Breakfast

[ArtVandelay]

Hey guys. I haven't really regularly eaten breakfast in years. I know it's supposedly the most important meal of the day, but I don't for a couple of reasons. First, I hate getting out of bed in the morning, and when I'm lying there it's much easier to set my clock back by fifteen minutes and catch a little more sleep than force myself up to eat. Secondly, I feel really awesome about myself right after I exercise because my body feels "rock solid" and my stomach is entirely contained behind my abs, etc. I feel pretty similar to this in the morning generally, but if I eat breakfast I don't have this feeling.

I understand that the solution to this is probably just to exercise in the morning, but I have a few questions:

- Should I exercise before or after I eat? From what I hear you're supposed to exercise before you eat, but that would probably take away from the feeling-awesome-about-my-rock-hard-body effect.
- How can I motivate myself to get out of bed early enough to do this?
- How important is it to actually eat breakfast every day?
- How bad is it that I generally exercise shortly before going to bed?

THANKS

[Beuford]

Well I don't think I can answer all your questions but if you can get yourself to wake up early enough say 6am, eat a piece of fruit then exercise. After that it might be about 7am now, eat foods that contain complex carbohydrates. I haven't done this, but it sounds like it might be worth trying.

[ginkgo]

The history of man is filled with myths. The earth was flat. The sun orbited around the earth. You even say "God bless you" when someone sneezes since evil spirits are trying to possess them.

The need to eat breakfast is a myth. Follow your feeling. Fit for Life has sold 8 million copies making it the best selling book on health/fitness. It says that thousands of people have contacted them because they healed themselves of all sorts of health problems by doing just one single thing. That one thing is skipping breakfast.

It allows the fast to continue to lunch time. Did you even know that you fast every night? Who says that? No one!! The same ignorant people that say to eat breakfast. Michael Jackson used to answer many questions in interviews by saying that people are ignorant. These people do not even know that break-fast means to stop the fast. You break a fast. Follow your bliss!

You ask if you should force yourself to eat. The difference between sex and rape is that rape is forced sex! Do not force yourself to eat. Use that time to do something profound instead. Rapists eat. Eating is not profound even if you say grace before stuffing your face with food. If you cannot get to sleep because you exercise before sleep, then you are creating insomnia. If you have no problem getting to sleep, then do not worry about exercising before sleep.

The authors of Fit for Life learned this stuff from Natural Hygiene. Bottom line-- You are right, they are wrong.

[CoolBee]

If you don't want to eat breakfast - don't!

If I eat breakfast when I get up - no matter if it's a full-on hotel breakfast binge or a simple yoghourt or piece of toast, I feel ravenously uncontrollably hungry all day and end up stuffing my face non stop. I know a lot of people who feel the same. I have been this way since I was a child. I have gone through periods of eating breakfast for several weeks and no, the situation never improves.

If I don't eat breakfast, I get a slight hunger pang around 10:30am which passes within a few minutes. I normally eat my first meal of the day around 1130-12. If I have a breakfast nazi on the case, then I just say 'yes I eat breakfast'. After all, whatever your first meal is and whenever it is after a long gap, it's technically "breakfast".

If you mean Ranulph Fiennes "Fit for Life" book - then I am 100% with you. If not eating breakfast is good enough for a guy who ran 7 marathons in 7 days a few months after having a major heart attack, made several expeditions to poles, in deserts etc, it's good enough for me!

I think I posted before somewhere, a few years ago I was able to gain access to various academic medical publications and looked up the breakfast research. It's actually pretty limited. It was something like a bunch of women in the US who were monitored for 3 days. 3 whole days whooppee doo. Or, a bunch of adolescents fed breakfast (but who were from socially deprived areas and for many of them this was their only nourishing meal of the day).

I personally believe it's a conspiracy theory by breakfast cereal manufacturers to spread this myth around

Personally, I can't believe that a species who for most of its evolution over thousands of years has gone maybe days between binge-outs on woolly mammoth meat or whatever is that sensitive to the time of day you eat your first meal! (Excepting of course those with medical conditions).

[fxtrader]

well, to answer your question of eating before excercising or after you should exercise before you eat, because that way you burn more calories. What i want to do after i wake up is go for a jog and then return home, take a shower and eat. i will do that starting next week, because this week i am on a business trip.

[Lena Carpenter]

Personally, I love my fruit and green smoothies for breakfast, but I'm actually hungry and want to eat. It's easy to eat a piece of fruit on the run, and no matter how close to lunch you eat it, you'll still be hungry, since it passes quickly through your system. If you are not hungry when you wake up, then eat after exercising. I prefer to do yoga first thing in the morning on empty stomach, but if I was to go for a run, I'd have my fruit or smoothie beforehand to give me some energy boost.

[windsorspirit]

- Should I exercise before or after I eat? From what I hear you're supposed to exercise before you eat, but that would probably take away from the feeling-awesome-about-my-rock-hard-body effect.

It depends what kind of exercise you are doing and what the purpose of your exercising is.

Eating before exercise provides the body with more energy. It is still possible to view the solidarity of your muscles after an exercise session, even if food is consumed beforehand. A flatter stomach can be perceived if there is less food in your body though.

When cardio is done on an empty stomach, after a period of fasting, the body burns its stored fat. If food is eaten soon before doing cardio, the body has to process that as well, usually during the cardio itself.

If any form of strength training which tears muscle fibers is done then it is very important to eat soon afterwards to facilitate their renewal.

- How can I motivate myself to get out of bed early enough to do this?

I like the feeling of productivity that comes from getting out of bed and doing something. Exercising first thing in the day is a great way to boost energy levels and feelings of productivity.

Do what feels good to you.

[Kaybee]

Well, personally I. now, have a soy protein shake for breakfast. It tides me over until noon. As far as eating and exercising....I've done it both ways. I've eaten breakfast and then exercised and I've exercised and then eaten breakfast.
I haven't noticed a difference either way.

I think the bottom line is to do what makes you feel comfortable. I think as long as you eat healthy and follow a consistent exercise program you should be fine.

Kim
Self Improvement and Motivation
Fuel-my-motivation.com

[Inthon]

Smoothies, smoothies, smoothies for breakfast! Healthy and easy!

[ginkgo]

As far as what you should do first (eat or exercise), answer my question. Should I put my left shoe on first or my right foot shoe on first? People have these strange ideas but ask them, where they got them. It is not that big of deal which you do first.

I could explain the mechanics of doing each one and the mechanics are different. But they arrive at the same place. I could ask that for many things and get different answers. One person asked should you do yoga first or meditate first.