People that are either malicious or ignorant hold the diet and health industry, and even government agencies hostage. If I had an overwhelmingly positive view of humanity, I’d assume the best and go with ignorant, but I don’t.
They use the logical slight-of-hand of exchanging observation for proof. Ten men in a bar might all observe the lady in the corner with silicone enhancements, crimson lipstick, fishnet stockings and stilettos, but unless one of them tests the hypothesis that she is a woman, none of them will ever find out that he’s a transvestite. Observing something doesn’t make it true, and sometimes, depending on the depth one explores, no one wants to admit the reality — it might be a little embarrassing.
Observation creates a place for all scientific research to begin. From Plato to Einstein, observation has gotten science started down some extraordinary paths — started. Once on the trail, scientists dream up explanations (step 2) and test these explanations for validity (step 3). They’re either right or wrong and proceed as necessary. In the health and fitness world, the process often stops at observation. This is where we find ourselves with myriad training and eating protocols, but I want to tackle one that’s entrenched more than any other, breakfast.
The Idea
Breakfast is the most important meal of the day and makes people healthy, thin and smart.
The Logic
All metabolic arguments aside, scientists have witnessed that healthy, smart people eat breakfast; therefore, breakfast must be key. (Of course, from here, there are endless theories on why it’s so important: the body’s been starving all night and needs food to function; if you eat a lot of food in the morning it sparks metabolism and you burn off all the food and some fat; since the brain needs carbs to function, supplying the body with a low-fat breakfast gets the mind working at peak performance; etc.)
The Reality
The only reasonable conclusion the facts support is that breakfast sucks.
It’s no secret that I’m not a fan of breakfast. When working with a new client in a physique or strength sport or the average person trying to lose a few pounds, more often than not, the first thing I say is, “stop eating breakfast.” Brian Carroll loves the excuse to skip breakfast as do a large number of people I work with. Like I once thought, they believe that breakfast is critical to mental and physical performance and they force themselves to eat it whether they want to or not.
Here’s a brief synopsis of hormonal-happenings around 7 AM for the average person. Cortisol levels elevate naturally through the night1-9 and peak2, 9-14. Uh oh, cortisol is catabolic and without food, the body’s going to start eating all that hard-earned muscle, right? Wrong. Catabolic only describes the process of something being broken down for energy. Cortisol, when acting without elevated insulin levels and in a natural manner — so without being constantly elevated like during chronic stress — triggers the breakdown of triglycerides into free-fatty acids (FFAs) for metabolization and triggers lipolysis1, 2, 14-28. Cortisol, in the morning, accelerates fat burning.
Ghrelin, the main hunger-control hormone32, is released in a pulsatile manner through the night with a peak occurring upon waking29-31, which incites hunger. Ghrelin not only causes hunger, but also potently stimulates growth hormone release33-44. As growth hormone levels raise the body releases more fat to be burned as fuel45-49 and decreases the destruction of protein for use as fuel50. Growth hormone levels peak roughly two hours after waking without breakfast51.
Every day the body starts as a fat-burning furnace. Even during exercise, without eating breakfast, the body burns far higher levels of fat than normal52, 53 and causes up regulation of the enzymes necessary to burn fat, allowing fat to be metabolized faster54.
Now contrast with what happens as soon as you eat breakfast, one that contains around 30 grams or more of carbs. As is well known, insulin levels raise with the rise in blood sugar, kick-starting a downward spiral: the early-morning release of insulin reduces fat burning for the entire rest of the day55; while cortisol levels remain high, the insulin release causes new empty fat cells to be created56-64; and the insulin lowers levels of ghrelin and growth hormone29-31, 51.
From the facts above—this is not what I think happens, this is what happens — one would come to the conclusion that maybe we should hold breakfast off for a bit when we get up, at least until cortisol levels return to normal and growth hormone levels fall naturally, which takes a few hours. Skipping breakfast looks like a way to lose body fat faster, or at least to keep it off.
At this point, you may think, “well, you’ve hobbled together a lot of research to explain your theory, but where are the results?” I’m not so obtuse as to think that a thorough understanding of anything means prediction is possible…a famous mathematician showed that you can know everything about how a system works and still not predict how the damn thing might act. Luckily for me and my hobbled together studies, researchers did test the idea that maybe breakfast isn’t so great.
If what I assume from the facts is true, then skipping breakfast and eating more food at the end of the day rather than the beginning should lead to more fat loss when trying to lose weight, especially if eating breakfast impairs fat burning for the entire day.
So what happened when researchers studied two groups, one that ate most of their calories in the beginning of the day, to simulate the no-eating-after-seven routine, and the other that skipped breakfast and ate most of their meals in the latter half of the day? Damn if I shouldn’t be embarrassed: the group that ate most of their calories early in the day, including a big breakfast, lost more weight than the other group65.
Hold on: there’s more to this story. The researchers also looked at body composition before and after. The morning group lost more weight but lost a lot more muscle and a lot less fat. The night group lost almost exclusively fat and preserved muscle65-69. Who knew, maybe there is something to this science stuff after all?
No matter what I say about fat loss, someone will say that skipping breakfast turns people into mental sloths. Does it really? You think so? I disagree and when I do in a public forum, someone always says — which I actually don’t believe — “Well, I design tests for grade schools and the kids that eat breakfast always perform the best; I have the studies but I don’t have the time to show you.” Even if they have them, they’re observation studies. They’re not experiments. Do experiments prove that breakfast improves cognitive abilities? Yes, if the person is malnourished70-73.
What about healthy kids? I know, it doesn’t seem right to take food away from kids in the morning, but some mean group of bastards did just that — and several more bastards did the same thing. They withheld breakfast from one group of kids, letting them eat at lunch, and the other group had a balanced breakfast. When kids skip breakfast they pay attention, behave, and perform better throughout the entire school day72-83. That’s the difference between observation and experiment. There must be some other factor relating eating breakfast to academic performance: both vary in the same way with socio-economic status84.
I can imagine the comments now saying I ignore the importance of breakfast because of this observational study or that observational study or some other justification that has no relevance to this discussion. The only point here is that breakfast is definitely not the most important meal of the day and can be detrimental. There are many reasons and ways to incorporate breakfast effectively. Carb Back-Loading™ is one example and Carb Nite® is another. When using either of these strategies for fat loss, I still tend to delay my first meal of the day until 11am or noon
Someone in a forum also referenced an article stating that skipping breakfast primes the body to get fat and slows fat burning, which is the opposite of the truth, but the article goes on to say that all of this can be avoided by adding some branched-chain amino acids in lieu of breakfast and suggests leucine, isoleucine and valine. This is probably a bad idea, as the amino acid leucine stimulates insulin release without the presence of glucose85-86 and may cause the same reactions as a carby breakfast.
As far as strength is concerned, there is little effect as long as glycogen stores remain adequate87-88, hence the application of Carb Back-Loading™ to strength, power and physique athletes.
Eating breakfast impairs fat burning, can aid in fat storage, lowers growth hormone levels and doesn’t offer cognitive benefits. What else can I say? Stop eating breakfast. You’ll thank me in the morning.
- Dinneen S, Alzaid A, Miles J, Rizza R. Effects of the normal nocturnal rise in cortisol on carbohydrate and fat metabolism in IDDM. Am J Physiol. 1995 Apr;268(4 Pt 1):E595-603.
- Samra JS, Clark ML, Humphreys SM, Macdonald IA, Matthews DR, Frayn KN. Effects of morning rise in cortisol concentration on regulation of lipolysis in subcutaneous adipose tissue. Am J Physiol. 1996 Dec;271(6 Pt 1):E996-1002.
-
-
- Papanicolaou DA, Mullen N, Kyrou I, Nieman LK. Nighttime salivary cortisol: a useful test for the diagnosis of Cushing’s syndrome. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2002 Oct;87(10):4515-21. Trumper BG, Reschke K, Molling J. Circadian variation of insulin requirement in insulin dependent diabetes mellitus the relationship between circadian change in insulin demand and diurnal patterns of growth hormone, cortisol and glucagon during euglycemia. Horm Metab Res. 1995 Mar;27(3):141-7. Nishiyama M, Makino S, Suemaru S, Nanamiya W, Asaba K, Kaneda T, Mimoto T, Nishioka T, Takao T, Hashimoto K. Glucocorticoid effects on the diurnal rhythm of circulating leptin levels. Horm Res. 2000;54(2):69-73. Dinneen S, Alzaid A, Miles J, Rizza R. Metabolic effects of the nocturnal rise in cortisol on carbohydrate metabolism in normal humans. J Clin Invest. 1993 Nov;92(5):2283-90. Tassone F, Broglio F, Destefanis S, Rovere S, Benso A, Gottero C, Prodam F, Rossetto R, Gauna C, van der Lely AJ, Ghigo E, Maccario M. Neuroendocrine and metabolic effects of acute ghrelin administration in human obesity. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2003 Nov;88(11):5478-83. Gregoire F, Genart C, Hauser N, Remacle C. Glucocorticoids induce a drastic inhibition of proliferation and stimulate differentiation of adult rat fat cell precursors. Exp Cell Res. 1991 Oct;196(2):270-8. Keim NL, Van Loan MD, Horn WF, Barbieri TF, Mayclin PL. Weight loss is greater with consumption of large morning meals and fat-free mass is preserved with large evening meals in women on a controlled weight reduction regimen. J Nutr. 1997 Jan;127(1):75-82. Benton D, Parker PY. Breakfast, blood glucose, and cognition. Am J Clin Nutr. 1998 Apr;67(4):772S-778S.
