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thanks for sharing that article. i prefer to eat my 2 pieces of fruit for my breakfast along with baby spinach and romaine lettuce,cinnamon.i then like to have my beans and salad for lunch and dinner is salad,steamed vegetables and brown rice or yam or squash.what is your typical calorie intake jeff?you skip breakfast and have done for years ,right?

Remember, the article made no recommendations (nor did I) in regard to what someone should eat. It only reported on the results showing a strong relationship between the amount of calories consumed at breakfast and the amount of calories consumed during the day.



I generally skip breakfast and eat lunch and dinner and sometimes and snack or two and have been doing so for many years. The only exception is when I am on the road or traveling and my schedule may be mixed up.

I don't measure my calories nor do I recommend anyone else to do so. I recommend following the principles of calorie density and, along with an active lifestyle to maintain a BMI in the healthy range with a potential advantage to being in the lower end of the healthy range (18.5-22), and get plenty of pure water, air, rest, relaxation, sun and fun.

In Health
Jeff

Well, it sure must vary from person to person. I would keel over w/out b-fast and I'm 100% sure I would eat an ENORMOUS lunch w/out it. I get up at 5 a.m. and have 40 min of chores to do b/f leaving for work. If I didn't have my oatmeal and fruit, I couldn't do it! More meals works better for me.

Again, the article is not telling anyone what to do, nor is it recommending anyone to skip breakfast.

Having said that....



This is why well controlled studies, like the one above, are important.



Having grown up eating a large breakfast each day under the impression it was the most important meal of the day, I felt the same way at first. However, after experimenting with it for several months and allowing my body to adapt (something humans are incredible at), I found the exact opposite, especially when following the principles of calorie density. After all, the process of digestion uses a large amount of energy, which, if not being used for digestion, is available for other needs.



I worked on a horse farm for a year during graduate school and also got up at 5 am every morning to do about an hours worth of chores. Not only did I do the chores, I also ran 3-5 miles on these same days. All of this was done without the consumption of any breakfast.

Having experimented thoroughly for extended periods over months and years, it easy for me to see what works better. However, making the decision without seeing both sides of the picture, is not a fair experiment.

Another variation, that is getting some attention and research, is Every Other Day (EOD) eating (though not quite as restrictive as it sounds), and also restricted window feeding, where meals are consumed within a 4-6 hour period, such as from 2 pm-8 pm each day or 10 am to 4 pm each day..

If you read the links I posted in the FB thread, they are showing additional benefits to reduced meal frequency and increased time periods between, even when calories are kept equal. To me, this is valuable information that, while not being recommended by me (as most of us have much more important issues to focus on), it should not be ignored.

Remember though, I am not asking anyone to do this, or make any changes, nor was this posted her by me as a recommendation. However, since the discussion was created, it is important to represent it fairly.

In Health
Jeff

Just wanted to add that skipping b-fast is not recommended on the McDougall plan. Dr. McD's books all recommend a nice big b-fast. (This for newbies who may be coming here and assuming this is a suggestion that Dr. McD's plans endorse--they do not).

Thanks.

I think that is more than clear in my above posts.

In Health
Jeff

I didn't think it was, though. It was clear that you yourself were not "recommending" it, but not that Dr. McD, whose forum this is, does not. That's what I was trying to clarify for newbies.

I think you're awesome and I follow what you do about 95% of the time. I'm all about the calorie density/Fast Food/SNAP thing. I have some issues w/ overt calorie restriction, though, as I feel that runs counter to Dr. McDougall's programs, which emphasize eating the right foods to satiety and not worrying about overt calorie restriction.

Well, you can clock-out now.

The purpose of this forum is for me, as a health professional, to share my take and perspective not only on the McDougall program but the science and art of healthy eating. They do not always agree with Dr McDougall 100% (though it is rare where they don't) and I always clarify this. In addition, all my lectures at his official program are my lectures which he contracts me to give. He has never once edited or asked me to edit any one of them. CR is a part of one of the lectures.

I have run the forum for over 3 years with not one complaint from, or to the McDougalls. I also moderate all the forums on this board, as sanctioned by Dr McDougall himself.



This is all based on a misunderstanding of CR as carefully and clearly explained here. Dr McDougall himself has lectured on CR and its benefits (see his work on ageing) and we have also had the leading researcher in CR speak at the Advanced Weekend in Sept 09.

In addition, my whole "calorie density/Fast Food/SNAP thing" is actually based on the principles of CR and CR is a part of the Calorie Density lecture.

This is all explained in the FB thread and in this post in this forum

viewtopic.php?f=22&t=10827

As I explain, CR can be done successfully and easily without an overt focus on restricting calories.

Again, thanks, but you have been formally released from any and all assumed duties you may have thought you had, in this forum.



In Health
Jeff

Jeff, could you please post those links that you have on face book? I'd be interested in following up on them and I prefer not to have to join facebook if I can avoid it. Thanks.

You do not have to join Facebook to read my site. It is open to the public. Just click on the link below and it should take you right to my page and the links

Let me know

In Health
Jeff

Thanks

I suppose some would say that you would starve to death if you do not eat breakfast since they consider breakfast the first meal of the day regardless of when you eat it.... This shows that people have very different ideas about the word "breakfast".

I usually eat breakfast about five hours after I rise but for me, it is definitely breakfast because it is any early AM meal. I think the long breaks between meals/snacks probably contribute to reducing caloric intake regardless of when you take the breaks (fast).

I appreciate Jeff's advice here!

hi jeff, just wanted to say that i love your articles and explanations and am very grateful you are here and on facebook sharing with us!

Amen to that. Jeff is in a class all his own, and I have learned to consider with the utmost seriousness anything he says (ditto for Dr. McD). My gratitude can hardly be overstated.--Sheila

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