Breakfast is the biggest waste of time.
I can’t even remember the last time I had breakfast. I don’t know how anyone could wake up every single morning and eat breakfast. It makes no sense to me. I would much rather sleep in or do something else with my time.
I want to convince you that breakfast is the biggest waste of time. Keep on reading…
Does this typical morning routine sound familiar?
You have to get up earlier so you get less sleep. You have to prepare everything so you have to spend time in the kitchen. Then you have to take the time to eat. Once you’re done with everything, you have to clean up. Then you can finally start your day. Why wait so long to get the day started?
What an unproductive way to start a day. When can you finally get things done?
Why’s breakfast a waste of time?
There are better things to do first thing in the morning.
Why would you want to stress about cooking food while half asleep?
Here’s a list of better things to do first thing in the morning:
- Morning sex.
- Reading.
- Writing.
- Getting work started early.
- Sleep.
- Take a shower calmly.
Getting that extra sleep in is more important.
I would much rather get an extra hour of valuable sleep instead of waking up early to fill myself up. Sleep is the most important part of the equation and nobody ever talks about it. We all throw out empty phrases and we brag about how sleep is for the weak. Shut up. Sleep is for the strong.
Here’s why sleep is everything:
“Perhaps you have also noticed a desire to eat more when you’re tired? This is no coincidence. Too little sleep swells concentrations of a hormone that makes you feel hungry while suppressing a companion hormone that otherwise signals food satisfaction. Despite being full, you still want to eat more. It’s a proven recipe for weight gain in sleep-deficient adults and children alike. Worse, should you attempt to diet but don’t get enough sleep while doing so, it is futile, since most of the weight you lose will come from lean body mass, not fat.” — Matthew Walker, PhD
You need sleep to function or else you’re going to walk around like a mindless zombie. A hidden secret to getting jacked is getting rest. Your body could use that extra sleep.
[Must read: How-to get a solid sleep!]
You don’t need breakfast.
“When people say that you ‘must’ eat breakfast to have energy for the day, they are completely wrong. Your body has already given you a big shot of the good stuff and fueled you up for the day ahead. You don’t need to stuff your face full of sugary cereals and toast with jam to have energy. This is also the reason why hunger is lowest first thing in the morning (8 am) even though you have not eaten for 12 hours or so.” — Dr. Jason Fung (read more here)
“Between meals, as long as we don’t snack, our insulin levels will go down and our fat cells can then release their stored sugar, to be used as energy. We lose weight if we let our insulin levels go down. The entire idea of IF is to allow the insulin levels to go down far enough and for long enough that we burn off our fat.” — Monique Tello, MD, MPH of Harvard Health Publishing
No, breakfast is NOT the most important meal of the day. We’ve all been told that breakfast is the most important meal of the day forever. So we just believed this and assumed it to be true.
There are different ways to eat. While there are benefits to consuming a ton of protein first thing in the morning, this isn’t the only way to start your day. You don’t have to blindly follow this breakfast rule. I personally just get full after eating and I feel like taking a nap. I’m more more productive when I’m hungry.
[Check out: What are the different ways you can time your meals?]
What should you do instead of eating breakfast?
Do something productive!
Why waste the time first thing in the morning? Start your day off by going straight to the gym or straight to work.
The most stressful part of my morning is figuring out where to grab my coffee from. Once I have a coffee (or three — but who’s keeping track anyway?), I get to work. I then usually attend a BJJ class or I lift weights. The last thing I think about is eating in the morning.
When I was in college, I used to have to wake up an hour earlier just to prepare food. I regret losing all of that valuable sleep. Sleep comes first now.
Drink coffee.
I swear by coffee. There’s nothing better than a caffeine buzz first thing in the morning.
There are many health benefits to drinking coffee. The obvious one is the buzz! I wake up, drink a coffee, and start writing. I love caffeine and am a huge fan of black coffee.
Is there any science behind skipping breakfast?
I’ve been researching this stuff for years because I always hate traditional fitness rules.
Dr. Sara Solomon put together an excellent overview on intermittent fasting. I had to mention the following:
“No, your metabolism will not slow down and you will not enter into starvation mode if you fast. It is ludicrous to equate starvation to skipping breakfast, not eating for 20 hours or even 2 days! According to a 1987 study by Nair KS, et al, in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, the earliest evidence of a lowered metabolic rate in response to fasting occurs after 60 hours (with an 8% drop in resting metabolic rate).”
According to this piece on Dynamic Duo training:
“This structure controls insulin and blood sugar levels, and maximizes fat burning hormones and cellular factors (GH, cAMP) during the day. This ensures that you are optimally burning fat for a large portion of the day. It also improves energy and cognitive function.
The nightly feast maximizes muscle building hormones and cellular factors (cGMP, mTOR). And with depleted energy reserves and damaged muscles from training, you’ll certainly be ready for a chow down, throw down.”
Martin Berkhan, the king of intermittent fasting from Lean Gains:
“My research has indicated that the ideal state of fat burning is reached after 12-18 hours of fasting. Coupled with high levels of catecholamines, increased blood flow to stubborn regions, and low insulin for a2-receptor inhibition, this time interval is the golden age of stubborn fat mobilization.”
On top of the empirical data, there’s plenty of anecdotal evidence on skipping breakfast. Ask around, one of your buddies at the gym might just be a huge fan of skipping breakfast.
Are you ready to say goodbye to breakfast?
[Check out: How you can start intermittent fasting.]
What’s next?
I want you to have one last breakfast tomorrow. This is your last chance to wake up and eat first thing in the morning. Then for a few days, I want you to skip breakfast and have a black coffee. Give it a try and see how it feels.
There are different theories on how to eat. I subscribe to intermittent fasting and swear by it. This is controversial and your friends will call you stupid. You need to ignore them and trust me on this. Give it a try and see what happens.
“Do one thing every day that scares you.” — Eleanor Roosevelt
“If I could do it, so can you” but you said you don’t like breakfast in the beginning and see it as a complete waste of time. So which is it? Because when you make a statement such as the one I quoted that means that it was really hard for you to quit eating breakfast. Also breakfast means break fast so basically the first time you eat after you sleep well that’s your breakfast. I guess you meant eating very early in the morning?
Thanks for bringing this up Christina. I definitely wasn’t clear. I don’t like the process of making breakfast first thing in the morning. Not eating for a long time (fasting) is really tough when you’re just getting started because it’s natural to always feel like eating.