The Best Breakfast is One with Lots of Cereal?
I got word from my buddy Brad Pilon (author of the popular Eat Stop Eat intermittent fasting ebook) that he was going to be on some morning show taped in NY. So I was excited that perhaps maybe the intermittent fasting message was getting some main stream attention finally. Then I saw the clip online of himself and a person who lost 60+lbs, and on the other side was a “Dr” and “Nutritionist”. That’s when the “Uh-Oh” went through my brain, as it looked like an ambush. Brad stated his approach very well and then it was time for the Dr and Nutritionist to jump in. I’ve never heard so many mainstream misconceptions or jumping the gun with “your metabolism will crash” or “you will lose all your muscle” and of course they kept saying “studies show…studies show”. Really? Did they say what the studies were? Of course not. Did Brad really get a chance to rebute about studies showing no decreased metabolism, muscle retention with proper exercise and increase of FFAs and GH with use of IF? Of course not. Brad kept his cool….but thankfully I’ll never be on TV as I would probably want to grill the Dr and Nutritionist on where they got their info…and that would probably never air.
So I really wanted to see what all these “studies” were…and I came across this one all over the place. This is the typical “studies” that are getting large scale media attention and being accepted as doctrine by MDs and Nutritionists out there. So let’s look at it.
A Breakfast Of Meat And Eggs Or Nothing At All Linked To Extra Weight
(Aug. 6, 2003) – Berkeley – People who skip breakfast or who chow down on meat and eggs for their morning meal are more likely to carry extra weight than those who eat other foods, according to a new study by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley.
Ok that sounds like something most mainstream people (who have never even heard of IF) would agree on. Wait…..did that say people who eat meat/eggs gain weight? Ok that’s a new one to me….Let’s look a little deeper:
The study, published Aug. 1 in the Journal of the American College of Nutrition, comes at a time when the proportion of American adults who skip breakfast has increased from 14 to 25 percent between 1965 and 1991. The number of obese adults in the United States has also grown, jumping from 23 percent in 1994 to 31 percent in 2000, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“More and more Americans are skipping breakfast as the pace of our lives becomes increasingly hectic,” said Gladys Block, UC Berkeley professor of nutritional epidemiology and principal investigator of the study. “What our study shows is that if the goal is to lose or maintain weight, skipping breakfast is not a good way to go about it. Skipping breakfast may be just as bad as eating a chunk of cheese first thing in the morning.”
So basically skipping breakfast increases over the years and that is the sole reason for the also increasing obesity? Really? Not the increasing amount of processed foods, high calorie junk food, less daily activity/exercise, and sugar everywhere? Cheese now makes us fat too? Wow…..Ok let’s go on:
According to the study, funded by Kellogg Company, the cereal manufacturer, people who ate ready-to-eat cereal, cooked cereal or quick breads for breakfast had significantly lower body mass index (BMI) measurements than those who ate meat and eggs or nothing at all.
So a study…..funded by Kellogg a cereal manufacturer….says that people who eat cereal are more likely to lose weight? Oh….eggs will also make you gain weight? I mean I can’t even start to tell you how confusing this is to me….it’s like those disclaimers on TV for medication that no one ever hears at the end…like “may cause you to be blind and your liver may explode”. More you ask….sure why not:
The study also included fruit and vegetable and beverage categories, but when those categories were compared to other groups, no significant differences in BMI were found.
Yeah because who would want those high calorie unhealthy foods (sarcasm noted…..also talking about whole food fruits and vegetables, not juice…as that is just a sugar bomb)
Breakfast skippers had the lowest level of calorie consumption among the groups, a finding that seems at odds with the high BMIs associated with this category.
One possible explanation, said the researchers, is that people who choose to skip breakfast may already be overweight and are trying to cut down on calories by skipping a meal. It may also be because overweight individuals in this group underestimated the amount of food they ate and reported smaller portion sizes than they actually consumed.
You know for such a well documented study, there sure are alot of questions left unanswered. So basically the researchers can’t tell how many calories people really ate, as it was up to them to report. (and I can tell you from personal experience, people really don’t know how many calories they are consuming).
Other authors of the study are Marion Dietrich, a UC Berkeley food chemist working in nutritional epidemiology; and from Kellogg, Sungsoo Cho, director of nutrition, and Celeste Clark, vice president of corporate and science affairs.
Need I even say any more…..you can read the whole study here and many other places.
