Intermittent fasting is quickly growing in popularity as it involves only being able to eat for a certain period of time every day. With fasting comes numerous health benefits[1] such as weight loss, insulin control, reduced chance of heart disease, and even less of a chance of getting chronic diseases. Plus, there is some flexibility in how a person can schedule their daily intermittent fasting to better suit their preferences.
What Is Intermittent Fasting?
Intermittent fasting can last 12 hours or more a day. Many people experience best results when they allow themselves a daily eight-hour window where they are able to eat their meals and then have 16 hours of fasting where they are only able to drink low-calorie beverages. With the calorie restriction, weight loss is the most common goal for those wanting to experiment with intermittent fasting. As your body conditions itself to just one or two meals a day, it basically experiences a rejuvenation of sorts both internally and externally.
Is It Okay to Skip Breakfast During Intermittent Fasting?
Intermittent fasting is pretty conducive to each individual’s schedule and preference. A pretty common intermittent fasting schedule is listed below.
- After dinner at 6 pm, intermittent fasting starts at 7 pm and lasts until 10 am the next day.
- This means there is 15 hours of fasting time with eight hours of sleep sandwiched in between.
It is totally up to the individual if they would like to have breakfast every day or just forgo it and head straight on into lunch when emerging out of their fasting. The key is to not try to cram breakfast, lunch, and dinner all into your available hours to eat. Intermittent fasting involves less calories, not the same amount of calories into a shorter time period.
The Benefits of Eating Breakfast
Breakfast is the meal where a person usually consumes fewer calories than lunch or dinner. On average, breakfast may amount to 800 calories while lunch and dinner could be 1,000 calories each or greater.
This means that while making your intermittent fasting schedule, you are probably going to be skipping at least one meal daily. If you do choose to eat breakfast, you are probably going to be skipping a full dinner. If you are experimenting with intermittent fasting for weight loss purposes, breakfast will provide fewer calories than dinner so you may experience better weight loss results.
Again, It Is About Preference
Intermittent fasting is flexible. Who is to say that if you begin eating around noon every day that you just eat breakfast then instead of lunch? Don’t make it overly complicated. Keep in mind though that breakfast often consists of higher amounts of sugar than the other two meals during the day. It is all about weighing the pros and cons that work for you and then adapting accordingly.
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References
- How to Do Intermittent Fasting Based on a Shift Work Schedule
- Do Nuts Break a Fast and a List of Nuts on Calories
- 5 Steps Starter Pack to Combine Mindful Eating with Intermittent Fasting
- Mindful eating
- Warrior Diet
