Anyone eat breakfast, skip tea?

[tattygrl]

I'm really keen to start 5:2 IF. I need to address my appalling eating habits and do something that is going to do my body good, and shift some of the weight I've gained. I'm convinced by the science behind this method.

However it seems that the most standard way of doing IF is to skip breakfast, and it's my absolute favourite meal of the day! Does anybody here eat breakfast, dinner and then skip tea? Any advice on this?

Fasting is a way of reducing your daily calories without having to take a kitchen scale out. Overall, fasting early or late doesn't affect daily calories. So feel free to do whatever is easier for you.
Fasting without calories reduction doesn't bring any weight loss. The science on this is pretty clear.

I’d feel it’s harder to go to bed fasted. I skip breakfast and then look forward to tea sleeping with a fuller belly. Plus I know the more tired I am the more likely I’d snack and give in.
But essentially it doesn’t matter

I never skip breakfast! I just have it about 10am and make sure it has protein. Lunch has complex carbs then dinner is much lighter, so protein and veg or small amount of carb. I have to eat this way or I can't think straight in the day and my job is mentally demanding. Dinner by 8pm then nothing.

All praise to people who can skip breakfast but that's not me.

Its a bit harder to fast until 10am since I moved complex carb from dinner to lunch, I am hungry so I am thinking maybe I need to eat dinner by 7pm, then breakfast at 9am, that way I still have a good fasting window in the morning when I am up moving around.

Not really answered your question sorry! I think I'd need to be going to bed very early which may work for you. My bedtime is between 9.45 - 11.45pm..I think my concern would be entering state of ketosis before bed you might have a rush of energy and not be tired?

I do, my eating window is 9am to 5pm which I think is probably pretty unusual. It suits me becuase I am awake early 5am and happy to eat early with my 3 year old, my DH commutes and works late so I don't wait for him to be back to eat.

I also read there are lots of health benefits to having your window early, it is more in line with natural circadian rhythms, eating protein before 10am is better for muscle building and there was a randomised control trial showing the weight loss benefits were greater, presumably becuase you have a greater time to burn off the calories before bed. I also find it easier to exercise having eaten.

I think most people probably don't do this becuase dinner is more of a social affair and they find it easier to skip breakfast.

https://www.mindbodygreen.com/articles/what-is-circadian-rhythm-fasting
When cortisol rises in the earlier hours, your metabolism is also up and running3 and you effectively use the food you eat as energy.
When cortisol dips later in the day, your metabolism simultaneously slows down, which makes it more likely that your body will store the food you eat as fat

Circadian rhythm fasting also considers the role of insulin. When you eat, especially if you eat a meal that has a lot of carbohydrates, your body releases insulin in response to the rise in blood sugar.
According to researchers from a study that was published in Cell2 in May 2019, if insulin rises at odd times—like when you eat a meal late at night—it can actually disrupt your circadian rhythm and increase your risk for long-term health problems, like type 2 diabetes and heart disease

Timing your meals with your natural circadian rhythm has also been shown to help improve inflammatory diseases, like rheumatoid arthritis (or RA) and inflammatory bowel disease11 (or IBD), infections, metabolic disorders12, certain cancers12, and central nervous system disorders, like Parkinson's disease13.
It's even been touted as a powerful way to combat internal and external signs of aging14.