7 ms·

Skipping a meal/shrinking your eating window can have enormous benefits. There was discussion on this yesterday: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34309170 h

Skipping a meal/shrinking your eating window can have enormous benefits. There was discussion on this yesterday: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34309170 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34309170 Skipping breakfast is found to be slightly more beneficial than skipping dinner: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28490511/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28490511/

vnorilo 4y ago
I used to "forget" breakfast and lunch and didn't really feel that hungry, then have a big meal and keep snacking until bedtime. Weight gain and bad sleep followed. Nowadays I make a game-like goal of "be hungry at lunch time". To do that I need to stop getting calories at ~6PM. I'll have just black coffee and water when waking up and lunch at 11AM. I sleep much better, dental health and blood pressure have improved, weight is slowly going down. In addition I crave for stuff like broccoli, mushrooms and protein at the early lunch time - unlike the fries and pizza I desired before when eating a super late lunch at 4PM or so. Later learned my current strategy is called intermittent fasting. Works great for me.
kmmlng 4y ago
> Skipping breakfast is found to be slightly more beneficial than skipping dinner Beneficial in what way? A couple of quotes from the article you linked: "In contrast, higher postprandial insulin concentrations and increased fat oxidation with breakfast skipping suggest the development of metabolic inflexibility in response to prolonged fasting that may in the long term lead to low-grade inflammation and impaired glucose homeostasis" "Increased fat oxidation, despite higher postprandial insulin concentrations with breakfast skipping, suggests the development of metabolic inflexibility in response to prolonged fasting that may increase metabolic risk over time." "Altogether, the present results support the association between breakfast skipping and disturbed glucose homeostasis, which is not explained by a positive energy balance." This isn't exactly my domain of expertise, but it does not sound all that beneficial to me. Of course, something can be beneficial in one way and problematic in another. Further, I would caution against selectively reading a single article.
- balfirevic 4y ago
  > Beneficial in what way? In a way that I won't be going crazy trying to fall asleep while hungry. On the other hand, it's easy to skip breakfast - when I start to get a little hungry (say two hours after waking up) tea or coffee will avert that feeling easily. And feeling hungry is also much easier if I know a nice meal awaits an hour later. All of this combined means it's much easier to not overeat during the entire day. This is all personal of course, others might feel exactly the opposite.
  - hbn 4y ago
    I tend to have a black coffee in place of breakfast, in part because I just tend to not be hungry in the morning (and sometimes feel sick if I do force myself to eat), but also I feel like for most people having breakfast has very little affect on how hungry/how much you eat at lunch. So I take the calorie savings of not eating breakfast for what they are.
steveBK123 4y ago
Hilariously, other studies / doctors state that breakfast is the most important meal & that eating late is the real danger. Or that having the bigger meals earlier in the day is most important. Or that splitting up your eating into more, smaller meals is better, the opposite of intermittent fasting. In the end, I think the exact skew comes down to individual digestive systems and the only macro advice is "eat a bit less / eat nutritionally wholesome stuff / move a bit more / more sleep is better than less"
- unmole 4y ago
  > other studies / doctors state that breakfast is the most important meal Cereal companies say that.
  - lordfrito 4y ago
    The same ones that advertise Nutella is part of a "well-balanced" breakfast. [1] [1] https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/nutella-backs-off-balanced-breakfast-claims-after-hit-with-3-million-lawsuit/article4103025/ https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/nutella-backs-off...
  - karaterobot 4y ago
    The article we all read and are discussing also said it.
- rybosworld 4y ago
  Many of the "pro-breakfast" studies I've seen aren't controlling for socio-economic status. Skipping breakfast due to lack of money/food availability is a different circumstance than skipping it intentionally.
  - steveBK123 4y ago
    Right and also specifics of peoples anatomy. For example people with acid reflux due to certain reasons like a hiatal hernia are advised to eat frequent, smaller meals. So the idea of cramming all eating into 8 hours/day or to skip breakfast would be counterproductive. The only thing that works for everyone is - move more, eat less, eat more nutritionally, sleep enough. Unfortunately the ability to do this is often tied to income / job status. Most of the rest of these magic tricks only works on the margins, or to specific individuals.
kkielhofner 4y ago
I appreciate the studies that go back and forth on this topic (hey, that's science) but I can't help but think of our ancestors. Readily available caloric intake, in terms of human evolution, is relatively new. I imagine our ancestors waking up in the morning and going out on a hunt or foraging for something to eat. Personally, I've been doing intermittent fasting (16/8) for roughly seven years. I (typically) eat between 12 - 8pm and sleep between midnight-ish and 8 am. I eat a half cup of oatmeal at noon, a protein shake and some kind of fruit at roughly 3-4pm, and (usually) do some weight training roughly an hour later, followed by another protein shake after and a more broadly nutritious dinner (vegetable heavy, often with a lean protein and little to no carbohydrates) somewhere between 7-8pm. On days with this schedule my first activity after waking is spirited running/leaping up and down a flight of stairs for a total of 10 round trips. Speaking of which... When I do cardio it's in the morning fasted. I don't have any science to back it up but for me, personally, something happens doing cardio fasted. It's "hard" but the response from my body and mind is amazing. I can't help but think my pre-agriculture caveman brain feeds off of some kind of reward in eating after running a 5k. I (typically) do this once or twice a week and the mental clarity and general "feeling" of health afterwards is amazing. At this point a more typical (at least for Americans) diet of eating a heavy breakfast, snacking on whatever throughout the day, and eating shortly before bed seems like it would ruin me.
- sylens 4y ago
  I agree with how incredible I feel about doing some morning cardio while fasted. Surprisingly, I feel much less hungry until my eating window opens up at noon when I do morning cardio than on days when I miss it.
- rybosworld 4y ago
  +1 anecdote in favor of fasted running. I definitely notice more of the runners high after a fasted run.
  - kkielhofner 4y ago
    Anecdotes are what they are but I'm happy to hear I'm not alone in experiencing this phenomena. From what I understand humans have evolved to run incredibly long distances relatively efficiently because much of our densest caloric intake (historically) came as a result of simply chasing down our prey until it essentially collapsed from exhaustion. Even though I live in modern times my practice of running what is a relatively long distance (5k) before eating seems to be an incredible "hack" compared to more typical, modern patterns of diet and exercise.
cypherg 4y ago
Sounds like a great way to jump start an eating disorder. Eat when you're hungry and be wary of restrictions.

