Let’s talk breakfast…some women love it, many skip it. Many women don’t feel like breakfast…or they learn to skip it to reduce overall calories or have a shorter eating window, such as with intermittent fasting. 

No problem skipping breakfast…unless you are a woman with any of these issues: 

• hormone/ menstrual problems, including fertility issues, PMS, period pain, menopausal symptoms etc

• binge eating later in the day

• making poor food choices later in the day 

• you have a slow metabolism

• feeling stressed by the time you do eat

• you have a lot of stress in your life

The female body in particular is very sensitive to a reduction in food/energy intake. Our bodies are designed to prioritise survival and reproduction. When we go for long periods without food, our body diverts energy from reproductive processes- i.e. hormones….to survival processes. It starts to break down tissues such as muscles, to provide enough energy (we often presume it will break down unwanted fat but that’s not necessarily true). It produces more cortisol to release blood sugar from the liver- which contributes to stress. 

Also the reduction in reproductive hormones when we don’t have easy access to energy from food contributes to problems with sleep, mood such as anxiety, inflammation, metabolic issues and ability to cope with stress. Not to mention difficulties in thinking clearly because our brain uses 25% of our energy at any given time. 

There is plenty of evidence that people who eat breakfast have less issues with binge eating and poor food choices. While it may seem like a good idea to reduce overall caloric intake or mimic fasting benefits, it rarely plays out that way over the course of the day. And if fasting for long periods of time has the above downstream effects, how can any potential short term benefits (initial weight loss) be sustainable or worth it? 

Calorie reduction through skipping meals is not a sustainable way to lose weight anyway. 

I recommend at the very least some fruit for breakfast, for those who cannot stomach anything else. The next step up from that is a smoothie with fruit and protein. Eggs are a good choice for those who enjoy them. Pretty much anything is better than nothing in terms of blood sugar, but there are of course better choices. A cup of coffee to ward off appetite is probably not one of them!

Do you need to reconsider whether skipping breakfast is working well for you?