How can breakfast help you lose weight?

I know, this kind of question might have been asked before but I still don't get it. People said that eating at night is OK as long as it's within your calories limit. But, for example, my roommate, she skip breakfast, have 1 sandwich at lunch and eat...probably, 700 calories at dinner. And now she lose weight...she didn't even do any exercise. And it makes me frustrated because she claim that she want to lose weight...as in...competition way with me. Well, she is like, 5 inches taller than me but she is also heavier. Now she's getting thinner and she always said that..."Look at me, i eat a lot but I'm getting skinner (faster than you)". And because I have a little of bad eating habit (feel guilt over everythiing I eat...I guess u guys know what that mean....) and now I'm trying to come back and eat normally, I feel like I gain weight!!! I'm meeting my nutritionist next week but I still want to hear from fellow CC members.....
Is it possible to skip breakfast and still lose weight???

IMO, no. I think that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. AT least for me it is. I eat a calorie dense breakfast, as in about 600 calories. I am full after it and "build" on that for the rest of the day. I can get away with eating four mini meals as long as I have my planned breakfast. Breakfast, as soon as you wake up, sets your metabolism working, ASAP.

I do not think people can get away with skipping meals for long. You may lose weight but when you return to "normal" eating your going to gain in back....and usually more.

Thank you for your reply. I'm SOOO ANNOYING of my roommate. She didn't do any excercise and I'm the one who went to the gym everyday (2 or 3 times a day when I have a lot of guilt). And I'm a swimmer while all she did was watching TV. It frustrated me that she doesn't eat breakfast and all that and still lose weight while I have been picking what I eat and this week I ended up gainning more!! It may be the result from trying to come back and eat normally for me, but still, my roommate KNOWS that I have eating problem and she still says mean stuff..like..."look at me I'm loosing weight" or "Look at me, my stomach is getting flatter!!!" which makes me feel ten million times worsse....
Well, Thank you for your reply.... :]

You're suposed to be losing weight for your HEALTH- not for competition!  700 calories is NOT healthy- the faster your roommate loses weight, the more likely it is that she will gain it back when she starts eating normally again.  You need to tell your roommate to kiss your a** and EAT BREAKFAST!!

I'm sorry to say this but your roommate sounds like a meanie and a bully.  I would stick with what you're doing.  You said you gained weight this week after exercising sometimes 2-3 times a day and watching what you eat?  And you swim for your exercise?  I may be off on this since I never looked up the calories burned for swimming but I though swimming was a high calorie burning exercise, meaning you should be able to increase the calories you can eat to give you a healthy deficit after exercises.  You may have gained because of too big of deficits.  I'd talk about that with your nutritionist if I were you. 

Ignore your roommate because in the end you are doing it the healthy way and will be the one to reap the full benefits of your weight loss.  She will run into problems eventually. 

Breakfast is important, and it sets you up to start your day off right...sounds like a commercial but in this case, it is true.

... I NEVER like my roommate!!!!!
Sad but true...we had problem since the first day she step into the room (I have a tripple roommate and the other roommate also agree with me) but I think since we have to live together until the end of the year, I just chose to say nothing. The school nurse that I talked to says that since I have a slightly eating disorder (exercise bulimic....I went to the gym everytime I eat one piece of cookie) and this week i'm trying to eat like what I used to, she said that I might gain weight. The good part about this is that I'm not afraid to talk about my disorder...it was miserable. During my disorder, I know that I don't want to count calories and I don't want to run for an hour, twice a day after finish my swimming practice (I'm a swimmer), but even though, I know myself, I just can't stop doing it. And now, this stupid roommate of mine is making me go back to my old habit....
I'm trying to ignore her though....
Thanks for advices :]

A good breakfast that includes lean protein helps your metabolism get going.  Including fiber also helps you feel fuller, longer (so you can make it to lunch without hitting the vending machines!)

And for the record, your roommate's "one sandwich plus 700 calories" per day is NOT a lot.  It's not even enough to maintain a healthy weight ... she is losing weight but is probably losing more muscle in the process, along with the fat. 

Make sure you eat to preserve your muscle mass, and exercise to build it ... more muscle gained means more fat burned!!

Wow, I do not like the sounds of your roomate either.

She sounds like she's trying to make you jealous when she mentions her "effortless" weight loss and flat belly in front of you.
She is probably soooo hungry inside! But who cares about her anyways!

If I were you, I would just avoid any food/body/exercise/dieting discussion with her. When she tells you stuff like that, act like you don't care and that you're not interested --- cause you're not!! This is about yourself, and not her!!

How much weight do you need to lose?  If it's just a little bit, it might be hard.  Also, since you get lots of exercise, you could be building muscle.  That might weigh a little more than if you were carrying a of fat, but you'll be a smaller size, healthier, and will burn calories more efficiently.

Try to ignore your roomate.  You're right, you need to live with her for a few more months.  Focus on what you need to do for yourself and let her continue with her unhealthy habits, which will backfire on her later on.

You'll be fit and slim and she'll be flabby and unhealthy.

