Anima,
I like Tim Ferriss and I think that 4HB has many good ideas. But I think he is off base about breakfast. Here is what he says on page 95:
Skipping breakfast is also closely associated with overeating in the evening. Don't skip. Have no appetite in the morning? No problem. Keep it small and protein-rich, then: two to three hard-boiled eggs sprinkled with white truffle sea salt.
Tim is entitled to his opinion. But where is the data that supports his contention that skipping breakfast leads to overeating later in the day? That is certainly not my experience. I would not be surprised if some people, just starting IF, initially tended to compensate by eating more later in the day. But if you visit sites like the forum for Fast-5, one of the best IF sites, you'll find that this is a transient effect and that most people adapt to a lower net intake of food after a while.
Another advocate of not skipping breakfast is Byron Richards, author of The Leptin Diet. I agree with many points in Richards' analysis, particularly his advice to eat only 2-3 meals a day and avoid snacking:
The advice to eat five to six small meals a day or to snack between meals to maintain a steady blood sugar level and keep metabolism "stoked with food" is among the worst advice possible. It boggles the mind that a majority of doctors, dietitians, nutritionists, and fitness instructors promote this absurd approach to energy management. It is as if someone started a rumor and everyone accepted it as a truth...Glucagon's job is to maintain the blood sugar level in the absence of food coming in from the diet. This is normal...This is fat-buring time. The longer a person is in this fat-buring mode, the great the amount of fat he or she will burn...Snacking flips on the insulin switch at the wrong time, which causes the consumed calories to head for fat storage....Snacking or eating too often confuses leptin, and sooner or later this catches up with an individual. (TLD, pp. 36-38)
On the other hand, Richards goes out of his way to stress the importance of eating breakfast:
A high-protein meal can increase metabolism by thirty percent for as long as twelve hours--the calorie-burning equivalent of a two- to three-mile jog. A high-carbohydrate breakfast such as juice, cereal, waffles, pancakes, or bagels does not enhance metabolic rate by more than four percent, especially when eaten with little protein. This rule is especially important for individuals who struggle with energy, food cravings, and/or body weight...in general...anyone over the age of forty.
In his appendix, on page pp. 126-7, Richards cites some studies to support his advice. However, most of the research compared high protein breakfasts to high carbohydrate or high fat breakfasts. There was no comparison to intermittent fasting. I have no beef with the idea of eating a moderate to high protein diet. But there is no convincing evidence supplied by Richards that it must occur early in the day, or that meal skipping has any detrimental effects.
For the benefits of intermittent fasting on metabolism and health, check out Martin Berkhan's
Leangains blog. Martin references numerous studies that support the metabolic advantages of intermittent fasting.
Todd