So what gets me going is so called authorities on health, who are pushing these kinds of studies as doctrine without actually looking at what is going on. I am sure if you asked me that same question 10 years ago I would of said skipping breakfast crashes you metabolism, makes you lose muscle and so on….but then I decided to take things with an open mind and do my own research. Fortunately I found my own answers and understanding on what is really going on. I found the importance of enough calories without starving myself. I found the importance of strength training for muscle retention and metabolism. I found how the body can burn fat all day long with proper insulin control. I found that what matters is the daily calorie intake. What I didn’t find was the importance of a big breakfast or intake of high amount of grains as the ONLY way to lose weight. Can you lose weight eating breakfast? Of course. Can you lose weight on the Zone….Atkins….Southbeach….of course you can. But my question then becomes…..can you keep it off and are you doing a lifestyle that really supports longterm health and success?
Whether you want to eat breakfast or want to try IF some days, that answer is best left up to you decide knowing the facts (as that is all I encourage, giving you facts and letting you decide what you enjoy while getting results…which leads to a lasting lifestyle)…and not told by so called media or experts…..as they would have you buying Kellogg products all day long….and by their rules I should of gained 100lbs in the last couple years with no breakfast or eggs…..which I am pretty sure has not happened.
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I think anybody with a brain (so mostly people who read this blog, Art De Vany, Robb Wolf, MDA) needs to be weary of this show and not let it get to them too much via inciting anger (it did for me). As Mike showed, you would be arguing against the industry and as Gary Taubes likes to put it: “Bad Science”, especially when they refer to the scientifically biased studies funded by the industry itself. This is not the first time I’ve read or heard of this. The same ambush happened to Ori Hofmekler, author of the Warrior Diet by an M.D. and a nutritionist (I believe it was a fox network, but I could be wrong) who grilled him and did not let him respond because he was cut off by the network due to time constraints.
It is unfortunate though, that viewers who are unaware of IF should be introduced to it that way. I can’t tell you how many people I’ve encountered who look at my way of eating with disgust (Mike your IF-101 is awesome, I’ve referred people who will listen to that particular post) and/or shock. I explain the concepts to them, and realize its lost when they respond to me, “ok, so you’re starving yourself”. There are lots of ignorant and stupid people in the world, what can I say?
Just a quick note. i listen to my body more than experts, and this lifestyle works real well for me along with a lower carb Paleo type diet. I love sweets so i fall off the bandwagon dietwise but i still IF because that is Easy. Still losing FAT without Huge amonts of Cardio. Thanks for your website. Phil
Roelant – I think what saddens me the most, is for most people the DRs and Nutritionists are their experts….and because of that I fear they may not be getting all the right information nor access to other possibilities because of it. People just need to start to question anything and everything they are told, and try to find the real answers themselves/
Phil – I think you summed it up perfectly with knowing how to listen to your body more than so called experts….as it is your body and not theirs.
Haha I love it how the clinicians and nutritionists hold on to dear life what they were taught at school. But what I love even more is how they manage to ‘intepret’ the results to suit themselves. I read a study the other day that showed a correlation in eating red meat and colon cancer. So of course red meat gives you cancer right? Well of course there was also a correlation with a higher amount of vegetables and fruits eaten with the colon cancer incidence. But this was never mentioned, not that I actually think veges cause cancer, but it shows that people see what they want to see and dont consider anything else.
Kellogs are no better than the tobaco companies, seeking ways to convince the world of the value of their products in the face of a growing belief that they are not good for us. I would like to see them in court for peddling their sugar-loaded, processed garbage to our kids and trying to justify this to the parents with the junk science you have highlighted so well in this post.
I skip breakfast all the time! hell, I skip breakfast and lunch sometimes too! (once in a blue moon, gotta turn on that healthy gene expression). And I find that study very troubling indeed, I mean….as I write this I’m having a healthy dose of pineapple, strawberries, eggs, 2 sausages and grilled ham…..I’m a FatA$$!
This also ranks right up there with “Drink more Milk and you will loose weight” claim….which mainstream media and I bet many dieticians will tell you….based on what?? A patent and study funded by the dairy industry (although they don’t tell you about the other studies done that showed little to no results in supplementing dairy.)
“In three small studies (about 30 people in each), Zemel found that dieters on reduced-calorie diets who had three daily servings of low-fat dairy products lost more weight and body fat than those who consumed one serving or less.
“What we have shown is that increasing dairy intake within the context of a reduced-calorie diet significantly increases the amount of weight you lose and the amount of fat you lose,” says Zemel, whose studies were financed by the dairy industry and General Mills, which makes Yoplait products.
