Discussion Board

Thanks everyone! I appreciate all your comments and kind words.

My goal, over 20 years ago, was to try and make the science simple and easy for everyone to understand, to implement and to be successful at.

In Health
Jeff

Well, I don't know how you b-fast skippers do it. I went to the doctor's today for my post-weight-loss labwork, so I had to go in fasting. By the time I was able to nuke my steel cut oats and fruit it was after 9:00 and I was DYING!! Felt like my stomach was eating itself, LOL. I'm just a breakfast person, I guess!

Jeff, I am extremely interested in this issue. Having been a part of the fitness world for awhile, I hear the same regurgitated garbage all the time: "eat every few hours to rev up your metabolism!" or "if you don't eat every 3-4 hours your metabolism will slow to a crawl and you'll start burning muscle." The starvation mode nonsense is another rampant myth in the diet/fitness world. Jillian Micheals, while I appreciate her workouts, preaches this nonsense, among soo many others.

I feel better eating only 2, at most 3 times a day. I don't like snacking, and I cannot, and have not been able to ever eat 6 "mini-meals" a day. It doesn't work with my life, and it just doesn't seem natural to my instinct. I want to eat till I feel full and not have to worry about it again for awhile.

I was wondering if you could put on the hot topics a section regarding metabolism? I thought there was one, but when I looked it up, I couldn't find one.

If it's true that not going without eating every 4 hours (say eating only once or twice a day) and/or restricting calories DOES not "ruin" your metabolism (I understand RMR is affected, but not "ruined"), where are these people getting their information? Why are SO many people just misinformed??

Thanks for what you bring to this forum. I really appreciate your level-headed, informed, and professional approach.

Will do.

Here are some key discussions

viewtopic.php?f=22&t=17541

viewtopic.php?t=7419

viewtopic.php?t=9962

viewtopic.php?f=22&t=11464

viewtopic.php?f=22&t=8824&



Thank you!

In Health
Jeff

Thank you for doing that.

One more thing, regarding skipping breakfast. I've done this off and on over the years, at times when I was nursing and had "baby weight" to lose. It's amazing how NOT hungry I was (once my body adjusted). Once I got down to a fairly low BMI (about 20), I started to notice that it became more difficult to feed the ravaging beast that is my appetite during breastfeeding, so I abandoned this practice as it was easier to fullfill my calorie needs over several meals than just 2 large ones.

My question is this, are you aware of any evidence that skipping breakfast (essentially fasting for 15-18 hours every day, assuming you eat your last meal around 6 or 7 and then eat lunch the next day at noon) has impact on milk production? From my research, I can only find evidence that says that milk production is based mainly on the frequency of the nursing (the demand essentially creates the supply) and that the mothers diet, while not unimportant, does not hugely affect the nutrient ratios or quality of the milk, or even volume of the milk. The only other thing that I've read is that it is not advised that mothers who want to lose weight (I still have a few pounds to go) go below 1500-1800 calories (and most need to be on this upper end) in order to get nutrients needed to support mother and baby.

I EASILY consume this amount of calories between 2 meals and a snack or two, and figure that as long as I'm getting a proper diet with adequate calories (I figure I'm in the 1900-2300 calorie a day range) on a daily basis it doesn't matter if I'm eating breakfast or not. I'm a correct in this logic? I've heard all sorts of anectodal advice, like, "you have to eat every few hours because your baby does and your milk production will suffer otherwise," or, "if you're losing weight, you're not getting enough calories for your baby's milk" but I don't find this to jibe with what my experience has been. What are prenatal fat stores for anyway if they aren't to be used?? I have been losing about .5-2 lbs. consistently for the past 4 months and have never had a problem with nursing or milk production, despite the fact that I don't follow the recommendation to eat every few hours AND I've been eating fewer calories than my body is burning (hence the fairly steady weight loss).

My reasons, as I've stated before, for not eating breakfast, is that it fits better into my schedule (I feel like my life doesn't revolve around my or my kids eating schedules), I feel like I have more energy, and I'd rather eat a bit bigger lunch and dinner than smaller 3 or more meals.

Any light you could shed on the subject would be much appreciated. I have my personal experience of doing this with 3 of my babies, but I'd like to know if there is any science or research on the matter.

Thank you!

Thank you all for taking an interest in educating us out here who are still learning. I have lost about 35-40 lbs and then slowed it down because I felt I was losing too much muscle. I basically feel better when I don't eat right away. I do feel I'm not doing right by myself, so I try to eat something like a banana about an hour after arising. Then a green drink after another hour or so. Sometimes I feel better before I eat, and am still playing with how much protein/aminos is good for me. I have gone back to dairy here and there, so need to get over the notion that I feel better eating it. Over all the last year and a half of improving my diet by adding a lot more fruits and vegis/greens, and now starches, has greatly improved health, weight loss, nice skin. There are many things I still wish I would just do, but am in denial, I guess.

Jeff, thank you for giving your time and experience to help with this board. It helps me and gives me encouragement and inspiration. One of the main things I get from this and other boards is to always strive to do better. I do! Thanks, Lynn