- Anderson IM, Crook WS, Gartside SE, Fairburn CG, Cowen PJ. The effect of moderate weight loss on overnight growth hormone and cortisol secretion in healthy female volunteers. J Affect Disord. 1989 Mar-Jun;16(2-3):197-202.
- Scott RS, Scandrett MS. Nocturnal cortisol release during hypoglycemia in diabetes. Diabetes Care. 1981 Sep-Oct;4(5):514-8.
- Doman J, Thompson S, Grochocinski V, Jarrett D, Kupfer DJ. A computer algorithm to determine the nadir and rise time in nocturnal cortisol secretion. Psychoneuroendocrinology. 1986;11(3):359-66.
- Born J, Kern W, Bieber K, Fehm-Wolfsdorf G, Schiebe M, Fehm HL. Night-time plasma cortisol secretion is associated with specific sleep stages. Biol Psychiatry. 1986 Dec;21(14):1415-24.
- Hindmarsh KW, Tan L, Sankaran K, Laxdal VA. Diurnal rhythms of cortisol, ACTH, and beta-endorphin levels in neonates and adults. West J Med. 1989 Aug;151(2):153-6.
- Edwards S, Evans P, Hucklebridge F, Clow A. Association between time of awakening and diurnal cortisol secretory activity. Psychoneuroendocrinology. 2001 Aug;26(6):613-22.
- Fehm HL, Klein E, Holl R, Voigt KH. Evidence for extrapituitary mechanisms mediating the morning peak of plasma cortisol in man. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 1984 Mar;58(3):410-4.
- Schmidt-Reinwald A, Pruessner JC, Hellhammer DH, Federenko I, Rohleder N, Schurmeyer TH, Kirschbaum C. The cortisol response to awakening in relation to different challenge tests and a 12-hour cortisol rhythm. Life Sci. 1999;64(18):1653-60.
- Bornstein SR, Licinio J, Tauchnitz R, Engelmann L, Negrao AB, Gold P, Chrousos GP. Plasma leptin levels are increased in survivors of acute sepsis: associated loss of diurnal rhythm, in cortisol and leptin secretion. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 1998 Jan;83(1):280-3.
- Rebuffe-Scrive M, Lonnroth P, Andersson B, Smith U, Bjorntorp. Effects of short-term administration on the metabolism of human subcutaneous adipose tissue. J Obes Weight Regul. 1988;7:22-33.
- Fain JN. Inhibition of glucose transport in fat cells and activation of lipolysis by glucocorticoids. In: Baxter JD, Rousseau GG, eds. Glucocorticoid hormone action. Berlin, Heidelberg, New York 1979:Springer-Verlag;547-560.
- Felig P, Baxter JD, Frohman LA. Endocrinology and Metabolism. New York 1995:McGraw-Hill.
- Gemmill ME, Eskay RL, Hall NL, Douglass LW, Castonguay TW. Leptin suppresses food intake and body weight in corticosterone-replaced adrenalectomized rats. J Nutr. 2003 Feb;133(2):504-9.
- Tan JT, Patel BK, Kaplan LM, Koenig JI, Hooi SC. Regulation of leptin expression and secretion by corticosteroids and insulin. Implications for body weight. Endocrine. 1998 Feb;8(1):85-92.
- Masuzaki H, Ogawa Y, Hosoda K, Miyawaki T, Hanaoka I, Hiraoka J, Yasuno A, Nishimura H, Yoshimasa Y, Nishi S, Nakao K. Glucocorticoid regulation of leptin synthesis and secretion in humans: elevated plasma leptin levels in Cushing’s syndrome. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 1997 Aug;82(8):2542-7.
- Newcomer JW, Selke G, Melson AK, Gross J, Vogler GP, Dagogo-Jack S. Dose-dependent cortisol-induced increases in plasma leptin concentration in healthy humans. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 1998 Nov;55(11):995-1000.
- Divertie GD, Jensen MD, Miles JM. Stimulation of lipolysis in humans by physiological hypercortisolemia. Diabetes. 1991 Oct;40(10):1228-32.
- Gravholt CH, Dall R, Christiansen JS, Moller N, Schmitz O. Preferential stimulation of abdominal subcutaneous lipolysis after prednisolone exposure in humans. Obes Res. 2002 Aug;10(8):774-81.
- Djurhuus CB, Gravholt CH, Nielsen S, Mengel A, Christiansen JS, Schmitz OE, Moller N. Effects of cortisol on lipolysis and regional interstitial glycerol levels in humans. Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab. 2002 Jul;283(1):E172-7.
- Djurhuus CB, Gravholt CH, Nielsen S, Pedersen SB, Moller N, Schmitz O. Additive effects of cortisol and growth hormone on regional and systemic lipolysis in humans. Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab. 2004 Mar;286(3):E488-94.
- Dagogo-Jack S, Umamaheswaran I, Askari H, Tykodi G. Leptin response to glucocorticoid occurs at physiological doses and is abolished by fasting. Obes Res. 2003 Feb;11(2):232-7.
- Askari H, Liu J, Dagogo-Jack S. Hormonal regulation of human leptin in vivo: effects of hydrocortisone and insulin. Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord. 2000 Oct;24(10):1254-9.
- Natalucci G, Riedl S, Gleiss A, Zidek T, Frisch H. Spontaneous 24-h ghrelin secretion pattern in fasting subjects: maintenance of a meal-related pattern. Eur J Endocrinol. 2005 Jun;152(6):845-50.
- Koutkia P, Canavan B, Breu J, Johnson ML, Grinspoon SK. Nocturnal ghrelin pulsatility and response to growth hormone secretagogues in healthy men. Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab. 2004 Sep;287(3):E506-12.
- Shiiya T, Nakazato M, Mizuta M, Date Y, Mondal MS, Tanaka M, Nozoe S, Hosoda H, Kangawa K, and Matsukura S. Plasma ghrelin levels in lean and obese humans and the effect of glucose on ghrelin secretion. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 87: 240–244, 2002.
- Wren AM, Seal LJ, Cohen MA, Brynes AE, Frost GS, Murphy KG, Dhillo WS, Ghatei MA, Bloom SR. Ghrelin enhances appetite and increases food intake in humans. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2001 Dec;86(12):5992.
- Kojima M, Hosoda H, Date Y, Nakazato M, Matsuo H, Kangawa K. Ghrelin is a growth-hormone-releasing acylated peptide from stomach. Nature. 1999 Dec 9;402(6762):656-60.
- Takaya K, Ariyasu H, Kanamoto N, Iwakura H, Yoshimoto A, Harada M, Mori K, Komatsu Y, Usui T, Shimatsu A, Ogawa Y, Hosoda K, Akamizu T, Kojima M, Kangawa K, Nakao K. Ghrelin strongly stimulates growth hormone release in humans. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2000 Dec;85(12):4908-11.
- Groschl M, Knerr I, Topf HG, Schmid P, Rascher W, Rauh M. Endocrine responses to the oral ingestion of a physiological dose of essential amino acids in humans. J Endocrinol. 2003 Nov;179(2):237-44.
- Enomoto M, Nagaya N, Uematsu M, Okumura H, Nakagawa E, Ono F, Hosoda H, Oya H, Kojima M, Kanmatsuse K, Kangawa K. Cardiovascular and hormonal effects of subcutaneous administration of ghrelin, a novel growth hormone-releasing peptide, in healthy humans. Clin Sci (Lond). 2003 Oct;105(4):431-5.
- Broglio F, Benso A, Gottero C, Prodam F, Grottoli S, Tassone F, Maccario M, Casanueva FF, Dieguez C, Deghenghi R, Ghigo E, Arvat E. Effects of glucose, free fatty acids or arginine load on the GH-releasing activity of ghrelin in humans. Clin Endocrinol (Oxf). 2002 Aug;57(2):265-71.
- Muller AF, Lamberts SW, Janssen JA, Hofland LJ, Koetsveld PV, Bidlingmaier M, Strasburger CJ, Ghigo E, Van der Lely AJ. Ghrelin drives GH secretion during fasting in man. Eur J Endocrinol. 2002 Feb;146(2):203-7.
- Nagaya N, Uematsu M, Kojima M, Date Y, Nakazato M, Okumura H, Hosoda H, Shimizu W, Yamagishi M, Oya H, Koh H, Yutani C, Kangawa K. Elevated circulating level of ghrelin in cachexia associated with chronic heart failure: relationships between ghrelin and anabolic/catabolic factors. Circulation. 2001 Oct 23;104(17):2034-8.
- Broglio F, Arvat E, Benso A, Gottero C, Muccioli G, Papotti M, van der Lely AJ, Deghenghi R, Ghigo E. Ghrelin, a natural GH secretagogue produced by the stomach, induces hyperglycemia and reduces insulin secretion in humans. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2001 Oct;86(10):5083-6.
