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I find it so easy to skip breakfast (as part of an IF protocol) - and choosing this over dr. Kruse's protein loaded breakfast recommendation (for a leptin reset) seems so much easier (the thought of 50g of protein for breakfast makes me want to gag)- however i can see the benefits to both - but am at a loss for what is best for me (it's hard for me to wake up in the morning and I have about 10 lbs to lose to get to an ideal weight)? What should I be doing? What are you doing? and what success have you had?

EDIT: corrected spelling of Dr. Kruse's last name.

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For a certain percentage of people here, the Leptin Reset is all mumbo-jumbo to begin with…On the mornings I get up and walk for an hour, I will eat breakfast afterwords. The other days I try to be intentionally random about whether eating breakfast or not. – Paleo2.0 Nov 17 2011 at 18:02

14 Answers

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I eat breakfast when I'm hungry in the morning. I don't eat breakfast when I'm not hungry in the morning. I prefer not to make things any more complicated than that. Low-stress mornings are ideal.

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this makes sense to me. I cant make sense of forcing myself to eat when I'm not hungry and half weight to lose. – Kristen Nov 17 2011 at 17:03
+1 for listen to your body. – gydle Nov 17 2011 at 17:34
agreed, if I IF it's because I am not hungry, and if I eat it's because i'm starving! – curly16 Nov 17 2011 at 17:43
+1 I do the same thing I eat in the morning only when I am hungry and that can vary anywhere from 10:30 - noon or not at all. My body tells me when it needs food, I don't tell it. Sometime I naturally go 2-3 days without eating. – Josh M Nov 17 2011 at 19:33
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Hopefully Quilt will weigh in, but my understanding is the leptin reset is meant for folks that have significant weight to lose?

What foods and how much are you eating currently? Do you feel like your nutrition is pretty squared away? You may be able to lose the ten lbs by tinkering a bit with calories or carb grams first; may be easier than implementing one of these protocols.

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not necessarily so. Belly fat is more of an indicator of LR, not the overall fat. – The Loon Nov 17 2011 at 19:06
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Jules the Leptin Rx clearly states it is only for those who are LR. It is a transition to the ideal paleo template. The ideal template to me is what I just laid out in my last blog. – The Quilt Nov 18 2011 at 13:52
I understand that; I didn't word my response very well- I was thinking perhaps the reset wouldn't necessarily be appropriate for someone only 10 lbs overweight, but I just looked in the FAQ & now I understand that someone could be LR at any weight. Thanks Loon & Quilt for the clarification! :) – Jules K Nov 21 2011 at 17:07
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Quilt is on a trip I understand but I have never been a breakfast eater. I was the despair of my mom, who believed it an important meal.

The only time I wake up hungry is if I under-ate yesterday. Since my body is so clear about not wanting food, I don't push it. "Breakfast" for me is usually a couple hours after waking and even then I normally don't eat until afternoon.

All that said, Quilt has very convincing data and opinions on the subject.

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I have skipped breakfast since April or May when I learned about IF'ing, however, after reading The Quilt's latest masterpiece, I will start in again, skip lunch and see if there's any difference. This makes perfect sense to me: http://jackkruse.com/so-you-completed-the-leptin-rx-what-is-next/

Never miss breakfast because eating it stimulates the circadian rhythm for gastric acid secretion in adults. This will become critical later in the day for body composition optimization.

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I'm thinking about switching too, but I REALLY hate food first thing in the morning. The urge doesn't strike until at least noon. – Nance Nov 17 2011 at 18:26
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I am one of those 'not hungry when waking' people but I've taken to making myself eat breakfast and have noticed the following improvements:

Far more likely to make a better choice foodwise the rest of the day Wake up more refreshed (I guess body is trained to expect food and wakes up accordingly - I think Seth Roberts reported this too - except he was waking too early so cut out brekkie) Overall better digestion

I was a militant non-breakfast eater before that so I reckon try it and see what happens.