vnorilo 4y ago

I used to "forget" breakfast and lunch and didn't really feel that hungry, then have a big meal and keep snacking until bedtime. Weight gain and bad sleep followed. Nowadays I make a game-like goal of "be hungry at lunch time". To do that I need to stop getting calories at ~6PM. I'll have just black coffee and water when waking up and lunch at 11AM. I sleep much better, dental health and blood pressure have improved, weight is slowly going down. In addition I crave for stuff like broccoli, mushrooms and protein at the early lunch time - unlike the fries and pizza I desired before when eating a super late lunch at 4PM or so. Later learned my current strategy is called intermittent fasting. Works great for me.

kmmlng 4y ago

> Skipping breakfast is found to be slightly more beneficial than skipping dinner Beneficial in what way? A couple of quotes from the article you linked: "In contrast, higher postprandial insulin concentrations and increased fat oxidation with breakfast skipping suggest the development of metabolic inflexibility in response to prolonged fasting that may in the long term lead to low-grade inflammation and impaired glucose homeostasis" "Increased fat oxidation, despite higher postprandial insulin concentrations with breakfast skipping, suggests the development of metabolic inflexibility in response to prolonged fasting that may increase metabolic risk over time." "Altogether, the present results support the association between breakfast skipping and disturbed glucose homeostasis, which is not explained by a positive energy balance." This isn't exactly my domain of expertise, but it does not sound all that beneficial to me. Of course, something can be beneficial in one way and problematic in another. Further, I would caution against selectively reading a single article.

balfirevic 4y ago
> Beneficial in what way? In a way that I won't be going crazy trying to fall asleep while hungry. On the other hand, it's easy to skip breakfast - when I start to get a little hungry (say two hours after waking up) tea or coffee will avert that feeling easily. And feeling hungry is also much easier if I know a nice meal awaits an hour later. All of this combined means it's much easier to not overeat during the entire day. This is all personal of course, others might feel exactly the opposite.
- hbn 4y ago
  I tend to have a black coffee in place of breakfast, in part because I just tend to not be hungry in the morning (and sometimes feel sick if I do force myself to eat), but also I feel like for most people having breakfast has very little affect on how hungry/how much you eat at lunch. So I take the calorie savings of not eating breakfast for what they are.