He has patented the claim that calcium or dairy products can prevent or treat obesity. The university owns the patent and has licensed it to Dairy Management Inc.
Still, other researchers are skeptical of the dairy claims. Another study of 54 overweight people, conducted by Jean Harvey-Berino, chairman of the department of nutrition and food sciences at the University of Vermont, found that consuming dairy didn’t boost weight loss for heavy people who cut calories.”
http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2006-03-08-got-milk_x.htm
Milk, it does a wallet good (if you are selling it)
I love cereal! You can decorate your Christmas tree with it, pack shipping boxes with it, collect upc’s off the boxes, throw it at people, insulate your house with it… wait… you mean people EAT it? Gross. Lol but on a more serious note, people always joke about the insect content is cereal. I would rate the insect conteent as probably the only GOOD thing thats in that cardboard that we are almost forcefed (aka cereal).
SOG – Let’s not forget all those cool toys inside so we can get our kids hooked on it as lifetime consummers! Wooohoooo. Maybe we need prizes in eggs instead….oh wait, they make people fat that’s right.
Think for yourself? Actually test theories? Goodness, what type of heresy are you preaching here!
I laugh when people quote “studies” just to wrap their ideas in authority, but when the establishment does it, people with “Real” expert status, (Dr.s so smart they’re on TV!) really do influence.
And they do. You should hear the crap I get from not providing sugary snacks as a staple of my two young boy’s diets. “Cereal is Good!” “There’s nothing wrong with _____ {insert crapola product full of chemicals)”. I’d get less grief if I beat them.
Hey man… the fat IS the prize in the egg
A “good” scientist should know that an association between 2 or more observations proves NOTHING.
During the period of time that “the proportion of American adults who skip breakfast has increased from 14 to 25 percent and the number of obese adults in the United States has also grown, jumping from 23 percent in to 31 percent” what else happened?
Our personal and national debt load increased, therefore increased debt is responsible for the increased national obesity?
Americans watched an increasing amount of reality TV – Is Survivor responsible for the obesity crisis?
What about Global Warming? Is global warming responsible for obesity?
What nonsense!
When a “good” scientist observes an association that he/she feels may have a direct connection, that is when the real science begins. Proper studies are conducted to test the hypothesis.
But when it comes to obesity, proper science seems to always take a back seat to hysteria and generalizations.
Sad
I don’t blame DRs, nutritionists, dietitians or any one out there trying to help people….as I know they are just speaking what they believe to be the truth (most all want the best for their patients/clients….and I also spouted the same things long time ago to people). I now (and more people need to) question the source of what they get taught about nutrition and the information that is presented to them through mainstream media as continuing education….which most times is mainly influenced by some bigger group/company with financial interest in the report/study outcome (like pharma companies, cereal companies, dairy industry, supplement industry, etc…).
We don’t need to change the mainstream perception of who is an authority….but we need to help those “experts” get the right info and start to question things for themselves and their patients/clients.
I love the quote in Ross Enamait’s article: Drop that Spoon
“If you currently eat cereal, consider eating the box instead.”
Makes me laugh every time I read it.
Wow.
A study funded by Kellog saying people lost more weight with Kellog products… hmmm?
I feel bad for the eat stop eat guy, poor ambushing victim. Same thing happened to Ori of warrior diet fame when he went on tv.
Crazy world we live in.
Later
caleb
OK I feel like I’ve been living in a cave after reading these post. I didn’t see Brad, or Ori, get ambushed but I can only imagine what it must have been like. I was surprised to read that someone mentioned they thought it was on FOX because they usually give fair time to both sides.
People gasp and usually have weird looks are on their faces when I tell them that I’m not eating today. Well, like today.
Usually one of my “bigger” friends are the first people to say at EXACTLY lunch hour “lets go dude, I’m starving” and then I usually reply (in a very sarcastic tone) “I think you’ll be OK if you miss a meal”. Little do they know they should miss several and they’ll actually feel better.
Its hard to convince people, who have never fasted or can’t imagine going 24hrs without eating, that your energy will soar after about twenty hours of not eating. Does anyone else experience that or is it just my ADD brain?
I don’t see the IF lifestyle gaining momentum. Its hard to market NOT EATING and its challenging (the first time). People want it easy. They want a surgery or to take a pill. Most overweight people I know live to eat not eat to live.
