Weight loss expert dispels 'myth' around breakfast - with important advice

11 August 2023 , 11:20

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Dr Michael Mosley is the inventor of the Fast 800 diet (Image: Jon Cottam)

If you're hoping to lose some weight, whether that be for health reasons or just to boost your confidence, you might resort to the internet to find out the best way to do it. However, often we can be met with contradictory advice, making it a real minefield for those who are trying to slash their weight.

For example, many of us have been told our whole lives that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, so if you're trying to lose weight you might still want to incorporate a big meal first thing in the morning. However, according to weight loss guru Dr Michael Mosley, this is a myth.

Dr Mosley, who is the creator of the Fast 800 and 5:2 diets, said claimed that "skipping breakfast if you're not hungry isn't harmful and does not necessarily result in weight gain or increased appetite later in the day". The TV doctor is an advocate for intermittent fasting - when you stop eating for part of the day.

It turns out breakfast isn't necessarily the most important meal of the day (stock image) (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

According to Dr Mosley, extending your fasting window, the part of the day where you aren't eating, to later in the day, has lots of health benefits, including "improving metabolic health and increased weight loss," according to a blog post on the Fast 800 website. According to Dr Mosley, the idea that breakfast is the most important meal of the deal is "possibly the most widespread" weight loss myth.

He said: "Interestingly, it's widely thought that this idea originated as a marketing ploy from cereal brands, rather than being a science-backed truth. Eating breakfast should depend on your schedule or preference: if you wake up hungry, then eating a healthy, Mediterranean-style breakfast can be beneficial, and will help keep your blood sugars steady."

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The Fast 800 diet encourages people to try Time Restricted Eating (TRE), which enables you to extend your usual night-time fast by eating an early dinner, or skipping breakfast altogether to condense your eating period into eight, 10 or 12 hours windows.

Ariane Sohrabi-Shiraz