The Great No-Breakfast Plan Experiment

The No-Breakfast Plan: it’s easy and saves time and money, but will it help you lose weight? Control your blood sugar? The only way to know is to give it a fair try, and I’m planning to do 2 weeks of strict No-Breakfast Plan eating. Yes, this means I’m going to be skipping longer fasting for a while. If the No-Breakfast Plan interests you, you are fully welcome to try it out and report on your results as a comment on this blog. 

In order for the test to mean anything, there have to be ground rules, and they have to be followed. By me, anyway. If you have never done fasting, or the No-Breakfast Plan, or a low-carb or keto diet before, you might modify the rules a little to help you comply. 

Rules for KetoNissa:

1. In the evenings, write down the hour of the last food taken. Ideally, that will be supper, but if I am hungry and want something else, even bone broth or a bullet-proof beverage, even a sugar-free cough drop, it must be written down.
2. A cup of distilled water in the morning will be the first beverage taken.
3. Plain tea and/or black coffee are allowed during the morning No-Breakfast Plan. Nothing else, not even bone broth or a bulletproof or semi-bulletproof beverage. I need the caffeine in the morning because I’ve had a lot of chronic fatigue lately, even on strict keto. You may not need or want it.
4. First meal of the day— the break-the-fast meal— cannot be earlier than 11 am. Noon is actually the preferred time, and 1pm or so is the latest I want to go without eating. I am not doing full days of fasting until this experiment is over. 
5. During the eating period of the day, eating at meals is to be preferred over snacking. All food must be allowed food on a keto diet. Snacking must be only when there is hunger, and bone broth or bulletproof beverages is to be preferred over any other snack item.

Rules for other participants

1. You do not have to follow a keto diet plan if you prefer not to. It is preferred that you follow a diet that you believe to be healthy in some way.
2. If you are on meds particularly, consult with your doctor about any modification. Remember that things you read on a blog are not medical advice, and certainly not medical advice tailored for you.
3. Do not substitute juice or fruit for distilled water in the mornings. Juices and fruits contain calories and carbs— not what you want on a No-Breakfast Plan.
4. If you feel horrible on the No-Breakfast Plan, or constantly hungry, eat a little something. You can always try the next day to hold out until later. 
5. It is probably not best to start a keto diet for the first time and start the No-Breakfast Plan as well. When you adapt to the keto, the No-Breakfast Plan is easier.

Remember: the No-Breakfast Plan is not about cutting calories! You may well eat just as many calories in your eating period as you would if you ate breakfast as well. You may even eat more, if you are being strict about getting low-carb real food for your meals. 

The No-Breakfast Plan works because it helps with Insulin Resistance. Most obese people actually make too much insulin— even the ones that are Type 2 diabetics. It’s just that their bodies no longer pay attention to the insulin. Since extra insulin is bad for you in many ways, it’s better not to trigger the body to keep making more insulin. Cutting down your eating opportunities— by the No-Breakfast Plan, by not snacking or eating fewer and better snacks— is one way to cut down on the unneeded insulin your body may be making.

Normally, times of fasting actually make people a bit more energized and alert. Some people find that that studying in the morning before any meal is eaten helps them remember what they study, while studying in the evening after a heavy meal makes them retain less information. Remember: the No-Breakfast Plan is something you do to make yourself feel better! It’s not a self-punishment for bad eating habits, and should not be painful or hard to do. 

I am starting the No-Breakfast Plan Experiment next Monday, September 10th. I will update my blog readers about the experiment's results on this blog.