There has to be a way to make NOT EATING more sexy. More hip and a viable alternative to weight CONTROL.
jp
Sad but true that I had a conversation with a neighbor today whose husband is obese. She said they recently went for his colonoscopy and she mentioned that she thinks the doc should advice him to go for a band surgery as he has sleep apnea as well. Well, the doc said he is fine and doesnt need to do anything!!
I told he how bad the band stuff is but she didnt hear it, rather learn to eat properly and exercise. Lazy Fat asses all of em! Its far easier to have surgery then learn to treat your body properly!!
Hey Jesse,
that was me. Check out Ori’s Blog: http://www.warriordiet.com/blog/archives/49-The-FOX-Fiasco-How-The-Warrior-Diet-was-Ambushed-on-National-TV,-and-Why-Never-to-Trust-a-Fat-Health-Expert.html
or if that doesn’t work the actual link to the media coverage is here: To see the television clip, see http://www.mandjshow.com/videos/%e2%80%9cmj-investigates%e2%80%9d-new-dieting-trends/. My segment is halfway through the video clip.
not sure if these links are w/f/s btw.
point is, they regurgitated how everything non-IF is bad for you. The minute one of these ‘cookie cutter’ nutritionists hear something unconventional by today’s standards (if you want to call them that) they freak out.
I was at my thinnest when I had a period in my life where I skipped breakfast. Now, I find it difficult to skip breakfast but easier to skip supper. I am older and have issues like Hashimoto’s thyroiditis and perimenopause and probably some glucose metabolism issues, as I will get very shaky after a few hours and almost feel depressed if I skip breakfast. IF works better for me using the latter part of the day. I am a low-carber but I don’t think that has anything to do with things. I have permanently linked to your site. I should find the Eat Stop Eat site and link to that as well. Sounds like the guy could use some support.
[...] (ou você quer acreditar que os nossos amigos das cavernas começavam o dia com um saudável pequeno-almoço de cereais, cientificamente fundamentado por "investigação" financiada pela Kellog?). [...]
What about pop tarts, aren’t they part of a nutritious breakfast too?
Great post man, just goes to show you that people will believe anything without actually putting the work in to find out for themselves. On that note, I was in a Japanese supermarket (I’m in Japan) and we had a tour of the place to find out more about it. The Japanese woman explained how the Japanese loved fatty meat because it gave it more flavor. I was the only guy in the group and a woman behind me said “but that’s bad” and the others nodded and agreed. I kinda smirked, but didn’t want to say anything. I always fnd it funny that these studies are always funded by companies who are essentially just selling their products through “studies”. It’s about as ridiculous as a cigarette company having a study finding that cigarettes are actually good for you.
[...] A study funded by a cereal company suggests that cereal is the best breakfast choice for maintaining a healthy weight. Sound fishy? The IF Life thought so too and this week got to the bottom of this cereal mystery. [...]
As if it wasn’t bad enough with the cereal…Now Kelloggs is marketing…WHOLE GRAIN POP TARTS!!!! It’s enough to make me cry, or as Dr. Eades says…. JESUS WEPT!! Now all the sheeple are going to think that just because they are made with whole grain, that it isn’t so bad if they down a box or two.
Ingredients (direct from Kelloggs website)
WHOLE WHEAT FLOUR, ENRICHED FLOUR (WHEAT FLOUR, NIACIN, REDUCED IRON, THIAMIN MONONITRATE [VITAMIN B1], RIBOFLAVIN [VITAMIN B2], FOLIC ACID), VEGETABLE OIL (SOYBEAN, COTTONSEED AND HYDROGENATED COTTONSEED OIL WITH TBHQ AND CITRIC ACID FOR FRESHNESS)†, HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP, BROWN SUGAR, DEXTROSE, CORN SYRUP, CORN SYRUP SOLIDS, SUGAR, WHOLE GRAIN BARLEY FLOUR, CONTAINS TWO PERCENT OR LESS OF INULIN FROM CHICORY ROOT, MOLASSES, SALT, LEAVENING (BAKING SODA, SODIUM ACID PYROPHOSPHATE, MONOCALCIUM PHOSPHATE), WHEAT STARCH, CINNAMON, CORNSTARCH, CARAMEL COLOR, GELATIN, SOY LECITHIN, VITAMIN A PALMITATE, NIACINAMIDE, REDUCED IRON, PYRIDOXINE HYDROCHLORIDE (VITAMIN B6), RIBOFLAVIN (VITAMIN B2), THIAMIN HYDROCHLORIDE (VITAMIN B1), FOLIC ACID.
