Should You Eat Breakfast if You Aren’t Hungry?
By Annie Gager, MS, RD
April 9th, 2024
We all know the saying “breakfast is the most important meal of the day,” but is this really true? Time and time again, I hear so many clients tell me they don’t feel hungry in the morning and decide to skip breakfast. As an intuitive eating dietitian who teaches clients how to rely on hunger/fullness cues, I discourage patients to habitually eat when they aren’t hungry. Buuuut I also know that things like coffee, being overweight and other dysregulated hormones can result in us not responding normally to our hunger cues.
Hunger Hormones
The human body produces a plethora of hormones. Hormones are messengers in our body that send signals to our organs, skin, muscles and other tissues. Many hormones are regulated by out dietary habits. The two primary hormones involved in hunger signals are ghrelin and leptin. Ghrelin is secreted when we are hungry and leptin is secreted when we are full.
Ghrelin is a hormone produced by our stomach when we have no food in our belly. It makes our stomach growl, it makes food taste more pleasurable, and helps to regulate insulin secretion to promote blood sugar regulation. Not everyone will feel physical symptoms due to various factors that can cause reduced ghrelin production. For example, when we consume beverages like coffee, our ghrelin levels are suppressed resulting in reduced hunger. Those at higher body weights produce less ghrelin, but may be more sensitive to the hormone. Disrupted sleep hormones and stress hormones can also mess up our bodies' ghrelin production.
If we are not responding to our ghrelin hunger hormone or we are suppressing it with coffee/caffeine, it does not just disappear. It will continue to build and build to only result in overeating at our next meal, heighten our cravings for fatty/salty/sweet foods, and ultimately make us hangry. Eventually we will need to respond to these hunger signals and find ourselves snacking all day and eating excessive calories. Skipping breakfast long term is associated with excessive weight gain resulting in obesity which can eventually lead to an increased risk for heart disease, diabetes, osteoarthritis, various cancers and can lead to premature death and substantial disability.
Choosing Protein in the Morning
With that being said, I will ALWAYS recommend my clients choose to eat something (even something small) rather than nothing within 1 hour of waking up. Choosing a high protein breakfast with anywhere between 15-30 grams of protein will result in reduced cravings throughout the day, increased our metabolism, and help to promote satiety.
Some examples of high protein breakfasts include:
Whole wheat frozen waffles with peanut butter, ground flaxseed, and pepitas
Plain Greek yogurt with granola, berries, honey, and sliced almonds
Protein shake and a banana
Egg/egg white scramble with veggies, whole wheat toast and mashed avocado
If you begin to include breakfast into your daily meals, you will likely find yourself regaining those hunger signals which is a good thing! That means your body is burning calories efficiently and is asking for you to feed it! Instead of ignoring these signals, fuel your body with the right foods to keep you energized and feeling good.
References:
Xiumei M, Qing C, Pu Y, et al. “Skipping breakfast is associated with overweight and obesity: A systematic review and meta-analysis”. Obesity Research & Clinical Practice, Volume 14, Issue 1, 8 January 2020, National Institute of Health. DOI: 10.1016/j.orcp.2019.12.002
World Health Organization. “Obesity: Health consequences of being overweight”. World Health Organization, 1 March 2024. https://www.who.int/news-room/questions-and-answers/item/obesity-health-consequences-of-being-overweight#:~:text=Being%20overweight%20or%20obese%20can,endometrial%2C%20breast%20and%20colon
Hoertel HA, Will MJ, Leidy HJ. “A randomized crossover, piolet study examining the effects of a normal protein vs. high protein breakfast on food cravings and reward signals in overweight/obese “breakfast skipping”, late adolescent girls.” Nutrition Journal, Volume 13, Issue 30, 6 August 2014. DOI: 10.1186/1475-2891-13-80
