my calorie count is about where it's suppose to be. I guess healthier choices allow you to eat even more!

I wish I could eat a good amount of kcal. Anything above 2500-2800 and I start to get fat.

If you don't mind me asking, are you a bodybuilder, a powerlifter or a olympic weightlifter??

 

[J77]

Yep - Cruslei (sp?), it's like crunchy muslei (sp?)

 

[Maxwell]

I'm NEVER in the mood to eat in the morning, but I still force myself to down something small. I just can not focus or be productive if I do not eat.

It's very weird -- sometimes I'll be very hungry, but not in the mood to actually eat anything. I just have to force something down.

 

[JasonRox]

I wish I could eat a good amount of kcal. Anything above 2500-2800 and I start to get fat.

If you don't mind me asking, are you a bodybuilder, a powerlifter or a olympic weightlifter??

I just train. Nothing spectacular.

I'm looking into Martial Arts for fun though. I'm also interested in training young hockey players as well, but I'll have to wait until I get my Personal Training certicate.

 

[Ronnin]

Ever since I started training I will get horrible headaches about every four hours if I don't eat. Your body definitely will let you know when that blood sugar starts to bottom out. Breakfast for me is two pieces of wheat toast with cottage cheese spread over them. All my breakfasts have to have one prerequisite, can be eaten in the car. I just can't seem to get up that extra 15 minutes to sit and really enjoy my breakfast and first cup of coffee.

 

[Astronuc]

Just thought of another option on toast.

I usually use a whole grain or rye bread for toast.

On it is cheese (Swiss, Provalone, Monterrey Jack, . . . or your favorite), and on that is slices of tomatos.

I usually lightly toast the bread, and then put on cheese and tomato. Optionally, lightly toast it again.

To this I'll sprinkle with curry powder, or I'll cover the cheese and tomato hot sauce, then sprinkle on the curry powder.

Vegemite on the bread is optional.

 

[Smurf]

The Ancient Greeks didn't need breakfast, so neither do I.

 

[Azael]

Just thought of another option on toast.

I usually use a whole grain or rye bread for toast.

On it is cheese (Swiss, Provalone, Monterrey Jack, . . . or your favorite), and on that is slices of tomatos.

I usually lightly toast the bread, and then put on cheese and tomato. Optionally, lightly toast it again.

To this I'll sprinkle with curry powder, or I'll cover the cheese and tomato hot sauce, then sprinkle on the curry powder.

Vegemite on the bread is optional.

You are making me hungry

 

[Moonbear]

Just thought of another option on toast.

I usually use a whole grain or rye bread for toast.

On it is cheese (Swiss, Provalone, Monterrey Jack, . . . or your favorite), and on that is slices of tomatos.

I usually lightly toast the bread, and then put on cheese and tomato. Optionally, lightly toast it again.

To this I'll sprinkle with curry powder, or I'll cover the cheese and tomato hot sauce, then sprinkle on the curry powder.

Vegemite on the bread is optional.

Wow, that's a pretty elaborate process for making breakfast! I might go to all that trouble for lunch, but for breakfast, it's a good morning if I don't chop off my fingers while trying to slice cheese to put on toast. I should make life simpler and go to the deli and get pre-sliced cheese, but I just never think of stopping at the deli (I'm not really into processed meats for lunch food, so just pass right by, and forget that they also have cheese). Toast with a slice of cheese is one of the few things that my stomach will tolerate for breakfast...I don't think making it any more elaborate than that would be a good idea unless I've had the chance to sleep in until noon.

 

[Kurdt]

I never eat breakfast or lunch because I can rarely keep them down but I tend to have dinner and a midnight snack before bed. Then again I suffer terribly from irritable bowel syndrome with little relief from the meds I've been prescribed.

I have heard of a similar survey that was done not long ago (the fact that a lot of overweight people skip breakfast and a lot of normally sized people do not). The theory I read at the time was that having breakfast kick starts your metabolism whereas waiting till lunch it still operates as if you were asleep. I don't have a source because it was in a magazine and Ican barely remember reading it. Interesting none the less.

 

[Kalimaa23]

I never seemed to get the hang of it. I tried to make a habbit out of it, but I keep forgetting. Often I'm up at 6h, only to find out around 2PM "damn, I haven't eaten yet". I usually compensate by eating waay to much at dinner (late, often at 22h, 23h).

