Is Skipping Breakfast Bad for Weight Loss?

Is skipping breakfast bad for weight loss?

After all, we’ve been told for years that breakfast is the most important meal of the day.

It’s supposed to stoke your metabolism so that you burn more calories throughout the day. Without it, your stress hormones will skyrocket, your muscles will waste away, and you increase your risk for diabetes and heart disease.

Is breakfast really the most important meal of the day? Or will you do just as well without it?

Selling You on Breakfast

If I was trying to sell you on the importance of breakfast, here’s how I’d go about it.

First, I would mention the observational studies showing that people skipping breakfast tend to weigh more than those who don’t ]

In a 2013 study, researchers found that participants who ate breakfast every day gained less weight than those who didn’t  They also reduced their risk of a spectrum of metabolic conditions, including cardiovascular disease and diabetes.
Next, I would tell you about the research that shows tapering down your calorie intake — eating breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a pauper — leads to a faster rate of weight loss.
In one such study, researchers assigned a set of overweight and obese subjects to one of two groups . Both groups ate the same number of calories per day, but with one key difference.The first group ate progressively smaller meals over the course of the day. Breakfast contained 700 calories, lunch 500 calories and dinner just 200 calories.