- Hataya Y, Akamizu T, Takaya K, Kanamoto N, Ariyasu H, Saijo M, Moriyama K, Shimatsu A, Kojima M, Kangawa K, Nakao K. A low dose of ghrelin stimulates growth hormone (GH) release synergistically with GH-releasing hormone in humans. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2001 Sep;86(9):4552.
- Peino R, Baldelli R, Rodriguez-Garcia J, Rodriguez-Segade S, Kojima M, Kangawa K, Arvat E, Ghigo E, Dieguez C, Casanueva FF. Ghrelin-induced growth hormone secretion in humans. Eur J Endocrinol. 2000 Dec;143(6):R11-4.
- Arvat E, Di Vito L, Broglio F, Papotti M, Muccioli G, Dieguez C, Casanueva FF, Deghenghi R, Camanni F, Ghigo E. Preliminary evidence that Ghrelin, the natural GH secretagogue (GHS)-receptor ligand, strongly stimulates GH secretion in humans. J Endocrinol Invest. 2000 Sep;23(8):493-5.
- Moller L, Norrelund H, Jessen N, Flyvbjerg A, Pedersen SB, Gaylinn BD, Liu J, Thorner MO, Moller N, Lunde Jorgensen JO. Impact of growth hormone receptor blockade on substrate metabolism during fasting in healthy subjects. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2009 Nov;94(11):4524-32.
- Møller N, Møller J, Jørgensen JO, Ovesen P, Schmitz O, Alberti KG, Christiansen JS. Impact of 2 weeks high dose growth hormone treatment on basal and insulin stimulated substrate metabolism in humans. Clin Endocrinol (Oxf). 1993 Nov;39(5):577-81.
- Bianda TL, Hussain MA, Keller A, Glatz Y, Schmitz O, Christiansen JS, Alberti KG, Froesch ER. Insulin-like growth factor-I in man enhances lipid mobilization and oxidation induced by a growth hormone pulse. Diabetologia. 1996 Aug;39(8):961-9.
- Møller N, Schmitz O, Pørksen N, Møller J, Jørgensen JO. Dose-response studies on the metabolic effects of a growth hormone pulse in humans. Metabolism. 1992 Feb;41(2):172-5.
- Møller N, Jørgensen JO, Alberti KG, Flyvbjerg A, Schmitz O. Short-term effects of growth hormone on fuel oxidation and regional substrate metabolism in normal man. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 1990 Apr;70(4):1179-86.
- Nørrelund H, Møller N, Nair KS, Christiansen JS, Jørgensen JO. Continuation of growth hormone (GH) substitution during fasting in GH-deficient patients decreases urea excretion and conserves protein synthesis. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2001 Jul;86(7):3120-9.
- Salgin B, Marcovecchio ML, Humphreys SM, Hill N, Chassin LJ, Lunn DJ, Hovorka R, Dunger DB. Effects of prolonged fasting and sustained lipolysis on insulin secretion and insulin sensitivity in normal subjects. Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab. 2009 Mar;296(3):E454-61.
- Van Proeyen K, Deldique L, Nielens H, Szlufcik K, Francaux M, Ramaekers M, Hespel P. Effects Of Training In The Fasted State In Conjunction With Fat-rich diet On Muscle Metabolism: 721: June 3 8:15 AM – 8:30 AM. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise. 42(5):42, May 2010.
- van Loon LJ, Koopman R, Stegen JH, Wagenmakers AJ, Keizer HA, Saris WH. Intramyocellular lipids form an important substrate source during moderate intensity exercise in endurance-trained males in a fasted state. J Physiol. 2003 Dec 1;553(Pt 2):611-25. Epub 2003 Sep 26.
- De Bock K, Richter EA, Russell AP, Eijnde BO, Derave W, Ramaekers M, Koninckx E, Léger B, Verhaeghe J, Hespel P. Exercise in the fasted state facilitates fibre type-specific intramyocellular lipid breakdown and stimulates glycogen resynthesis in humans. J Physiol. 2005 Apr 15;564(Pt 2):649-60.
- Martin A, Normand S, Sothier M, Peyrat J, Louche-Pelissier C, Laville M. Is advice for breakfast consumption justified? Results from a short-term dietary and metabolic experiment in young healthy men. Br J Nutr. 2000 Sep;84(3):337-44.
- Xu XF, Bjorntorp P. Effects of dexamethasone on multiplication and differentiation of rat adipose precursor cells. Exp Cell Res. 1990 Aug;189(2):247-52.
- Hentges EJ, Hausman GJ. Primary cultures of stromal-vascular cells from pig adipose tissue: the influence of glucocorticoids and insulin as inducers of adipocyte differentiation. Domest Anim Endocrinol. 1989 Jul;6(3):275-85.
- Hauner H, Entenmann G, Wabitsch M, Gaillard D, Ailhaud G, Negrel R, Pfeiffer EF. Promoting effect of glucocorticoids on the differentiation of human adipocyte precursor cells cultured in a chemically defined medium. J Clin Invest. 1989 Nov;84(5):1663-70.
- Hauner H, Schmid P, Pfeiffer EF. Glucocorticoids and insulin promote the differentiation of human adipocyte precursor cells into fat cells. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 1987 Apr;64(4):832-5.
- Ramsay TG, White ME, Wolverton CK. Glucocorticoids and the differentiation of porcine preadipocytes. J Anim Sci. 1989 Sep;67(9):2222-9.
- Bujalska IJ, Kumar S, Hewison M, Stewart PM. Differentiation of adipose stromal cells: the roles of glucocorticoids and 11beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase. Endocrinology. 1999 Jul;140(7):3188-96.
- Nougues J, Reyne Y, Barenton B, Chery T, Garandel V, Soriano J. Differentiation of adipocyte precursors in a serum-free medium is influenced by glucocorticoids and endogenously produced insulin-like growth factor-I. Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord. 1993 Mar;17(3):159-67.
- Suryawan A, Swanson LV, Hu CY. Insulin and hydrocortisone, but not triiodothyronine, are required for the differentiation of pig preadipocytes in primary culture. J Anim Sci. 1997 Jan;75(1):105-11.
- Hirsh E, Halberg F, Goetz FC, Cressey D, Wendt H, Sothern R, Haus E, Stoney P, Minors D, Rosen G, Hill B, Hilleren M, Garet K. Body weight change during 1 week on a single daily 2000-calorie meal consumed as breakfast (B) or dinner (D). Chronobiologia 1975;2(suppl 1): 31-32.
- Jacobs H, Thompson M, Halberg E, Halberg F, Fraeber C, Levine H, Haus E. Relative body weight loss on limited free-choice meal consumed as breakfast rather than as dinner. Chronobiologia 1975;2(suppl 1): 33.
- Halberg F. Some aspects of the chronobiology of nutrition: more work is needed on “when to eat”. J Nutr. 1989 Mar;119(3):333-43. Review.
- Sensi S, Capani F. Chronobiological aspects of weight loss in obesity: effects of different meal timing regimens. Chronobiol Int. 1987;4(2):251-61.
- Chandler AM, Walker SP, Connolly K, Grantham-McGregor SM. School breakfast improves verbal fluency in undernourished Jamaican children. J Nutr. 1995 Apr;125(4):894-900.
- Pollitt E, Jacoby E, Cueto S. School breakfast and cognition among nutritionally at-risk children in the Peruvian Andes. Nutr Rev. 1996 Apr;54(4 Pt 2):S22-6.
- Lopez I, de Andraca I, Perales CG, Heresi E, Castillo M, Colombo M. Breakfast omission and cognitive performance of normal, wasted and stunted schoolchildren. Eur J Clin Nutr. 1993 Aug;47(8):533-42.
- Simeon DT, Grantham-McGregor S. Effects of missing breakfast on the cognitive functions of school children of differing nutritional status. Am J Clin Nutr. 1989 Apr;49(4):646-53.
- Dickie NH, Bender AE. Breakfast and performance in school children. Br J Nutr. 1982 Nov;48(3):483-96.
- Lopez-Sobaler AM, Ortega RM, Quintas ME, Navia B, Requejo AM. Relationship between habitual breakfast and intellectual performance (logical reasoning) in well-nourished schoolchildren of Madrid (Spain). Eur J Clin Nutr. 2003 Sep;57 Suppl 1:S49-53.
- Cueto S. Breakfast and performance. Public Health Nutr. 2001 Dec;4(6A):1429-31. Review.
- Martin A, Normand S, Sothier M, Peyrat J, Louche-Pelissier C, Laville M. Is advice for breakfast consumption justified? Results from a short-term dietary and metabolic experiment in young healthy men. Br J Nutr. 2000 Sep;84(3):337-44.
- Vaisman N, Voet H, Akivis A, Vakil E. Effect of breakfast timing on the cognitive functions of elementary school students. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 1996 Oct;150(10):1089-92.
- Pollitt E, Mathews R. Breakfast and cognition: an integrative summary. Am J Clin Nutr. 1998 Apr;67(4):804S-813S. Review.