steveBK123 4y ago

Hilariously, other studies / doctors state that breakfast is the most important meal & that eating late is the real danger. Or that having the bigger meals earlier in the day is most important. Or that splitting up your eating into more, smaller meals is better, the opposite of intermittent fasting. In the end, I think the exact skew comes down to individual digestive systems and the only macro advice is "eat a bit less / eat nutritionally wholesome stuff / move a bit more / more sleep is better than less"

unmole 4y ago
> other studies / doctors state that breakfast is the most important meal Cereal companies say that.
- lordfrito 4y ago
  The same ones that advertise Nutella is part of a "well-balanced" breakfast. [1] [1] https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/nutella-backs-off-balanced-breakfast-claims-after-hit-with-3-million-lawsuit/article4103025/ https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/nutella-backs-off...
- karaterobot 4y ago
  The article we all read and are discussing also said it.
rybosworld 4y ago
Many of the "pro-breakfast" studies I've seen aren't controlling for socio-economic status. Skipping breakfast due to lack of money/food availability is a different circumstance than skipping it intentionally.
- steveBK123 4y ago
  Right and also specifics of peoples anatomy. For example people with acid reflux due to certain reasons like a hiatal hernia are advised to eat frequent, smaller meals. So the idea of cramming all eating into 8 hours/day or to skip breakfast would be counterproductive. The only thing that works for everyone is - move more, eat less, eat more nutritionally, sleep enough. Unfortunately the ability to do this is often tied to income / job status. Most of the rest of these magic tricks only works on the margins, or to specific individuals.

kkielhofner 4y ago

I appreciate the studies that go back and forth on this topic (hey, that's science) but I can't help but think of our ancestors. Readily available caloric intake, in terms of human evolution, is relatively new. I imagine our ancestors waking up in the morning and going out on a hunt or foraging for something to eat. Personally, I've been doing intermittent fasting (16/8) for roughly seven years. I (typically) eat between 12 - 8pm and sleep between midnight-ish and 8 am. I eat a half cup of oatmeal at noon, a protein shake and some kind of fruit at roughly 3-4pm, and (usually) do some weight training roughly an hour later, followed by another protein shake after and a more broadly nutritious dinner (vegetable heavy, often with a lean protein and little to no carbohydrates) somewhere between 7-8pm. On days with this schedule my first activity after waking is spirited running/leaping up and down a flight of stairs for a total of 10 round trips. Speaking of which... When I do cardio it's in the morning fasted. I don't have any science to back it up but for me, personally, something happens doing cardio fasted. It's "hard" but the response from my body and mind is amazing. I can't help but think my pre-agriculture caveman brain feeds off of some kind of reward in eating after running a 5k. I (typically) do this once or twice a week and the mental clarity and general "feeling" of health afterwards is amazing. At this point a more typical (at least for Americans) diet of eating a heavy breakfast, snacking on whatever throughout the day, and eating shortly before bed seems like it would ruin me.

sylens 4y ago
I agree with how incredible I feel about doing some morning cardio while fasted. Surprisingly, I feel much less hungry until my eating window opens up at noon when I do morning cardio than on days when I miss it.
rybosworld 4y ago
+1 anecdote in favor of fasted running. I definitely notice more of the runners high after a fasted run.
- kkielhofner 4y ago
  Anecdotes are what they are but I'm happy to hear I'm not alone in experiencing this phenomena. From what I understand humans have evolved to run incredibly long distances relatively efficiently because much of our densest caloric intake (historically) came as a result of simply chasing down our prey until it essentially collapsed from exhaustion. Even though I live in modern times my practice of running what is a relatively long distance (5k) before eating seems to be an incredible "hack" compared to more typical, modern patterns of diet and exercise.

cypherg 4y ago

Sounds like a great way to jump start an eating disorder. Eat when you're hungry and be wary of restrictions.