†LESS THAN 0.5g TRANS FAT PER SERVING
OK, Let’s see, Vegetable Oil ( hydrogenated of course!)
and I count SIX different sugars (they are really making sure they kill you twice)
And on top of it all, they have 20% of your daily fiber (ooohhh- give me 5 of ‘em!)
All I can do is shake my head in disgust.
Keep up the great posts!
Always a pleasure to read
Diana – sadly companies will still try to call all their processed foods “healthy” “whole grain” “organic” “green” “more fiber” or whatever they can just to sell more. They can also disguise and advertise things like “no trans fats” yet the ingredients clearly say hydrogenated oil. Best thing we can all do is just sit there and ignore all their claims, as we know what we need to be eating….not some company selling a product. I am not going to feel bad if the stock of Kelloggs drops.
Hi Mike,
I started fasting last week. I’m fasting 16 hours daily and eat from 1:30pm till 9h30pm. Until now I’m only feel angry near 1:30pm, going through my fast really ease. I felt sick one day after drinking green tea, while fasting, so I never did it again.
My only concern right now is what I’m eating during my eating window. I never counted calories in my life (and that is pretty impossible because I’m Portuguese and our food is a mixture of a lot of ingredients…). I’m eating what I usually eat but once I’m skipping my breakfast and morning lunch I think I’m not putting in my daily caloric need. Oh, and I’m eating more carbs that I should… =S
My goal is to loose body Fat (~5%) but the only weight train I’m doing is in classes (body pump, located exercises…). Can you help me and tell more or less what I should be eating?
Thanks,
Filipa Z.
Filipia – Calories is going to be important as you can lose weight but only when you are in calorie deficit. Also you don’t have to IF every day (as the “I” stands for “intermittent”), take some days off to eat more. Calorie averaging with high and low days can be effective way to lose weight. As for food choices, always choose healthy whole foods (ones that are made by nature and have been around for 1000s of years, not processed ones). Things like protein, fruits, veggies, healthy fats from olive oil/avocado/fish, nuts and seeds. Avoiding excess dairy and grain products like cereals, pasta, rice, etc. You might want to check out the book the Paleo Diet for more info on all that, but it’s pretty much is that straight forward. Focus on healthy eating first and then IF makes it much easier to get results.
These studies are part of the problem we face in America. I am always very suspicious of studies. And I am very suspicious of what doctors say about fitness. That may be wrong but what I have heard out of that community lacks understanding and in many instances is biased toward pharmaceuticals and surgical solutions.
The American Heart Association recommends less than 6 ozs of lean meat per day. Using that as a standard, a person skipping breakfast then eating 2 meals with 4 ozs of meat each is in trouble. Cereal for breakfast, promotes fruit consumption which is best for the morning. Fruits tend to help in elimination and fiber. Cereal is more fiber. The problem is that most people are getting too much sugar from cereals, unless they abstain from the sugary sweet stuff.
One of the early publications of The Kellogg Report identified 13 categories of illness and determined that 12 of the 13 were diet related. If that is true doctors would as a primary strategy, send their patients to a nutritionist for analysis and therapy. We all know that does not happen.
It’s more to it than breakfast. Keep up the good work
Arbie
As a former cereal junkie and a newbie to IF, I wish to testify that skipping breakfast has been the best thing for me. Before, I was so sluggish going to work and would be hungry by 9 or 10am if I ate breakfast at 6am. Now with IF, I definitely have more energy in the morning which reduces my coffee intake. I have been loosing weight and I feel alot better physically.
It is sad that the public is generally unaware that most of the products advertised as being good for us etc. are not, but it form part of an industry that is very commercially lucrative to the production companies who really don’t give a damn about our health. We as individuals have to take responsibility for our bodies and research and ask more questions and begin to think independently.
I love this website. It has totally reprogrammed my approach to health and fitness. I too have experienced the expression of scorn and the statement ‘You starving yourself!”. So I choose to not share it with others just yet. The general public is not ready for IF.
Keep up the great work!!!!
Oresa
Oresa – I am hoping that the general public is ready for a simple solution nowadays….as diets aren’t working….so maybe people are ready for IF….all we can do is share our experiences and let others try it for themselves. That’s another reason why I now refer to IF as Intermittent FEEDING, or even “condensed eating windows” (people are more open to that thinking….no negative images). People still need to focus on the eating part to get past the scariness of the word “fast”…but that is an uphill battle thanks to all those gimmick detox and starvation diets already out there doing damage.