Why I Stopped Eating Breakfast

What if I told you breakfast isn’t the most important meal of the day?

Would you be offended?

Well, I don’t think breakfast is the most important meal of the day.

Heresy, right? But before you start picking up your stones, let me explain.

I don’t think there’s anything wrong with eating breakfast, and I’m not trying to convince anyone to stop.

The goal of this post is to introduce a topic that may be new to you.

If you’ve been following me on Instagram you may have heard me mention “Intermittent Fasting” once or twice. I’ve had a few people ask me to explain more about it, so I figured this was a good opportunity to dedicate a whole post to Intermittent Fasting (IF).

I’ve actually been wanting to write about IF for a while, but shied away from the subject because it’s a bit unorthodox.

This will by no means be an exhaustive study on IF, but more of an overview. The main topics I want to discuss are:

-What is IF

-Basic principles

-The Benefits

-Things to Consider

-Quick Tips

What is Intermittent Fasting?

It’s not a diet.

It’s also not a form of starvation.

Intermittent fasting is time restricted eating.

Typically, the average person spends about 7-8 hours a day in a fasted state (aka sleeping). That’s why you have breakfast in the morning because you are literally breaking fast. IF extends the fasted period (time not eating), which restricts the time you’re allowed for eating. There are several different variations of IF, but I prefer the 16/8 split. This means I fast for 16 hours straight, which leaves me with an 8 hour eating window.

So instead of eating my first meal at 8am, I may not eat my first meal until 1-2pm.

Yes…. that means skipping breakfast. Yikes!

But, to be fair, I’m not really skipping breakfast. I’m just pushing my first meal back.

This concept blew my mind the first time I heard about it.

“Breakfast is the most important meal of the day”

“You need breakfast to perform well in school”

“You need breakfast to jumpstart your metabolism”

These are things I heard growing up and believed to be 100% true. Turns out these claims aren’t exactly the truth. There’s much more to the story.

Keep reading.

In college my buddy, Nate, and I decided we wanted to get as big and lean as humanly possible. You know, typical college guy stuff. We started doing our research on how to be the next Arnold on campus, without the steroids, and that’s when we discovered “Lean Gains”. A phrase coined by Martin Berkhan, the self proclaimed father of intermittent fasting.

We started reading about people who were using this new method to lose crazy amounts of fat while retaining muscle mass, and even increasing muscle mass in some cases.

We found more and more research that seemed to support the benefits of IF the deeper we dug.

Lean. Strong. Natty. (steroid free)

Say no more. We were hooked. You would have thought we just discovered the Holy Grail of gains!

Basic Principles

There are two things IF does really well:

1. Increase insulin sensitivity

2. Increase fat adaption

Insulin is a powerful hormone that helps your body utilize the energy you consume.

Being insulin sensitive means your body responds to lower levels of insulin. People who have Type 2 Diabetes, on the other hand, have to produce much more insulin to get a similar response because their body has become desensitised to the hormone.

In a fasted state, your body releases small pulses of insulin. There should be very little fluctuation in blood sugar, ideally. Large bursts of insulin are released after eating to compensate for an increase in blood sugar. These insulin spikes occur mainly after eating carbs.

Intermittent Fasting decreases the frequency of insulin spikes throughout the day by limiting your time eating. Less insulin fluctuation typically results in a more stable blood sugar over time.

Fat adaption is a process your body uses for energy when you aren’t eating. Your body uses energy from carbs you eat and glycogen stored in the liver and muscles first because they’re quick energy sources. Your body is all about working smarter, not harder.

When those sources are depleted, the body goes to the next best thing… fat!

Increasing the time you spend in a fasted state makes your body tap into all those fat stores you’ve been saving up. (similar to the keto diet, but without the super low-carb eating.)

Eventually your body will adapt to become less reliant on the food you eat for energy and more dependant on burning fat for fuel.

The Benefits

We started seeing great results after just a couple months of intermittent fasting. The fat was coming off, we started looking leaner and feeling strong as ever. We even signed up for a local weightlifting meet after several months of IF to test our strength at a lower body fat percentage. I placed 1st in my weight class and Nate placed 3rd.