- Wesnes KA, Pincock C, Richardson D, Helm G, Hails S. Breakfast reduces declines in attention and memory over the morning in schoolchildren. Appetite. 2003 Dec;41(3):329-31.
- Benton D, Slater O, Donohoe RT. The influence of breakfast and a snack on psychological functioning. Physiol Behav. 2001 Nov-Dec;74(4-5):559-71.
- Michaud C, Musse N, Nicolas JP, Mejean L. Effects of breakfast-size on short-term memory, concentration, mood and blood glucose. J Adolesc Health. 1991 Jan;12(1):53-7.
- Kennedy E, Davis C. US Department of Agriculture School Breakfast Program. Am J Clin Nutr. 1998 Apr;67(4):798S-803S. Review.
- Matschinsky FM, Ellerman J, Stillings S, et al. Hexones and insulin secretion. In: Hasselblatt A, Bruchhausen FV, eds. Handbook of experimental pharmacology. Berlin: Springer-Verlag, 1975:79–114.
- Matschinsky FM, Ellerman J. Dissociation of the insulin releasing and the metabolic functions of hexoses in islets of Langerhans. Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 1973 Jan 23;50(2):193-9.
- Lambert CP, Flynn MG. Fatigue during high-intensity intermittent exercise: application to bodybuilding. Sports Med. 2002;32(8):511-22.
- Ivy JL. Role of carbohydrate in physical activity. Clin Sports Med. 1999 Jul;18(3):469-84, v.
PDF 
John Kiefer is a nutritional consultant, physique and performance coach, and author of the fat loss guide, The Carb Nite® Solution (
Very cool article, will definitely read up more on it as well on your site. One thing I was wondering is your take on Glutamine? Would it be detrimental or could it help?
I know you said not to cross ideas from articles, but I’m an ass so I’m going to anyway. I am following your backloading and protein protocol so I must ask:
From Protein Supplementation 2.0
“You’re going to use one main blend most of the time consisting of whey isolate, whey hydrolysate, casein and casein hydrolysate. Upon waking, and every two to three hours thereafter, ingest 20 to 40 grams of this mixture along with 5 grams of added leucine.”
From Logic Pt. 2: Breakfast…
“This is probably a bad idea, as the amino acid leucine stimulates insulin release without the presence of glucose85-86 and may cause the same reactions as a carby breakfast.”
I am attempting to increase lean mass while losing bodyfat. In my current cycle, hypertrophy is my main goal. Should I stave off the first Blend 1+leucine shake until later in the morning?
While on the subject of losing bodyfat, you mention that coffee can accelerate fat loss and that “Every day the body starts as a fat-burning furnace. Even during exercise, without eating breakfast, the body burns far higher levels of fat than normal52, 53 and causes up regulation of the enzymes necessary to burn fat, allowing fat to be metabolized faster54″
Would starting the day with a cup of coffee and a few quick sprints around the block be a good combo for an extra bodyfat burnoff? As long as the sprinting doesn’t affect recovery for resistance training?
Thank You.
Time out. After looking at the references, I have to question the intellectual honesty of this article:
“So what happened when researchers studied two groups, one that ate most of their calories in the beginning of the day, to simulate the no-eating-after-seven routine, and the other that skipped breakfast and ate most of their meals in the latter half of the day? Damn if I shouldn’t be embarrassed: the group that ate most of their calories early in the day, including a big breakfast, lost more weight than the other group 65.”
For which the reference study is:
“65. School breakfast improves verbal fluency in undernourished Jamaican children”
Assuming that you didn’t accidentally cite the wrong study…. WTF?! SERIOUSLY?!?
And on top of that the next paragraph which supposedly vindicates the previous:
“Hold on: there’s more to this story. The researchers also looked at body composition before and after. The morning group lost more weight but lost a lot more muscle and a lot less fat. The night group lost almost exclusively fat and preserved muscle65-69.”
…Is just linked to more cognitive studies of school children who do or don’t skip breakfast, not a singe one of which even claims to be a weight loss study, let alone studying lean, experienced athletes in a controlled environment (i.e. not applicable whatsoever). And what’s sadder is that those studies are basically supposed to be the “proof” of the entire premise of the article. Weak sauce.
“Who knew, maybe there is something to this science stuff after all?” ,,,indeed.
Kiefer, you’re cherry-picking your references and only looking at the interplay between two or three hormones (granted, important ones) while not addressing others. And regardless, hormonal snapshots at different times during the day are minutiae compared to total macronutrient/caloric intake. I can cite the crap out of an article that denounces everything written here.
While I agree your strategy may work for the layperson seeking a modicum of fat-loss simply through increased activity levels and decreased caloric intake, what you seem to be missing is that ANY STRATEGY RESULTING IN A REDUCTION OF CALORIES will work EQUALLY as well given the same deficit. All you’re doing is making it harder for people to overeat because they have less “feeding hours” during the day. Look at Brad Pilon’s Eat, Stop, Eat or Berkhan’s protocols, as others have pointed out. Art DeVany, too.
Many roads lead to Rome, my friend. Your strategies can be summed up as: carb-timing (back-loading is not new by any means) and intermittent fasting, and — in general — CALORIC REDUCTION. Hey, taking calories away from people resulted in weight-loss!? Who knew?
What we do know is this: total macro/calorie intake is more important than TIMING or TYPE. I promise you if we were to take an athlete — one of yours is fine — and clone him/her, and if I FRONTLOAD (gasp! the horror!) the same amount of macros and calories you are back-loading, they will have the SAME results. I daresay if they are training in the morning, their results will be better. Do you have any isocaloric and isonitrogenous studies proving the superiority of your methods? No, no you don’t.
What I do find completely inane is your obsession with coffee, and your recommendations of strength- and hypertrophy-seeking athletes to train fasted (this is where Berkhan loses me, too). PubMed that one.
Everyone reading this and getting ready to go take out a second mortgage on their house to buy his protein mixes, remember: this is nothing new, and nothing special.
Jeremy,
Clearly he mixed up the references,
Take a look a references 61 to 64, titles below
Body weight change during 1 week on a single daily 2000-calorie meal consumed as breakfast (B) or dinner (D).
Relative body weight loss on limited free-choice meal consumed as breakfast rather than as dinner
Some aspects of the chronobiology of nutrition: more work is needed on “when to eat”. Chronobiological aspects of weight loss in obesity: effects of different meal timing regimens.
These appear to be on topic.
Check this out Jeremy. No need to jump the gun here.
http://forums.dangerouslyhardcore.com/topic.php?id=18
You are all making nutrition too complicated
Eat the way your great, great grandparents did, back on the farm
Train your ass off
Repeat
Thanks for clearing that up guys – I was hoping it was just a mix up. Now I can say it… nice article!
I do my cardio 6:15 to 7:15 am should i wait till 11:00 to eat
I think an article like this, published on this site is hitting the intended target audience. Id venture to say that the majority of people who read this sight take most of these articles as gospel. It delivered its intended “shock” value and has people jumping all over the bandwagon. Then you have a group of people who look at things skeptically, no matter how much science is cited. Then you can see that holes can be poked into any argument for/against the intended topic of discussion.
Like someone said, people are making this too complicated. Eat less, workout more.
Remaining neutral:
Do those of you whom disagree with the author have evidence to support your position? Do you have evidence that refutes his position?
This is pretty “against the grain” in the weightlifting/fitness/bodybuilding world.
boy, this article is gonna piss off a lot of people.
The problem I have with studies in nutrition etc is that there are so many factors – age, genetics, what did they eat, how much, when, training methods, etc – that any conclusions should be taken with a grain of salt. I’m not saying studies are useless but I am saying observation matters. Personally, I can attest that I function poorly, both physically and mentally, if I do not eat within 60-90 minutes of waking up. If I am trying to lose weight, I will keep this article in mind but otherwise I will stick to my breakfast.
Let me ask a basic question: Why does hunger spike in the morning? Why does the body demand food at a greater level upon waking than at any other time? I submit that the body is smarter than we are so unless you are trying to get very lean (ie unnaturally so) any signals it gives you are meaningful.
I think people are really missing the boat on the concept of this article. No one is telling you to “skip” breakfast altogether or even “skip” a meal. The plan just calls for you to wait a couple hours after waking then start your nutrient intake for the day as usual. I have been following this protocol for a couple weeks now and have read and re-read the articles on Kiefer’s site to fully understand everything, and I have no complaint’s thus far.
@Tim Gritzman: You seem offended by my writing and it’s interesting that you offer no refutations other than playing the what-I-say-makes-sense angle, which, at it’s very best, is worthless. I do my homework, apply what I learn, observe, tweak as necessary and improve athletic performance and I make it easier. No one can refute that.
You make a lot of assumptions in your rant (none of which are warranted) and seem bent out of shape over the recommendations. I can’t really figure out why unless it’s causing you some sort of embarrassment. If so, I’m not going to apologize. But what I will do is continue to provide the research to back my claims and present the people who benefit.
Beyond that, I don’t care who employs my methods or who disagrees. If you want to try it, awesome, you’ll get results faster. If not, take the slow boat to China…no skin off my back.
