OK, hold on a tick...haven't we all heard that breakfast is absolutely, 100 percent important to eat, every single day—especially if we're on a weight-loss mission? I thought so. That's why this new research is so surprising.
In a recent issue of the journal Physiology & Behavior, Cornell University researchers say that skipping breakfast a few times a week actually promotes weight loss. According to senior author David Levitsky:
"There's a fundamental belief that if you don't eat breakfast, you will compensate for the lost calories at lunch or later in the day. We've found that there is no caloric compensation in a normal group of eaters. If you skip breakfast, you may be hungrier, but you won't eat enough calories to make up for the lost breakfast."
So, researchers gave breakfast to volunteers and withheld it from others (half of them usually ate breakfast, while the other half skipped it regularly). Then they observed how the volunteers ate for the rest of the day. The people who skipped breakfast reported feeling hungrier—but they didn't make up for the lost calories at lunch or dinner. In fact, they consumed an average of 408 fewer calories.
"I realize that skipping breakfast runs counter to common belief—that breakfast is an important meal for weight control, but the data do not support this view. Of course, these results apply to healthy adults—if you're diabetic or hypoglycemic, for example, you need to eat breakfast to maintain glucose levels. But generally, we must learn to eat less and occasionally skipping breakfast may be a reasonable way to accomplish this."
Hmm...lately, for whatever reason, I've been skipping breakfast—only because I just don't feel very hungry in the mornings. And I've felt kind of bad about it! I don't think I've noticed any weight change, but it's interesting to learn of this news!
Are you breakfast skipper? Or do you make it a point to eat it every day?