Breakfast and boosting your metabolism

I know that eating a good breakfast jump - starts your metabolism for the day, and can set you up for successful "dieting".

But today I was wondering how soon after waking up do you need to eat breakfast before you lose the opportunity to boost your metabolism for the day?

My basis for this question is that I usually wake up around 5:00am, and was wondering whether eating breakfast a little after 6:00am is too late...

Thanks!
Kaylin

I don't know the answer, but I heard on the news last week that drinking 16 oz of water first thing is really good for the metabolism--something to do with re-hydrating yourself after all the hours of not drinking anything.

I would like to know this too. I cannot eat when I first wake up. I usually wait an hour, sometimes up to 2 hours after I wake up before I eat breakfast. Depends on if I exercise before breakfast or not or if my kids wake up at the same time or not. If my kids wake up at the same time as me, it is usually hectic and I have to wait until their needs are met before I can take care of me. I do drink water right away at least!

Count me in as being curious too.

I've heard 30 minutes.

I usually work out in the mornings, so what I'll do is grab a small, 100 calorie protein/granola bar before I work out. I eat it around 5:40 in the morning, workout, then have my real breakfast around 8:30 or 8:15.  An apple or something would also work.

Again, I doubt that's a magic number, but I've heard 30 minutes from a nutritionist and a strength coach, but I'm sure that eating 1 hour after you wake up is better than skipping breakfast, you know?

It's got to be more than 30 minutes. I was told to workout before breakfast for optimal weight loss and most people work out at least 30 minutes on top of everything else you take time doing before (i.e. using the bathroom, drinking some water, etc.) and after (i.e. cooling down, drinking some more water, etc.). My guess is somewhere between 60-120 minutes after waking up, if it even matters at all.

I saw on one website you should eat within 90 minutes of rising in the morning.  They didn't say why it's 90 minutes though.

 

Clarice

i dont know. i would assume the sooner you eat, the sooner you jump start your metabolism.  about how long after you wake up do you feel hungry? maybe just eat 30 minutes before that happens.  & i would say definately eat before you start to get hungry.

i too can't eat in the morning. ick!!!  i work out late at night too.  but i started to drink whey protein powder in the morning as i needed something, anything before i walk to work & its the only thing i can stomach. its not really like eating anything & i get my water too, but it has actually keeps me going ok till i can have breakfast at work. also it was ok on my stomach after a hangover or two.  unfortunately i bought a different kind that had carbs & fiber in it, & it doesn't seem to be as good as just pure whey for my stomach. i would've thought the extra carbs & fiber would've been better.

1 hour is what I heard from a very good personal trainer.

This is an interesting question, and I think it depends on what works for you. I have also heard that it's better to exercise first thing in the morning and eat protein an hour later...I think that the earlier you eat, the better, but I personally don't eat breakfast until at least 2 hrs after I get up because I run first thing and then get ready and get to work and then eat. I have no idea what's best, but I assume that just not waiting until you are famished is good.

Wow, I wake up hungry.  No one else wakes up hungry?  I have always been this way, even when I was skinny. 

This study applies to kids, so it may not work for adults:

http://tiny.cc/oRLRa

It had mixed results.  Just eat when you're hungry and try to make sure you eat enough, right?

Read The Abs Diet. It has some interesting facts about breakfast and obesity. The number that seems to stick out in my mind after reading that book is 3 hours tops. After that even if you eat a full meal, I don't know that your body will respond the same way.

waiting 30 minutes to an hour is PERFECTLY fine, read Skinny Bitch. She explains how the body is still in cleansing mode and waitingtil you are really hungry is precisely what you should do. no worries and good luck

If your not hungry in the morning, it means you ate too much the night before. This also causes a bad cycle. You don't eat breakfast and it makes you eat more later making you not hungry the following morning. It will repeat until you eat less in the evening and eat something for breakfast.

I've read you're not supposed to eat in the morning until you're hungry.  Not famished, just when you feel that first bit of hunger.  Not sure how accurate that is.

 

I wake up at 6:15 or 6:30 every weekday and I usually don't eat anything until I arrive at work at 8:00.

Original Post by luvtraveling:

I don't know the answer, but I heard on the news last week that drinking 16 oz of water first thing is really good for the metabolism--something to do with re-hydrating yourself after all the hours of not drinking anything.

 I read that in Men's Health last month.....my husband gets it and I usually read the articles.  But it said that no less than 16 oz and drinking more had no extra benefit when they did the study.  I also read in another magazine and on this website that you should eat something within the forst 90 minutes.  So as soon as I wake up, I guzzle  16 oz H2O, and then I eat a small snack......a Kashi bar, or a a handfull of Kashi cereal, dry, a half and apple, or a slice of toast....just something to tide me over until I work out, then I have some protein (eggs, protein smoothie or something) after I workout.  Hope this helps!

Same with me.  I wake up at 4.30 (yeah... I travel for work for about 2 hrs) and I eat when I get to work at 8:00 and i have to say my stomach is complaining by that time.  Sometimes when I'm very very hungry and I can't wait I'll get something on the road but unfortunatelly there's not too much good choices for breakfast out so I avoid it as I can.  I prefer going to work first and then have some fruit or eggs etc.  But I definetely drink at least 16 oz of water first thing.

I wake up constantly throughout the night, I never used to eat breakfast as I have IBS and used to be worried that I would become ill on the train on the way to work.

So now I eat breakfast at about 4am and then go back to bed and get up at 7am. It sounds eally weird but as I go straight back to sleep afterwards I don't get any stomach cramps that I used to get if I tried to eat breakfast when I actually got up to go to work.

I take a pint glass of water to bed with me at night as well, and have always drank it all by morning, so I never really get de-hydrated during the night.

Big, Well-Balanced Breakfast Aids Weight Loss

Did you see articles about the latest findings on breakfast?

"Your levels of the brain chemical serotonin are highest in the morning, which means your craving levels are at the lowest when you first wake up, and you may not feel much like eating, Jakubowicz said. But, as the day wears on, serotonin levels dip, and you get cravings for chocolate or cookies, and the like. If you eat these foods, your serotonin levels rise, and your body begins to associate good feelings with them, creating an addictive cycle, she said. "

according to the article linked, above.  Also,

"To combat both the addiction cycle and the hunger that inevitably seems to come with calorie reduction, Jakubowicz and her colleagues designed the "big breakfast" diet. In this eating plan, your breakfast accounts for roughly half of your daily calories, and breakfast includes milk, 3 ounces of lean meat, two slices of cheese, two whole grain servings, one fat serving and one ounce of milk chocolate or candy."

So big breakfast is important.  I knew there was a reason I like to breakfast like a king!

Louise :)