Pound for pound I was probably the strongest I’d ever been in my life.

Some other benefits I experienced:

-Skipping breakfast in the morning is convenient.

-Mentally I felt sharp. IF had no negative effects on my school performance. My GPA was the best it had ever been. (probably because I was a terrible student my freshman year, but still..)

-I could train fasted and have a great workout

-Carb heavy meals made me feel energized, not lazy and bloated. I felt like my body was way more efficient at using the food I ate.

-I enjoyed eating larger meals in the evening.

-I could be super flexible with my diet and still see consistent results.

-I never lost significant strength.

We were hardcore for about a year and a half. But, like I said earlier, our extremism turned into some bad habits that eventually took a toll on our bodies.

Things to Consider

There are definitely some important things to consider before trying IF.

Medical History

Going an extended period without eating is not appropriate for everyone.

IF is NOT a good idea for anyone with a history of disordered eating, diabetes or any other chronic metabolic condition, or for women who are pregnant or nursing.

Stress

Any major lifestyle change is going to cause some stress. IF may not be appropriate if you already have a stressful lifestyle. Assess your current stress level and stress management before adding another stressor to your life.

Too much stress wears on the body and can lead to sickness and adrenal fatigue over time.

Undereating

Having a time restriction on your eating can make it hard to consume all the calories you need in a day, especially if you're trying to gain. Be sure you are eating plenty. Try to get in 3 meals during the feeding window to stay on a normal eating pattern.

Binging

This is one I struggled with personally. Binge eating is never a good idea and can become a terrible habit. It’s very possible to gain weight despite fasting the majority of the day. Don’t use fasting as a way to eat your fill in junk food. Stick to eating quality, nutrient dense foods.

Listen to Your Body

If you’re constantly starving and feeling like crap then IF may not be a good fit for you. Some things to watch for:

-Chronic fatigue

-Mental fog

-Decreased sex drive

-Increased anxiety

-Insatiable appetite

-Intolerance to cold

-Significant loss in strength or consistently "hitting a wall" in the gym

-Not recovering from workouts

-Difficulty sleeping or restless sleep

If you are experiencing any of these symptoms you may be undereating, overstressed or both. You should either stop doing IF or reevaluate your approach.

IF is a great tool when used appropriately. Just like a hammer is a great tool for pounding nails, but you’d have a crappy time trying to chop down a tree.

Fast responsibly.

Quick Tips

Here are a few tips for any of you seriously interested in trying IF:

-Short term fasting will NOT put you in “starvation mode”. This doesn’t really happen until you reach around 72 hours fasted.

-Fast in the early part of the day to take advantage of the time you slept. This will also help keep your brain happy by staying on a somewhat normal eating pattern.

-ZERO calories should be consumed during the fasted period. Black coffee, water and sugar free drinks won’t break your fast.

-Back your first meal up one hour at a time over several weeks until you reach your desired fasted time. (Women: 12-14hrs, Men: 16-18hrs)

-Stay active during your fast. Don’t just sit around thinking about food!

-Caffeine is great for blunting hunger, but don’t abuse it. Stick to 1-3 cups of coffee a day.

-Whey protein and BCAA’s are okay before fasted training. They won’t mess up your fast.

-Eat plenty of carbs on days you workout.

-Don’t abuse fasting by binging on junk. The majority of your food should be high-quality and nutrient dense.

-Don’t fast until you’re so hungry you’re cross-eyed. Listen to your body. Break your fast early if you need to. It’s okay.

-If you’re constantly feeling bad, rundown, hungry, sick, etc. you need to reevaluate your approach.

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I still do Intermittent Fasting, but I have a much healthier approach now. Sometimes fasting isn’t convenient, so I don’t do it. Let’s be honest, who doesn’t love some pancakes in the morning every now and then.

IF works for me and that’s why I do it. It’s not for everyone.

Find what works for YOU and do it!