This is a long list of comments and I can’t afford the time to check back and respond anymore for this one article, but I want to thank the people with an open mind. A special thanks to all the nay-sayers: without you, this would be no fun at all.
This morning I paid attention to when I really get and when I do finally eat. I’m sure I’m like most people; I get up, go the bathroom, make coffee, shower, drink coffee, check email and cook breakfast. Today was just as normal as any other and I ate 90 minutes after I got up. I’m sure if most people really looked at this they are doing the same thing. Kiefer is saying to wait a couple hours but my guess is most people already are doing this and don’t even know it. If you do AM cardio I sure you are.
Who’s the one making assumptions? I just don’t like that you push the stuff out as dogma or as if you’ve discovered some magic oversight or “hole” in nutrition/dieting principles, or that because you can search PubMed, you’re somehow the only one who knows the “truth.”
Look, your methods may work. I can also come up with about 50 other ways to accomplish the same things your accomplishing — in the same time frame. There are no fast or slow “boats to China” in this industry.
Given adequate protein intake, just about any strategy will work. I just don’t like seeing people misled, and that is what I believe you’re doing. Don’t shrug off the question(s) I posed to you:
Quite simply, do you have any isonitrogenous or isocaloric studies to validate your claims — to prove that your methods work BETTER in a calorie- and protein-controlled environment?
Please post them, if you do. What you’re posting causes me no embarrassment whatsoever, nor do I have an agenda (please don’t resort to ad hominem). I just don’t like certain assumptions you’re making — and taking credit for — being pawned off as the best or optimal way.
@Tim Gritzman: I’ve presented the research and it defends the case. In particular, the studies comparing early feedings to late feedings were isocaloric. Someone said I let you off the hook earlier with your better-than-thou tone and maybe I did.
I’ve read some of your articles on the web and I see the problem. You regurgitate. You’ve read stuff in compilations and books and you repeat it over and over again. I couldn’t even find anything interesting or up to date in your writings, although you do write well. Even your comments here are, at heart, of the vanilla genre: eat less, exercise more. Most of what you espouse is the basics for general people. I work with people competing at an extreme level and if I can get someone ready for a figure competition or bodybuilding show with only 7 total hours of training per week while everyone else performs 20 hours—both over a 10 week period—I’d say I must be doing something right. And the fact that top athletes seek my expertise is an experience that I am sure is foreign to you.
If I were a betting man, I’d bet that you’ve probably never worked with anyone and only write about it. If you have worked with people, you likely worked with the obese who can almost do anything and lose weight, where the variables do little to affect the outcome. When it becomes challenging, you may adopt a mantra that I hear often from mediocre trainers: “My clients may not see results, but they all tell me they feel better.”
You’re what, 24 years old? I’ve been researching in med libraries since you were seven. You don’t have the experience, you don’t have the knowledge and it seems you have yet to develop the logic skills necessary to comprehend the simple evidence. I’ve presented the research in favor of my position—solid research—including evidence of hormonal cycles used to form the hypothesis and application studies to prove the method in practice. The burden of proof has been met; where is your refutatory evidence? That you seem too obtuse or unable to understand the applicable research is not an issue I can address.
@Andy: In the Protein 2.0 article, I was not talking about a diet in which one’s main goal is fat loss. My point of departure was maximum anabolic signaling with minimum catabolic signaling as it pertains to muscle growth (or lean tissue in general). You can put all the pieces together for various goals with the information on my site and here.
Coffee with sprints: sounds like a good idea to me, so good, in fact, it follows what I have physique competitors do in the mornings (well, the basic idea, anyway).
@Kiefer
I advised not resorting to ad hominem in my last post.
Yes, I’m 24; what did you do, google me? I also write for another website in a certain “voice” because they pay me to do so. I don’t regurgitate anything, and I certainly don’t have any articles I personally stand to profit from by selling people on my dieting methods. Obviously I write for the general populace in that venue; whom do you think that website caters to?
Eat less, move more is all there really is, unfortunately (for you?). Every single dieting strategy can be traced back to that simple concept. Everyone wants magic, but there really isn’t any — barring drugs, that is. And even those don’t work when they are haphazardly placed atop an already shaky nutritional/dieting foundation.
Top athletes seek your expertise probably because you seem to be well-versed in self-promotion — having a website called “dangerously hardcore,” for example — and because they perhaps don’t know any better. Expectation bias and confirmation bias of a novel stimulus can be powerful things, especially since your strategies are probably far removed from what the athlete is used to.
If you were a betting man, I guess you lost. Here’s a client of mine, two weeks out from the Knox classic in Tennessee:
http://s732.photobucket.com/albums/ww321/trgritzman/?action=view¤t=DSC05309.jpg
Trust me when I tell you his diet could not be any more different from the one you espouse.
I also have a D1 defensive end who will be starting on a probable BCS team this year, among others (try telling that guy to have only a cup of coffee, some heavy cream, and a half scoop of whey before a 6:30 AM, 2-hour long weights + conditioning session).
I find it funny that you pegged me for some “vanilla” trainer working with obese people considering my interests lie almost solely in sports performance and physique manipulation, NOT the anything-works overweight.
Please link for me the isocaloric study in question. I’d like to see the subjects, the training age/state, the n, the control, the duration, the sponsor, etc. Was it isonitrogenous? I’m sorry I’m having trouble pulling it from your list of EIGHTY-TWO references. Some would argue having 82 references for a ~1,500 word article doesn’t make you well-researched, it makes you ostentatious.
I don’t mean to sound “holier-than-thou.” Again, let me reiterate — since you seem to be missing the gist of my argument — I don’t DISAGREE with anything you’re asserting EXCEPT this: you’re presenting your strategies as MORE optimal than others, a faster “boat to China,” as you say. I don’t quite think meal (or carbohydrate) TIMING matters that much in the context of, say, a ten-week diet. Given certain other variables are the same, I don’t think it matters AT ALL. I would rather tailor that aspect of the diet to the individual client. In this case, I think it is YOU who is advocating the cookie-cutter approach. I have employed (and will continue to, given it’s warranted) intermittent fasting in the diet plans of my clients. As I said in my first post, many roads lead to Rome.
I could point out the difference between pure science and practical application, or the fact that you don’t really look like you even lift weights, but that isn’t really my style — that would be me copying yours. My age, my client list, what my degree is in (oddly, mine seems more relevant than yours), etc. have no bearing on this discussion — all that crap is superfluous. The crux of the issue, and what initially rubbed me the wrong way, is that you present “your” methods as the ONLY WAY: the holy grail of physique enhancement. Worse, you’re trying to pawn said methods off as new.
I understand the marketing value of being known for something, e.g., Dave Palumbo is the “keto guy,” and perhaps your livelihood even depends on you generating income off your consultations. Still, it smacks of hucksterism to shop your ways as better than everyone else’s. Surely you’ve been around the block enough — more than me, as you so eloquently pointed out — to realize that’s not actually true. Happy training.
Kiefer,
I just want to say Thanks bro. Thank you for all of your hard work and the shit you have to put up with. You embody the spirit of what EliteFTS has been doing for years – the free exchange of information. Since your initial article about backloading I have stopped eating breakfast and started doing what you said. Not only have I lost body fat, but my weight training, and Jiu-Jitsu performance has increased. You know what though, I forgot to take pre diet waist and body fat measurements and I forgot to write down exactly how I felt before. My results are purely based off observation, so maybe they aren’t real. Maybe like the Matrix of results I guess. But hey, at the end of the day, it’s better then no results at all.
@tim: I’m one of Kiefer’s clients and I actually have greatly benefited from Kiefer’s protocol. Sorry his methods seem to rub you the wrong way. I dont understand why you are so bent out of shape(butt-hurt)but its ok; I’m sure you will be fine.
I’m bascially eating the same foods but the TIMING is much different. Thats a simple change for big gains(in my case). You seem to dislike his blends(of protein as well as everything about Kiefer; his build- he weighs 240, his master’s degree- in physics.. do you have a master’s?) that he has put together with protein factory, why? Are you a trueprotein – guy? What kind/blend of protein do you suggest? I’m curious, sir.
I really enjoy skipping breakfast and back-loading my carbs. I have stripped off body-fat and gained lean muscle- all while strength training and @280lb both before and after, but with a much leaner physique.
No, not everyone will benefit as much as I have from skipping breakfast or carb back-loading BUT many will. Some people, for instance; football players or endurance athletes are a totally different animal, and they probably don’t care about how they look for the most part. They are not judged on their look nor are they in a weight restricted sport; they are performance only based.
This is just merely thinking outside of the box and if something as simple as this can help eliminate some body-fat, why not give it a shot? What could it hurt? do you have research to prove that it does not work? This is very cut and dry. He has research here that’s says yes and I can attest to it(as well as others).
You keep threatening to post “50 other ways” and that you could do _________ and ________ and show research on ___________.. but still you show nothing? why is that?
Where is your research to refute this article and/ or these citations/studies. How many times does it have to be asked? If you cant provide it, then you really dont have any reason to be so sad, mad and hurt over this bit of info that could simply HELP people.