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I usually walk the dog 2 miles upon waking and find that I am hungry by the end of it, so I eat. I always let my hunger signals guide me, but I could see that a derangement of this system could result in skewed signaling. I don't consider it to be a real fast if you never receive any hunger signals. I don't agree with the practice of not eating for long periods when hungry or with attempting to use appetite suppressants like coffee etc.

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I agree with most here and eat when I'm hungry, or don't eat if I'm not.

However, I'm intrigued by the responses mentioning The Quilt's blog and plan on reading it. Who knows, I might become a more consistent breakfast eater after seeing what it says.

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It's your choice but I do. I'm ravenous at 4:30 AM and breakfast supports a lot of AM exercise. Mostly carbs (yogurt and fruit), with some protein such as cheese, typically 200-300 calories.

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I'm not sure which protocol is best, but one thing I would consider before skipping breakfast is where you will be the rest of the morning and if you have time for and access to a good lunch or mid-morning snack. If you'll be crazy busy at work or play and won't be able to stop and eat something nutritious when your body tells you it's hungry, then you might want to fuel up with at least a little breakfast before leaving home. If you know you can eat a hard-boiled egg or some other snack at your desk as soon as you feel the need to eat and you know you can take the time for and have access to a healthy lunch, then breakfast might not be as important.

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I agree. I usually eat/fast depending on how I feel when I wake up, but if I know I will have limited (or no) food options, I try to eat something satiating--even if I'm not very hungry--to help me avoid trouble later in the day. – Ali Nov 17 2011 at 19:30
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Generally my "breakfast" (if you can call it that) consists of two cups of coffee with cinnamon. Occasionally I'll throw in a little coconut oil because I like the taste. It's pretty rare for me to ever want real food during breakfast hours, and on the few occasions I do, I can usually scrounge a small piece of something leftover. And I do emphasize small. If I want to eat something, it will be about the size of one slice of deli ham, and I'm done.

I agree with Aaron - low stress is best. If I'm hungry, I eat. If I'm not hungry, I don't eat. Then, whenever I do get hungry (usually hours later), I eat.

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If I didn't have breakfast to look forward to I'd hate to get out of bed. Not that I'm so hungry, but I enjoy eating (and sitting at the table with my breakfast and a cup of coffee reading the paper)! The mornings of the non-eaters would be miserable for me. :)

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I have a similar joy in sitting on the back porch with my morning tea. 8) – Ali Nov 17 2011 at 19:31
I love the relaxation of a long leisurely breakfast with tea and cream and some eggs. – Heidi Nov 18 2011 at 1:18
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I was one of those "can't eat anything until I've been awake at least 2 hours" people. But even if I ate "breakfast" at 10 or so, I'd still be starving by early afternoon. After starting LRP, I hardly ever eat lunch and just have a good dinner when I get home from work. Also, it seems the earlier I eat, the longer I can go before I get hungry.

It was downright miserable at first, but now I'm used to it. And as someone who was/is a die-hard night person, I do tend to wake up easier and my digestion has improved. My biggest problem now, is the extra time it takes me to cook and eat that large breakfast keeps making me late for work.

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I have never liked breakfast, but I used to eat it anyway because it was good for me. I ate a protein breakfast (e.g. 2 rashers of bacon and a fried egg) every morning while I was putting on weight. I've lost 40lb since then. I cut out breakfast (except for a small coffee with cream) to give myself a decent fast between evening meal and lunch, and it seems to be working for me. The fact that I really don't like breakfast makes me think that this is probably right for me.

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How do you feel when you don't eat breakfast? What is your appetite like at later meals? How is your energy? Do you feel better or worse if you do eat it? Listen to your body.

My n=1: I used to skip breakfast years ago and that always led to low energy and overeating later in the day because I was starving. Now I eat breakfast every day--even if I don't really feel terribly hungry--because I know I will feel crappy later if I don't.

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