Thanks to all the replies!!!
Well, I just want to lose 2-4 pounds and I just want to stay like that....or even stay the same weight as I'm in right now (104 pounds...i think). But I want to lose belly fat!! Trust me, I'm skinny but I DO have belly fat and someone told me that doing crunches alone doesn't make my belly flat...I need to control what I eat in order to get flat stomach..along with excercise, of course. Oh, well....I'll keep trying.
You are right, I should ignore my roommate.....she's SOOOO annoying...

Charming,

 It is so good to see you are working at being healthier (it really sounds to me like you are starting to get a better grip on your eating and attitude towards eating).  Honestly, you roomate sounds like an annoying pain in the arse!  I think 104 lbs is a great weight for you.  And like someone else said, your roomate IS NOT eating healthy, she is taking in way too few calories and even if she loses, without changing her eating habits, chances are she will just regain it all back.  And most likely the reason she makes those comments to you is that she is very jealous of the fact that you are so tiny (believe me... you are!).  In the end, by starving herself, she will lose muscle and be flabby even if she is thinner, while you will be in great shape because of all the work you put into exercising.  Swimming is great for you, and you shoudl really stick with it.  Whenever she makes annoying comments, just look at her politely and say, yes... good job, and walk away.  Don't fall into a competition with her, in the end, I guarantee you will be the ulitmate winner because you are trying to do this the healthy way, weight loss is not a competition.

So, now, your question about eating breakfast.  By eating a good breakfast, you are not only jump starting your metabolism for the day, you will be much less likely to binge later in the day or eat large amounts of unhealthy snacks.  As for the "belly fat,"  well, most women have that, in a lot of cases, genetics dictates your ability as a woman to have a six pack.  Having said that, by eating healthy and exercising, you can tighten the stomach.  Now, when people say the way to a flat stomach is controlling your diet, that doesn't usually mean eating fewer calories, it just means eating HEALTHIER calories.  Just think, the healthier you eat, the more you can eat, and as a bonus, when your roomate sees you eating healthy all the time, it will drive her crazy (just another bonus!).  Your slight weight gain may be from your body adjusting.  Stick with the increased calories for awhile and see how you go, and talk to your nutritionist.  You are doing a fantastic job, keep it up!

try and find a friend or family member that would be able to join you in your dieting and exercise. having a support system makes it so much easier. my little sister now works out with me but there will be days i wont feel like doing it and she pushes me and vice versa.

No one seems to have mentioned this yet. And since everyone's already said what I was going to say, I'll just add in my two cents. ^_^;;

Your roommate seems to... have an eating disorder? Well, that's too strong of a term to describe her, but you know what I mean. And, have you ever thought that the reason she is so competitive and grouchy is because she skips breakfast?

I used to have anorexia (it's HORRIBLE - I might have ate less than your friend, and I wasn't even trying to "beat" anyone). The ONLY thing  I DIDN'T do wrong is that I never skipped breakfast. I always guaranteed an egg and a glass of milk every single morning. Oh, I might also add that my parents are western and traditional doctors. Anyways, in the morning, I'd feel great, but then by afternoon, I kept feeling like I wanted to punch something because I was feeling... in control? Like I was "proud" of myself for controling what I ate. That may be what your friend is feeling - even if she doesn't realize it now, she's slowing getting to the point where, it's not even ABOUT you anymore - she just wants to get skinnier and skinnier because it makes her feel "in control". Teasing you is just a bonus.

I used to always feel down, and my Chinese parents, because they're so strict, thought I was just being stubborn and "teenager-ish", so there were times when we got into ridiculous fights. Literally, they threatened me if I refused to eat.

Another thing is, how can you be sure your friend eats "a sandwich and 700 calories later..."? Does she brag to you, like "Today, I ate this food and this food..."? If she really does eat so little, then by all means, don't let her teasing get to you; you sound MUCH healthier! And if she really IS losing weight by eating so much, by all means, there's nothing either of you can do to change that. She may just have a very fast metabolism (didn't you say she's like, 5 heads taller than you? XD). But, if she doesn't exercise now, that metabolism will slow down later or when she's older (oh wait... by that time, you won't be her roommate... ) while your metabolism will still be going strong.

 

Sorry for the very long "two cents".

I was always told that the Breakfast jump starts your metabolism in the morning instead of during lunch or something when you are so hungry that you over eat which makes you gain weight So, eating Breakfast wakes up your metabolism remember: breakfast is breaking the fasting that you have been doing over night when you were sleeping. So what is the correct way to break the fasting? Oh, well by eating of course! A good healthy well-balanced breakfast is where it's at! Maybe your friend is just lucky that's all! Maybe she comes from a family that has a good metabolism or something! IDk! hope this helps! Tip: Remember now by not eating breakfast in the morning could lead up to a 10 pound weight gain in only 1 year! Ahhhhhhhh!

I used to not eat breakfast and lose weight... not because I was forcing it, but because I'm not a morning person at all and my stomach would be pissy if I did eat something right away. I'm not sure why, but it worked. HOWEVER, I started bringing breakfast back and didn't gain much, if anything at all. I think it might just be certain people's reactions to food. I always think it's better to eat more fatty foods early in the day than later - then you have more time to burn it off and you're more active for longer.

think of breakfast as the one thing you get to burn off for the 12 hours or more you are awake......best time to get your carbs out of the way if you are a carb counter.  You metabolism usually is at it's peak in the AM when you wake up