Misleading Information… Breakfast is the Most Important Meal of the Day?

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A recent study was published on February 19, 2020, that focused on breakfast and metabolism.

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There really isn’t anything wrong with how the study was designed.

The problem is how it is being interpreted.

I saw this headline this morning…

Breakfast the most important meal of the day

The part of the headline that really gets me is this:

“A New Study Supports Why Breakfast is Called the Most Important Meal of the Day.”

The study was comparing Diet-Induced Thermogenesis of a large dinner VS eating a large breakfast.

Did the body burn more calories after a large dinner or a large breakfast?

Diet-Induced Thermogenesis was 2.5 times higher with a big breakfast VS a big dinner.

big breakfast dietary thermogenesis

The problem is that dietary Thermogenesis only accounts for 5-15% of the calories we burn each day.

In someone eating 2,000 calories per day, this is between 100 – 300 calories per day.

The issue is that according to this study, the highest thermogenic effect happened with a large breakfast of 900 calories.

You have to eat a large breakfast to get this effect.

are pancakes healthy

​If someone eats 900 calories in order to burn 100?

You are still digesting 800 calories more than a person who skips breakfast.

That is fine if you prefer a big breakfast over a big dinner.

But…

The person who skipped breakfast has 800 more calories to play with in the day.

I personally find it is easier to stay lean when I eat light in the day and my largest meal at night.

pasta for losing weight

This comes down to preference.

If you enjoy your biggest meal as breakfast and your smallest meal for dinner, you probably do come out slightly ahead when it comes to calorie burn from your meals.

This still doesn’t mean breakfast is the most important meal of the day.

It simply means your body revs up a bit more after eating a large breakfast compared to eating a large dinner.

Here’s a common problem I see when it comes to large breakfasts on a weight loss diet… most societies socialize at night around dinner time.

small dinner for weight loss

​People often eat more calories at dinner than planned.

An extra beer, or glass of wine, dessert, etc.

If you have already eaten 900+ calories in the morning, you have a MUCH smaller margin for error at dinner time.

I’d personally rather skimp earlier in the day and enjoy dinner.

Breakfast isn’t a party.

Unless we are talking Sunday Brunch!

mimosas for breakfast brunch

But you really can’t do that every week if weight loss is a goal.

So breakfast is only important if you want it to be.

Note: Dietary Thermogenesis​ isn’t that important in the grand scheme of things.

Studies show that eating carbs has a greater thermogenic effect ​than eating fats.

I discuss this in High Carb Fat Loss.

It’s one benefit of a carb-rich diet, but that isn’t the main selling point of the program.

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For 15 years I've helped fashion models get lean for photoshoots. Use my plan to Lose 5-10 pounds of PURE body fat in 14 days.

Dietary thermogenesis doesn’t move the needle for weight loss compared to other diet variables.

Cheers,

-Rusty Moore

As a former fitness coach to fashion models, I can teach you how to increase muscle definition without adding size.

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