I know, I'm working my way up to my first heart attack around 40...

 

[chroot]

I generally eat a little something for breakfast every morning. Like many people, I feel a little nauseated if I eat a large breakfast, so I generally keep it light.

Normally, it's just an Ensure drink (250 kcal and tons of vitamins and minerals) or a fruit-and-nut granola bar and an orange (total of about 250 kcal, also with a good balance of nutrients).

I ride my bike to work two days a week, and that means I burn about 800 kcal before I even get to the office in the morning. I used to try to eat a larger breakfast on those mornings (cereal, fruit, orange juice, the works), but there are some contraindications. A large breakfast doesn't sit well when you get on a bike and do cardio for an hour. And milk... well... let's just say dairy does some very unpleasant things to me in those circumstances. I have tried soy milk, and it's better, but my stomach still isn't quite happy about it.

So, ultimately, I fall back on the Ensure drinks and the granola bars even when I ride my bike. I can also take them with me in my messenger bag and eat them while riding, so they're nice and convenient.

- Warren

 

[chroot]

BTW, the naysayers (goaskalice.com, etc.) who claim your brain and central nervous system are deprived of glucose when you don't eat breakfast are, well, stupid. Your liver always stores 2000 kcal or so worth of glucose as glycogen, and releases it as necessary to keep your blood glucose relatively constant. You're not "deprived" of glucose by any means.

The reason people feel more awake and more alert after breakfast is probably caused more by the simple fact that eating breakfast wakes you up. The smells, tastes, and textures are stimuli that activate large parts of the brain. Listening to a high-energy favorite song, taking a shower, or doing some light exercise all have the same effect of waking you up.

- Warren

 

[Moonbear]

BTW, the naysayers (goaskalice.com, etc.) who claim your brain and central nervous system are deprived of glucose when you don't eat breakfast are, well, stupid. Your liver always stores 2000 kcal or so worth of glucose as glycogen, and releases it as necessary to keep your blood glucose relatively constant. You're not "deprived" of glucose by any means.

The reason people feel more awake and more alert after breakfast is probably caused more by the simple fact that eating breakfast wakes you up. The smells, tastes, and textures are stimuli that activate large parts of the brain. Listening to a high-energy favorite song, taking a shower, or doing some light exercise all have the same effect of waking you up.

- Warren

I think just the fact that some of us need to wake up BEFORE we can stomach breakfast indicates that we don't need breakfast to wake up and become alert. It also doesn't take into account the post-prandial (after a meal) sleepiness that decreases alertness. My least productive time of day is the hour after each meal.

Sure, if your stomach is growling, you're going to pay more attention to that than other mental tasks at hand, but I don't know many people who would skip breakfast if their stomach was growling when they woke up.

I can somewhat appreciate your dilemma of the difficulty in balancing when to eat relative to exercise in the morning (my preferred solution is to wait until later in the day before engaging in strenuous activity, but that's aside from the point). When I was in high school, I had a year of first period gym class. Ugh! If I ate breakfast, I'd get nauseous from the exercise so soon after. If I skipped breakfast, the morning exertion and calories burned left me feeling VERY hungry for the next few classes until lunch time. Of course, being high school, packing a snack to eat in my second period class was out of the question, although it would have greatly resolved the problem. Already being a bit of a gym-class-hating dork in high school, that just gave me even more reason to hate it. I was so happy for the one quarter where we had health class instead of gym!

When I don't have the option to avoid strenuous activity in the morning (like when I'm out working at the farm first thing in the morning), I've had good luck with nibbling. For example, if someone brings in bagels or doughnuts, or I have a couple cereal bars with me, I'll take a bite, work for a bit, grab another bite when I have a moment, back to work, etc. Mostly, that started simply because I never had enough time to just stop and eat anything in its entirety when I was hungry, but I've found that even when I do have time to stop, it still solves the problem of getting sick to the stomach from eating a whole meal then exerting oneself for an hour or more.

So, in your case, it might work while biking too. Just keep your cereal bars with you, or whatever you want to eat, take a bite, bike a while, take another bite, bike a while. That way, you get the benefit of the energy as your body needs it, but without making your stomach tumble from eating the entire thing at once. One thing that happens with exercise is that your digestion slows a bit as energy is diverted to your muscles, so smaller bites at a time gives your stomach a chance to keep up better.