BTW, I train on an emply stomach(besides coffee)on squat day and have hit numerous PR’s including a 1010 squat for 2 reps(just last week). I’m looking to go 1050 for a double next week. I will make sure to have a great CARBNITE the night before and maybe some cream in my coffee(the morning of) to ensure a GREAT session.
Best of luck to you and with your clients. How did you BBer end up placing?
@CK: Thanks. I guess I have only myself to blame: I forgot that I’m not supposed to feed the trolls.
Kiefer:
Loved your aritcle. As someone said it here, it might be like the bible or the constitution (don’t feel such a hero), but it brought me a lot of questions. These question are related to mass gaining along with a lot of fat loss (did I mentioned a LOT of mass gaining needed for football – running back ya know-).
1. I train very very AM (5:00hrs), cardio, and the next day weights (back n’ forth and so on for the week). So, if I wake up like at 4:00hrs at what time should I eat my “delayed” breakfast?
2. Sould I bounce back (reverse) the classic caloric intake cycle to? Like the big breakfast-small dinner for the small breakfast-big dinner?
3. Should I delay breakfast to on my cheat days?
Hope you coould help me improve my performance for next season (which starts pretty soon)
Thank you man. Let me tell you that I really enjoyed the article. Love nutrition theory, hate to practice it.
Hey Brian,
Thanks for chiming in here. First let me say I have no agenda; I don’t stand to benefit monetarily from me “winning” this debate (in stark contrast to Kiefer); and I’m not “butt-hurt” about anything. I have no “skin in the game” here, nor am I a “True Protein guy.” You’re right, I will be just fine.
Kiefer and I definitely AGREE about a mixed protein blend, e.g., whey and casein, which offers both the anti-proteolytic effect (casein) to ward off catabolism as well as the capacity to rapidly elevate plasma amino acid levels to stimulate anabolism (whey).
I do not have a master’s degree in anything, nor is that relevant to the discussion. My degree is in exercise science.
My guess is that altering your meal and nutrient timing allowed you to more easily eat less total calories, but more protein, which had a positive effect on body composition.
Brian, I know you’re going to vouch for your friend, but he’s not God. He can’t alter — ironically — the fundamental laws of physics: at some point, it becomes a math equation and 200 calories is 200 calories, and a calorie is simply a measurement of heat (energy).
This is why eat less and move more IS all there really is: you can only work on one side of the equation or the other; really the only two options available when trying to improve body composition are increase caloric expenditure (move more) or decrease caloric intake (eat less).
Everyone seems to think they can bend these laws through different dieting styles, but you really cannot. Given adequate protein intake (which, might I add, your friend Kiefer does a good job of explaining), almost any style will work. Which style to employ with any given client is a matter of personal preference of both the trainer and trainee, as well as logistical/practical considerations, genetic/hormonal predispositions of the trainee, training style/volume, etc.
Do you REALLY think front-loading vs. back-loading matters, over the course of a week, a month, a 10-week pre-contest diet? The client I linked before has all his carbs on a training day in meals 1-4, with his training session sandwiched smack-dab in the middle of those meals. If I transposed those meals with his evening meals, mimicking Kiefer’s preferred style, do you think his results would be markedly different — given the same protein and calorie intake?
I will tell you the decrement in performance from training in a fasted state is magnified by the total exercise volume, the total work output, the rest intervals, and the degree that the training taxes the anaerobic/glycolytic mechanisms. I would guess from your training logs that your training is largely anaerobic and ALACTIC, meaning you do not really use glycogen as a primary fuel source, and thus, are largely unaffected.
I am neither sad, mad, nor hurt; but nor do I have two weeks’ preparation time to amass 82 references to refute Kiefer. If you would like a thoroughly referenced rebuttal, then I’d be happy to write an article. Anyone who has ever researched anything in this industry will tell you hardly ANYTHING is cut and dry, it is really hard to find research that is unbiased and has relevant populations — most research is done on the elderly, obese, sedentary, and/or untrained because doctors in clinical settings have little interest in physique enhancement/manipulation/sports performance. That being said, please go look for yourself at some of the leaps that are being made in the sources Kiefer cited.
Kiefer has also yet to produce a head-to-head, isocaloric, isonitrogenous comparison of intermittent fasting/carb-timing vs. a more traditional meal frequency/schedule in a relevant population — let’s say, trained athletes — because THERE IS NONE.
I never said his methods didn’t work, I just said they didn’t work BETTER. I’ll be the first one to be unorthodox and “think outside of the box” if the situation warrants it. I DESPISE set rules in this setting, and as I’ve said since post #1, many roads lead to Rome.
Congrats on the squat PR. My assertion is that if I cloned you and then Kiefer got Brian Carroll A and I got Brian Carroll B, given all other variables controlled — especially total protein and calorie intake — I could produce the same results as he did. Hell, I’d even carb front-load you and then let you have decaf coffee with heavy cream before bed =].
As I stated above, my bodybuilding client is two weeks out (as of today). When Aug. 7th comes around, I’ll be sure to let you know how he places.
I appreciate the intelligent discussion. I really find it puzzling that people think there is ONE optimal answer to an elusive and magical hormonal/nutritional puzzle with regards to meal frequency, timing, fasting/feeding windows, total carbohydrate intake/timing, supplements, etc., that works for everyone, and lo and behold, Kiefer just solved it — and it’s never been solved before! He DOES present this way. Surely this can’t be the case. Thanks for reading.
Tim, if I understand correctly you’re saying that all that really matters is whether a trainee is in caloric surplus or deficit, and that the laws of physics determine the outcome.
It makes sense to me that this is true if the outcome we look at is whether the trainee loses or gains weight, but what about the composition of weight gained or lost? Trainee A and B may gain the same amount of weight over the course of the month, but the composition of that gained weight could be totally different. Does the hormonal environment of the trainees not have an effect? Couldn’t this environment vary depending on meal timing and food choices? It seems to me that that’s what Kiefer is arguing.
Please forgive me if I’ve gotten things totally wrong. My knowledge of nutrition and exercise science is superficial at best.
Tim:
I would actually love to see an article from you that refutes this. I only think its fair for you to do so since you think that you can disprove the above. It doesnt have to have 82 citations, but dont come half assed(and I dont think you have yet)and not have a good number of citations yourself.
As far as your degree– No, I dont think it is relevant, but you did bring it up, correct? So, I was just curious as to what yours was actually in since you dont think that his physics background is as meaningful as yours.
I’m not going to argue with you or get bent out of shape trying to get you to say Kiefer(I dont think he is– but he does his research and knows his shit like nobody I have met) is a God, or try to get you to say kiefer is right and you are wrong; I’m just telling you that what he has me doing WORKS.
like I said above, the only thing that has changed is the timing and skipping breakfast.
I do have a question for you though; do you think that the TIMING of post training nutrition is useless? And what you eat after training is futile?
I agree with you. there isnt just ONE way to get strong, huge, ripped etc, but there has to be more efficient ways to get there. Just like with training, there are many ways to get strong and jacked but some ways are just flat out more efficient and some ways are the long(insert china if you want, or Rome)to get to where you want to be.
Some trainers will have their clients eat carbs, some none, some only a little. Same with cardio and weight training. Some top trainers will have their clients do 3hours of cardio per day, but another would have them do 1.5 or less. Both end up in shape, but there is a good chance that one is being more efficient with their time in the gym, right? possibly? haha
Best of luck, like I said and dont be offended. I look forward in seeing your article and the citations the refute this.
Thank you Tom Gritzman. I’m a bit jealous that he responded to your words and not to mine. If you have the time please read mine concerning his lack of comprehensive health concern, and tell me what you think. I’m a 58 year old CFT who works in Bangkok and used to train several Division 1 guys and gals during their summers and after their college days. I also train bodybuilders and compete. I’m amazed to see Kiefer get published. Look at his first Logic Does not Apply, part 1…under the Logic heading he stated that “If the body waits too long between meals, it suddenly thinks it’s starving and begins to store fat…..” I don’t know anyone who understands nutrition who would believe this. Any lower division nutrition student knows that in low blood sugar the body goes into Fat Sparing, at the expense of lean mass. I asked him to comment on the fact that the average American male loses 4-6 pounds of lean mass after their 20th year…..due to lack of pushing and pulling with adequate intensity and being in low blood sugar too much of their life. He’s been too busy on his lecture circuit to respond to me. I have been reading and applying nutrition truths in my training business for many years. I personally know people with PhD’s who are also performance athletes who would disagree with Kiefer. I’m not really sure why I’m taking the time to get involved, but I’ve had my fill of articles that lack any comprehensive approach to fitness and health.
That’s 4-6 pounds of lean mass every ten years past their 20th year. There I go not proofing my writing in time.
First of all, bravo on a great post. I hope you don’t mind I posted a quick blog post about this (Breakfast Makes you Fat : Kinda) and a few other studies I found.
