I love diet hacks – simple ways to eat less that kind of make you feel like you are cheating the system. 
So here is a really simple diet hack for you that works for breakfast. Now, I’m not going to go into the whole Breakfast vs. No Breakfast argument because, well…it’s silly and a waste of time.
Instead I’d like to suggest the following:
BEFORE you have breakfast, or even start planning your breakfast, have a tall glass of water. Don’t ‘pound it back’ – just drink it at a normal speed.
This will give you time to A) figure out if you are actually hungry and B) Figure out If you actually even want to eat breakfast.
It will also make sure you are not confusing thirst for hunger.
This simple hack can save you hundreds of calories over the day, since the one thing that all the breakfast research DOES agree on is that eating a big breakfast leads to a higher total calorie intake at the end of the day…Of course people like to play with the stats and tell you that eating a bigger breakfast means you eat less for the rest of the day..but they are just playing with numbers .. Yes a big breakfast may mean you eat a little less at other meals, but consider if a 2,000 calorie breakfast makes you eat 150 less calories at lunch and 100 less calories at dinner, chances are it also STILL caused you to grossly overeat for that day. But I digress.
This hack is simple – Start your day with a glass of water. Give it 5 or 10 minutes and then decide if you are hungry. And, if you are hungry figure out what you want to eat.
All to often, I’ve been almost FINISHED by breakfast before I realized that I wasn’t really hungry in the first place – I was thirsty and going through the habit of eating in the morning.
BP
PS- Since it’s thanksgiving in the US right now, this Diet Hack will probably be very useful to a lot of people!
Tags: breakfast, calories, diet hack, Diet Hacks
This is SO true! I have realized that I’m bad about eating just because it’s time, not because I’m hungry. I’m learning how to deal with that, but breakfast was the hardest one for me. I’d been “brainwashed” into believing that I HAD to have breakfast or I wouldn’t be able to function for the day…Blah…
I usually put one scoop of whey isolate in a cup with about 16 ounces of water, drink it, and I’m good till lunch. It’s only 130 calories for 30 grams of protein (and 2 grams of carbs).
Been doing this for about a year…for hydration more so than diet, but it works for both! Great tip, Brad.
Yes, and for me it works even better if you have a cup of black coffee, no sugar, after the glass of water.
P.S.: If you have a tall glass of vodka it will kinda look the same and I guess you definitely won’t feel hungry for the day! Diet hack taken to “professional” level…
But seriously, the coffee stuff works.
Brad,
Nice hack! I think breakfast is way overrated. I like to skip breakfast a few times a week to help lower my overall calorie intake and it works very well.
Alykhan
Good hack. Too many times thirst is mistaken for hunger. You can use your technique for any time of the day when you are feeling hunger. Have a glass of water first, and then decide if you are still hungry.
Brad I love your site and have been doing intermittent fasting for over a year now. I have yet to buy your e-book but it is likely to be an impending purchase. I’ve referred quite a few family members & friends to your site and have been talking up the benefits of fasting quite a bit, as it took me from a healthy and fit 205 to a trim & cut 185 with under 12% bf!!
Love todays post, it peaked my interest as I’ve been drinking 16 oz of water firt thing in the am for roughly two or three years now, however not for the purposes you stated. I read\heard that the chinese have a habit of doing this to flush the system first thing in the morning, and that its just a generally healthy way to start the day. I regularly fast twice a week from breakfast to breakfast, and with my new job and new schedule recently adjusted my gym time from midday to 5:00 am. This means that two days a week I’m working out in about a 20 hour or so fasted state.
Long story short – now I drink 32 oz of water everyday as soon as I wake up, then hit the gym, and then down another 16 oz afterwards. Rather than start the day with sugary OJ (which I did for years) or even black coffee (which I have later) I start off with a sizable intake of h2o! Then i proceed to my largest and favorite meal of the day – breakfast! I’ve found this routine works best for me, as it energizes me for the remainder of the day if fasting, and/or powers me up after working out to get me through to a salad with protien at lunch. Not really familiar with the breakfast/no breakfast debate, however from my post you can tell I’m definetly an advocate of plenty eggs & turkey bacon in the am!
Yes, this is a good idea. I usually drink a glass of water first thing in the morning and then have breakfast later. Sometimes I miss breakfast entirely and one day per week I miss breakfast and lunch, drinking only water and green tea until the evening. I do like Jamie’s idea of having some whey in water first thing though to keep your amino’s up, but I have read research that suggests the concentrate is better than the isolate (not too keen on isolated anything really).
Hi Brad,
I have been a follower of your blog and ideas for quite some time now. I happened to run into this article. A professor ate twinkies regularly for two months and lost 27 pounds. He says, according to the data, only caloric restriction matters, very similar to what you say.
And, he also said the other parameters too **improved** such as bad cholestrol came down.
Would love to know your reactions to this article.
http://edition.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/11/08/twinkie.diet.professor/
Thanks and love to read your blog,
[...] but if you’re not hungry 1st thing in the morning, then why force it? Check out my buddy, Brad Pilon’s “Breakfast Diet Hack” [...]
It is true. You don’t have to have a breakfast to be lean. I usually skip mine. I have a glass of water like brad said, than I have a large coffee. After I am done with coffee, drinking it slowly I am not hungry. I mainly contribute my non hungry feeling in the morning to my low carbohydrate dinner. Something like chicken breast and salad. If you overload on carbs on your dinner day before, you are going to be hungry in the morning. It’s insulin related, and there is nothing you can do about it.
Anyway, when I finish my coffee in the morning I hit the gym without breakfast and feel incredibly light and strong. I don’t practice this routine when I go surfing, because I know I will need more energy to stay in cold water. I force myself to eat 4 – 5 eggs with some greens. It gives my incredible 3 hour staying power in the water, which I don’t need, when I am in the gym for 1 hour.
Hi Brad!
First of all,let me just say what a breath of fresh air you and ESE have been!! I’ve battled with OCE for a decade now, and it’s been amazing to break free from it thanks to your book!!
I have been fasting twice per week and seeing great results! After reading this blog entry, I followed your advice and you are right…after drinking water I’m often not hungry for breakfast at all! This is surprising to me since I used to feel like I would DIE and would also get really grumpy without breakfast, lol. I’m not finding that at all now though!
However, is skipping breakfast everyday AND fasting twice a week too much calorie restriction? I only have about 3 more pounds to lose to get down to my maintenance level, and I’ve noticed that since I’ve started skipping breakfast, my weight loss has stalled. I’m not sure if I’ve taken my calories a little TOO low (I can only eat so much for lunch and dinner after all!) or if it’s just because it’s those last few stubborn pounds? I am a very active female (28 years old)…I strength train and/or do full body cardio (kickboxing, plyometrics) six days a week.
I’m sorry to ramble on…any thoughts or suggestion you might have would be appreciated! Thanks again so much for restoring my healthy relationship with food…you have no idea how free I feel (actually, I’m sure you do, lol!).