 

[JasonRox]

Normally, it's just an Ensure drink (250 kcal and tons of vitamins and minerals) or a fruit-and-nut granola bar and an orange (total of about 250 kcal, also with a good balance of nutrients).

- Warren

Like I mentionned earlier, I work in a grocery store. Therefore, the fact that you drink Ensure tells me something about you.

Can you guess?

Hint: Nothing I didn't know before though. But then again, you never really knew what I knew.

 

[franznietzsche]

Does coffee count? Some days I eat a cereal bar if I know I won't have time to get lunch, or if I get to sleep in on the weekend, I'll make something for breakfast when I get up, but usually, I'm just not awake enough in the morning to stomach breakfast. I need the coffee to start kicking in before I can handle meals, so usually I just wait until lunch time. Then again, I don't eat dinner very early either, so I probably don't go much longer between dinner and lunch than most people go between dinner and breakfast.

And, for the record, I'm not overweight. I think it would be worse to force myself to eat a meal I'm not really hungry for just because someone else says I should eat at that time.

I strongly agree with that last bit.

I haven't eaten breakfast regularly since I was sixteen, and I usually only eat one meal a day. Usually its not even large meal, two sandwhiches or something. On the other hand, I usually have a pretty minimal level of activity as well.

 

[chroot]

Like I mentionned earlier, I work in a grocery store. Therefore, the fact that you drink Ensure tells me something about you.

Can you guess?

Hint: Nothing I didn't know before though. But then again, you never really knew what I knew.

I have no idea what you're getting at...

- Warren

 

[Astronuc]

Wow, that's a pretty elaborate process for making breakfast! I might go to all that trouble for lunch, but for breakfast, it's a good morning if I don't chop off my fingers while trying to slice cheese to put on toast. I should make life simpler and go to the deli and get pre-sliced cheese, but I just never think of stopping at the deli (I'm not really into processed meats for lunch food, so just pass right by, and forget that they also have cheese). Toast with a slice of cheese is one of the few things that my stomach will tolerate for breakfast...I don't think making it any more elaborate than that would be a good idea unless I've had the chance to sleep in until noon.

Actually, the process is rather simple - I just have lots of options.

Two slices of bread in toaster and get toppings while toasting.

Throw cheese (comes in slices) and tomato (whole tomato (preferably from our garden) which must be sliced) on toast, sprinkle with curry powder.

Eat.

I left out the part where I drink a pint of coffee before and a pint afterward.

Now coffee might get elaborate if there is vanilla ice cream in reach. Then its:

Spoon vanilla icecream in mug, cover with a tablespoon or two of honey, sprinkle with nutmeg, pour in coffee.

Or I pour coffee, add several spoonfuls of Swiss Miss cocoa powder, and add a heaping spoonful of vanilla ice cream.

Or I drink the coffee black, or with milk, honey optional.

Actually, all the above is if I make breakfast at home, and this is mostly warm weather. Cold weather, I'll do oatmeal and granola, with fruit.
==========================================

Breakfast at the office - walk to diner and get 'everything' bagle with cream cheese (chive or jalapeño) and bacon, egg and cheese on a roll.

Breakfast on the road - usually all you can eat buffet. Which means eggs, bacon & sausage, hash browns, grits, all covered with hot sauce. Toast. Fresh Fruit. Danish.

and several cups of coffee.

European breakfasts and coffee are often much better.

If I go to Scandanavian countries, then I can eat various fish for breakfast, and the same in Japan, or I can eat traditional western food with or without Japanese food.

 

[Astronuc]

You are making me hungry

You should read The Food Thread.
https://www.physicsforums.com/showthread.php?t=124615

 

[JasonRox]

I have no idea what you're getting at...

- Warren

Um... they're normally older.

 

[chroot]

Um... they're normally older.

...I'm 27. Is that considered old in Canada?

- Warren

 

[franznietzsche]

...I'm 27. Is that considered old in Canada?

- Warren

Welcome to geezerhood.

 

[JasonRox]

...I'm 27. Is that considered old in Canada?

- Warren

I must have remembered the wrong name.

I'm 22, so that certainly isn't old or it isn't anymore. (It was old when I was in high school. )

Normally those who ask for Ensure are 40+.