Secondly let me add that I’ve never had better success with dieting than when I began to skip breakfast. I was sooo afraid of melting away because i heard you’re in a catabolic state that I used to eat a ton at the breakfast table. Now I hardly eat anything and at most I down six or so eggs – It seems a little protein and fat isn’t the end of the world and may actually be a good thing —> High Protein Breakfast good for Weight Control
I’ll even workout albeit at a very light pace. Sometimes just playing some frisbee golf before it gets too hot out is perfect and I’ll do it fasted.
The trick is not to over eat when you do sit down at the table. This is actually easier for me than when I ate a lot of starches at the table for breakfast. Blood sugar would spike, insulin would pound it down and I’d be dying for some junk.
I think the old adage of eating a huge breakfast served a very logical end when it was pushed so hard. Back in the day when you worked in the field until sundown you HAD to stuff your face,.
Ever since then Kellogg’s has made it their goal to keep people believing you still should.
Anyhow thanks for such a great quality blog guys!
Nice article, definitely.
Tim, I am far less educated than you or Kiefer or Brian both academically and in experience. I mean its not even close. I am a lowly aspiring meathead who isn’t even that strong. But I will speak up here because I feel some of your statements are so ridiculous I just cant help but speak up.
Above you stated and I quote, ” Brian, I know you’re going to vouch for your friend, but he’s not God. He can’t alter — ironically — the fundamental laws of physics: at some point, it becomes a math equation and 200 calories is 200 calories, and a calorie is simply a measurement of heat (energy). This is why eat less and move more IS all there really is: you can only work on one side of the equation or the other; really the only two options available when trying to improve body composition are increase caloric expenditure (move more) or decrease caloric intake (eat less).”
Therefore you believe, doesnt matter when you eat just what you eat. You have gone out of your way to make this loud and clear.
Kiefer, has this funny notion that actually eating certain macronutrients at certain times of the day can improve performance compared to eating whatever whenever. He believes there are specific times when you should eat certain macronutrients and other times you should try to avoid them. Craziness I tell you, the man must be mad from reading to many research articles.
However, lets use the clone example. Tim trains Clone A, Kiefer trains Clone B. Each clone performs the exact same weight lifting regimen for 10 weeks at 4pm daily, and eats the same 5000 calories per day. Each clones diet consists of 30% fat, 40% carbs, and 30% protein.
Now clone A following Trainer Tim’s advice says, fuck it, doesnt matter if i front load, end load, whatever cause trainer Tim said so. So everyday for breakfast I am eating my entires day worth of protein as soon as I wake up. Then for my post workout shake I am consuming my entire days worth of fat and carbs because again, doesnt matter when I eat, just how much I eat.
Now we move onto clone B who actually eats according to Kiefer’s wild ideas of nutrient timing for the entire 10 weeks.
Tim, do we expect these atheltes to be able to perform at the same level after these 10 weeks?
Obviously its an extreme example, however, as you stated above a calorie is only a measure of heat, nothing more. That is what I would call extreme. An extreme lack of understanding regarding the complexities of the human body and the number of variables that diet can alter in its performance.
Great article, Kieger… I can offer some medical insight on here… One week ago I did some lab testing and on the reading it appear I have a irregular level of bilis on my body. I was doing cardio for 2 week as fast I wake up 6 am (without eating anything) I then ate at 9 am…. Sorry about my english.
the bottom line for me is that I have never felt or looked better since skipping breakfast. I used to eat it compulsively. My only exception is when I am going to train within an hour or so of waking up. Another exception: protein and fat. I think the carbs are what throw us. Eggs with some cheese in the am and I’m good to go.
Wow. 82 citations in 14 paragraphs – that has to be some kind of record! The “slight-of-hand” [sic] here is how you pieced together (so many!) other people’s thoughts to create an “article” and pass it off as original thought.
Gritzman is KILLING you in this debate – asking pointed questions and requesting specific citations. Yet your best response is something along the lines of: “Tim, you’re a jerk.” You claim, “People that [sic] are either malicious or ignorant hold the diet and health industry hostage.” I suggest that a third category exists to include people like you: delusional. I love how you casually throw in “all metabolic arguments aside” and proceed as though the whole world bases an argument on observation. Metabolism IS the argument, yet you conveniently shove that aside to spout your half (I’m being generous here)-truths. And since you’re so big on observation, here’s one to save you from embarrassing yourself with a transvestite again – the tranny’s the one with the Adam’s apple. You’re welcome.
Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to go eat another breakfast.
wow – you guys love to argue – here’s a great nutrition strategy :
Eat clean, eat big, lift big, push a prowler, and F*ck hot chicks.
your welcome ;)
Hi kiefer, I’ve enjoyed reading your articles and employed carbbackloading for 2 weeks and have now transitioned into carb nite as I want some serious fat loss in the next 4 weeks. I bought the book and read it but noticed you don’t mention anything about skipping breakfast in the book. Would skipping breakfast accelerate fat loss as opposed to having 3 fried eggs, 3 fried bacon rinds with fat on, pan cooked with 1tsp canola oil and a black coffee with cream
Please ignore my last post. Typo in email field.
Hi kiefer, I’ve enjoyed reading your articles and employed carbbackloading for 2 weeks and have now transitioned into carb nite as I want some serious fat loss in the next 4 weeks. I bought the book and read it but noticed you don’t mention anything about skipping breakfast in the book. Would skipping breakfast accelerate fat loss as opposed to having 3 fried eggs, 3 fried bacon rinds with fat on, pan cooked with 1tsp canola oil and a black coffee with cream?
Thanks !
@ Gregory Waldrip
Wow you really need to work on your reading comprehension and not jump to conclusions. You posted……
“Look at his first Logic Does not Apply, part 1…under the Logic heading he stated that “If the body waits too long between meals, it suddenly thinks it’s starving and begins to store fat…..” I don’t know anyone who understands nutrition who would believe this.”
Go back and read the article. What you posted that he supposedly asserted is, in reality, what he was refuting. You would have noticed that had you read just a little further. Sad that you’re so quick to jump to conclusions that you can’t even read the entire article. You only succeeded in making yourself look like an ass.
Anecdotal evidence: Last May I decided to quit eating during the day as a personal experiment on my health because I had always thought the whole breakfast/frequent meal debate was not accurate — or at least too oversimplified. Since May 2010 I have been eating my first meal after 6 pm and usually later than 9 pm; I typically have up to 2 – 3 “meals” in the span of 3 or 4 hours and sometimes my last meal is minutes before I go to bed. I neither keep track of calories nor macronutrient intake.
What I noticed after about a week when I started to get used to the change was that I felt more energized throughout the day. Initially I was worried that my training would suffer but in fact it did not and I have even been able to train harder. If you doubt I would have the energy to do this, remember I did not stop eating; I only changed when I eat.
It is my feeling that humans have only started eating more frequently for the last few thousand years due to agricultural practices; and in the industrialized areas only just the last hundred has hunger been almost completely eliminated. For the majority of his existence man has mostly lived in a constant state of hunger. Maybe hunger is not such a bad thing and has some benefit to it.
After eating this way for over 7 months I feel it is more of a benefit than a hindrance to my health. I notice that I do not get hungry in the morning anymore — in fact, I do not even think about food until well after dark. I do not feel groggy due to insulin fluctuations. I have more energy and focus throughout the day. Not only that but my cravings for junk food have vanished. I dropped 15 lbs in the first 3 months though I cannot tell if it was mostly fat except that I have become noticeably more “fit looking” to my family, friends and colleagues.
If nothing else I like this lifestyle because it leaves me more time in the day to do other things; rather than have to take time for meals I can go train or be more productive at work. Plus, it just feels more natural to spend my evening enjoying my food rather than stuffing it down my gullet throughout the day just so I can rush back to whatever task I had to deviate from in order to feed my already over-bloated body….I hear the dinner-bell ringing now.
Kiefer,
Brilliant article, it’s refreshing to see someone fighting for something other that what is considered to be normal. For me, I found this page because I was searching for some reference to skipping breakfast being healthy. I had a feeling that it was better to skip but really needed some hard evidence. There is a CRON practitioner in the UK, Dave Fisher, who has been practicing CR for the past twenty years, looking further in to his case I found he skips breakfast.
Considering he has the body a fit teenager and does absolutely no exercise it stands to reason that your argument that growth hormone levels raise has some real legs. Indeed, the same place I found this information there was a study in to how growth hormones could make you live longer!
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1145489/Both-men-51-follows-restricted-diet-hope-staying-young-Has-wasting-time.html
Thanks mate, brilliant article.
Great article. I haven`t been eating breakfast for 12 years now and believe me I REGRET IT!!!
So many trolls here….makes me feel like I’m in an old “Ernest” movie lol. So I’m a huge fan of your articles Kiefer. All of my friends and even my gym owner have taken your articles and used them in their lives and they have ALL benefited. Your backloading diet is amazing. My gym owner said that he could pig out on pizza and ice cream and still lose weight. That is saying something right there. Thank you for sharing your findings and research. You are helping a lot of people out. Even the trolls……. so much built up anger and need to express how large their e-penis is….. without this article….they might have shot themselves. Thanks man. Peace :)
I’m giving this a try… I love breakfast, but I will push it out 2 hours if I can reap these benefits. I had a few questions though:
1. What if you are lifting in the morning, should you eat some oatmeal, with blueberries and almonds (this is what I usually eat) or should you workout on an empty stomach and just eat after?
