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I’ve had an epiphany this week

I started two weeks prior to Thanksgiving and as a result, I’m already down 24 pounds with only two cheat days, Thanksgiving and Christmas. These cheat days were a compromise with my wife so I wouldn’t “ruin” these holidays. Fair enough, I water fasted through holidays before, I did mess up plans prior with crazy fads. The epiphany: Having “breakfast is the most important meal of the day” drilled into my head by my parents and school is really what made me fat for the last 25 years. It was sugar cereals, pancakes, French toast and all the rest of the crap that kept me wanting sugar and sweets throughout the rest of the day. IF, 20:4, is my new way of life (losing this much weight already wasn’t planned). Now I’m quickly realizing sweet foods aren’t that appetizing anymore. It’s overwhelming. I’m here to say, breakfast most definitely **is not** the most important meal of the day. 298 > 274. 54 days.

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To be fair, for a child growing up, a healthy breakfast is important. But there comes a point where it’s not necessary, especially if your breakfast cereal of choice is Chocolate Frosted Sugar Bombs.

The other big issue that parents drill into kids that cause a lot of problems is the “clean your plate” mentality. This alone can lead to so many eating issues in adults.

Great job on your success so far!

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Yes, I’m there with you: I used to always eat a breakfast, regardless if I was hungry or not. Complete waste of calories.

I learned a long time ago that when you start off your day eating simple carbs or sugar in the morning you are setting your blood sugar up to expect to stay at that level for the rest of the day.

Intermittent fasting is awesome.

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Honestly I never understood eating breakfast every single day once I was in middle/high school.

Generally I have always skipped it because it sounds like I would have to wake up earlier just to eat, and I’d rather sleep longer lol

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The saying “breakfast is the most important meal of the day” was made up by big corporations so they can continue selling you garbage like sugary cereal. Breakfast is definitely optional, and I find my day to go way smoother without it.

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I have found that breakfast can be a double-edged sword. If I start off the day with a carb-based meal (bagel with butter or cream cheese, anyone?), forget it…I want carbs ALL DAY LONG.

If I eat an egg, or drink a protein shake, I do ok. I don’t crave carbs and I tend to eat correctly.

If I drink a coffee in the morning, I can make it until mid-morning for a snack, usually some almonds or a cup of fruit.

I do think that breakfast is important for kids - I can’t envy a teacher who is trying to manage a classroom full of hungry, distracted children - and I also believe that a protein-based breakfast for a child is the better option. I think the food pyramid is a failure, and I think the US diet and “breakfast foods” are total bs.

Above all, I’ve learned to listen to my body. If I eat it and feel like crap, or like eating more because I wasn’t satiated, then I should stop eating that. If it leaves me feeling energized and satiated, that’s the best scenario.

Congrats to you on the weight loss and the self-awareness. Keep up the great work!

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Breakfast is whenever you Break your Fast. So it can be anytime of day and any food. Breakfast isn’t bad, but the ingrained habit of doing it early and with shitty foods is bad. I never liked sweet cereals but I do love me some eggs, bacon, waffles etc. I just eat them in moderation and at about 1pm now!

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The sentiment was originally propaganda to sell food, not based on any scientific observations. It may have still worked when the majority of the nation were farmers and physical laborers but not now when portion sizes have doubled or tripled and we all sit at desks all day.

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Since I was young ive always been forced to eat breakfast. Ive never felt hunger before 11am. Since i found out about IF ive adapted my body to its natural demands. Keep going everyone finds what suits him best

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Hear hear!!!

I never eat breakfast on fast days, and even on weekends when I don’t track carefully I find I don’t want anything until around 10am anyway and often end up doing 15 or 16 hour fasts be default.

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day for the Kellogg’s corporation however. People are literally dying in staggering numbers due to this idiotic marketing slogan.

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Congratulations! My similar epiphany was that I could break my fast at whatever time of day I want, not first thing in the morning. When I switched from Granola to flax- and chia-seed-laden porridge my digestion improved dramatically. I didn’t want to give that up. Now I eat my special porridge as the first course of my lunch around noon. The rest of my lunch is so much smaller than before and with an evening meal around 7pm that makes a convenient 16:8 IF schedule. Occasionally I skip an evening meal for a 23:1 IF, or I skip a whole day for a 40-hour fast. Each time I do the latter I lose another kilo which breaks my plateau. I started last year at 74kg and I’m now 67kg. I knew I didn’t have far to go but I wanted to nip my belly growth in the bud before it became a problem. Coupled with more exercise: mainly swimming and hiking, I have become much more muscular and yet still lost weight and my waistline has dropped from 36” to a comfortable 30”. Another trick is whenever I feel like a snack in the evening (or my wife offers me one) I put it in my little snack box in my packed lunch for the day after. Often in the morning I’ll put some of them back in their boxes again.