2. Can you have coffee within the first 2 hours of waking, or would that trigger a release of insulin?
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/3092383.stm I eat breakfast so I feel full and am not tempted to pig out later.
Sorry but I agree with Tim Gritzman….how ever I am not an expert just a 50 year old trying to lose weight eating sensibly by having my calorie intake monitored and exercising 6 days a week, with meals spread over the whole day.
At present I am losing weight and dont feel tempted to graze during the day on bad food choices
I realize this post started well over a year ago(but anyways). First off – VERY ENTERTAINING! This made like 2 or 3 hours of my work day fly bye! 2nd – I would have to repost what I saw but I do(in light of the “nothing new” controversy) recall seeing Keifer post his diet similar to others but with(in my words) tweaking. That being said he’s mentioned there are other ways. You want breakfast? Have it! I never ONCE seen him post that this diet is the only way to go. If you want to try it – he’s got the knowledge and research to help you do so.
Bottom line: If it WORKS for you keep it up! If it DOES’NT then try something else. You gotta remember something about the “common man” or society>>> We really don’t care WHAT YOUR DEGREE IS. Sure it’s a start but YOU GOT TO PROVE YOURSELF. It’s just like job hunting. You read a job add and what does it say? A(certain) degree in whatever and WHAT ELSE? A minimum of + years of experience. Why? Your study does’nt mean a thing to them if you cannot APPLY what you’ve learned.
In light of the debate between Keifer and Tim: You both are successful. You both have clients that back you up. Tim could have been a lil more polite from the get-go(Sorry Tim, but you did push first :D) and that would make anyone’s response a lil huffy, but Keifer’s plan -original or revised- is working and WHAT WORKS IS ALL WE CARE ABOUT.
You say that leucine stimulates insulin release, does this mean that it would be detrimental to take leucine whilst trying to lose fat via the carb nite solution ?
@Jonathan. If you have’nt seen it already I saw somewhat of an answer to your question on dangerouslyhardcore.com. Keifer advised a guy to only take leucine after training and only then. Do not take it on your off days. This may pertain more to carb back-loading but in my opinion as long as it’s “post training” it’s a safe(if not recommended) bet. If you are not working out with carb nite then don’t take leucine.
I seriously love how ppl give Kiefer a LOT of shit since he goes against the shitty grain in our field. This IS Elite FTS, is it NOT? just checking. oh and heres another check: who’s reccomendations does Brian Carroll, Jason Pegg, Julia Ladewski, and I believe a few other ELITE FTS athletes follow? Kiefer? A LOT of what passes for info in this industry, even at a college level, is just unproven bullshit. I have a degree in Fitness Development. SO FUCKING WHAT. The shit I was forced to learn was so wrong it wasnt even funny. Having a Kines degree doesnt guarantee you know a damn thing. It means you learned what bullshit others passed off as their own; I know, 90% of the ppl in my major seriously thought that a calorie is a calorie. What are we, fucking ovens? Last i checked im not. I gotta say, Id like to think im unbiased, but that would be an outright fabrication. Kiefers info is ALWAYS backed up by facts and real-world data. Speaking of which, the shit that is passesd around as ‘knowledge’ in the fitness industry is what? Conjecture at best from an observational (and probably biased) study? ONE? His shit works. Other shit works. From what ive seen, his works faster and better. im not gonna reply to any derogatory shit towards me, but iIF you really dont think this works, then TRY IT. EXACTLY THE WAY IT IS MEANT TO BE. DOWN TO THE FUCKING TEE. and if it doesnt work for you after doing it perfectly, then you have lost nothing.
Its always annoying to read people arguing using theories, research, ‘facts’. At the end of the day the proof is in the pudding. So if you have weight to lose, try skipping breakfast for a couple of months and see what happens. Plenty of people have done this and from what i’ve read, most have lost weight.
Facts for me, I’m not overly active, about 20 kilos overweight even though I stick to 1300-1500 calories, and I’m rarely hungry in the morning. I’ve always forced breakfast down my throat because nutritionist warn of metabolic armaggedon if you don’t eat it.
So as of today, I am skipping breakfast (which usually makes me ravenous by 10.30 anyway).
I skipped it this morning and didn’t feel hungry until about 12.30. Will my body go into starvation mode, will I just lose muscle and end up slowing my metabolism even more ? Stay tuned..
Are your sources all really that credible? Did you consider the stages of starvation? Keto acidosis? Breakfast is exactly that “breaking the fast”. Your body is in starvation mode. That only will slow your metabolism over time.
Your sources are all very outdated also. Nutrition information changes dramatically and regularly due to increasing research. A lot of the old stuff has been proved redundant.
Wow. I just found this article and am impressed with it – there are many people who simply aren’t hungry first thing in the morning. I’m one of them. I have found that forcing myself to eat an early meal tends to make me have more cravings throughout the day. I eat a high protein/low carb meal around noon – hours after a workout – and though I do not seem to be losing WEIGHT very fast, I am losing inches and getting stronger – which I was having trouble doing when I was eating early. When it comes to health and fitness, I tend to look at the experience of people with similar circumstances who are achieving or have achieved their goals. I don’t care about stupid studies. I care about what people actually experience. Great article! I am sharing it.
What about just eating 2 pieces of bacon and an egg for breakfast? With no carbs, would that be detrimental?
What about just eating 2 pieces of bacon and an egg for breakfast? With no carbs, would that be detrimental in any way?
Great article
John, Thanks for this article, and for the series. Just want to help fix some of the reference numbers.
When talking about the study results from not eating breakfast, the control vs experiment group, you reference 65-69. I was intrigued, and wanted to look up those articles. 65-69 actually reference the school studies. You’re looknig for 61-64 to find those breakfast weight loss studies.
thanks again!
Hello there,
I don’t have any knowledges in nutrition, so I will only say what I did myself.
I’ve been training 14 hours a week in gymnastics for 2 years eating less and less (down to 1200 cal a day, which actually hurt me quite bad). Then I discovered CBL, which was somewhat familiar ’cause it looks a bit like cetonic diet (which I tried and didn’t work as well as CBL, for some reasons). Fact is with CBL, I’m eating up to one 4 person pizza and 1 liter of ice-cream every night of training and I’ve finally lost those pounds of fat, and my abs are starting to pop out.
No scientific analysis nor anything else in that, just my experience. I eat more (a lot more, I mean a lot lot more) and really “bad” food, and I’m constantly losing weight and gaining strength, my poops are now fine, my stomach not angry anymore, I feel better and better and my chronic sleeping problems have vanished. The thing I changed (and that actually allowed me to eat those crap with good results) ? The simple presentation of CBL on Arnold’s website by a certain magazine editor (I don’t even have the book and only follow the general idea, with no breakfast, and appropriate timing).
I will just say that, what I couldn’t achieve with 14 hours per week of training and lower calories intake I now do with only 8 hours of training eating tons of shit (pizza, ice cream etc, meaning I’m also a lot less frustrated about food and I’m actually happy to go training ’cause I feel I’ll reward myself afterward and it is actually merited !).
Thks Mr Kiefer, this quite litteraly changed my life, I’m stronger and more fit than I’ve ever been, and my marathonian friend is benefitting from it a lot as well !
@Dietetic student:
You obviously need to do some reading in biochemistry. The ADA agenda that’s being shoved down your throat really isn’t serving your knowledge base well.
I. Ketosis and Ketoacidosis are two very different metabolic states; based on the volume of the ketones produced. (You ought to “PubMed”–as someone else said, here–the innumerable benefits of ketogenic diets on human health and longevity, in normal, non-diabetic persons, before making any more ignorant statements.
II. “New” research doesn’t translate to “better” research. But, alas… you’re an aspiring dietician, not a core scientist, so, I wouldn’t expect you to have been taught that there’s a huge difference.
And @Tim:
If you truly think that “All there (really) is” is Calorie Restriction–in terms of “weight” lost–consider the other fact that you conveniently left out:
Any time someone restricts calories, they’re doing so from all three macronutrients; carbohydrates, proteins and fat. Therefore, low-calorie diets are inherently low carbohydrate (or low fat, low protein) diets.
Your go-to excuse is a non-scientific one, if you’re not considering the confounders.
Hi,
I just found your blog and I really like your research backed claims as opposed to bro science. I’m studying engineering so I appreciate your physics background.
What are your thoughts on instead of skipping breakfast, starting the day with some coffee and a protein shake, then immediately go for a 20 minute swim session with 20 minutes in the sauna afterwards. Then shower, and go fill your body with good stuff and lift/HITT train later during the day. The protein shake idea comes from Tim Ferris’s very similar low carb diet which he recommends immediate protein consumption after waking up to boost your metabolism. Don’t remember the reason, but he had science backing his claims up as well.
I’m still a novice and am trying to gather information, but the plan above seems intuitive and seems like a good idea. Love to get your thoughts to see if I’ve got a solid plan. I’m 19, 5″6, 141 pounds. I have a a decent amount fat and am not very big, so I’ve got some work to do. Just included those details you needed it. Thanks!