I am always very hungry in the mornings, so I'm a big fan of eating breakfast. Of course, what I eat provides real nutrition--a far cry from the refined carbohydrate examples that you've given.

Outstanding post as always.

I blame the breakfast phenomenon on inadequate dinner.

A good whole food protein like animal meat and eggs will keep on releasing amino acids for 10 hours, often more. Combined with a reasonable amount of fat, there's plenty of fuel for the body to do whatever it needs to do all day long (or certainly at least until early afternoon), as long as its ability to burn fat has not been compromised with a high-carb diet.

And there lies the rub. A body accustomed to carbs will be out of fuel upon waking and craving candy most severely. And if dinner's protein was incomplete or insufficient, proteolysis will be in full swing as well, producing a craving for protein (which is often mistaken as a need for yet more candy).

The evolutionary argument is most compelling. Getting a proper meal takes some doing and simply wasn't available to our ancestors when they rolled out of their beds (nests?). So it makes sense for our bodies to be in catabolic mode on waking. That happy jolt of morning cortisol puts us on our way to planning, hunting, and preparing the day's food, a process which would typically take at least a few hours.

I notice that even when I fast for an entire day, I am never hungry when I wake up, however hungry I might have been the previous evening. Midday, of course, is another matter entirely.

A few years ago, my mother starting dating and then living with a man who had been single for a while and had never felt hungry in the morning so always skipped breakfast and eaten whatever and whenever he felt like. He was lean when they met, then she started nagging him into 'healthy' behaviours such as eating "the most important meal of the day" and "low-fat" foods such as margerine and skim milk.
When I saw them recently, I noticed that he is getting a significant spare tyre around the middle. I dread to think what she's doing to his health, he was doing fine when he was a completely instinctive eater!

Ori Holfmakler, the writer of "Warriors diet" book claims that in ancient times it was slaves who were fed breakfasts, while warriors ate most of their calories at night.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EBrwRiSjd3I

Nice!

@Kat,
fasting is much less stressful then snacking through the whole day while beeing nailed to the office chair for sure. I always wonder what garbage my staff (especially the female ones) eat at ~every hour for 8 hours: cookies, chocolate, candy, etc. (and of course the delusive "healthy" apple here and there), and all this in addition to a cheap business lunch at noon and god knows what they had already for breakfast at home! Don't you think that is the very definition of stress to your digestive tract?
Btw, grazing "prey" is also ill more often.

@Peggy,
I think "formal" IF for children is not neccessary and may be even counter-productive. As long as they eat real food, they can and should eat 3 or even 4/5 times per day, basically how often they(!) want.

As a child(in the 70ies/beginning 80ies in Germany) I was eating 4-5 times per day food(!) and was lean.
As a teenager/young adult I was working as a carpenter, eating 3 times per day and was lean.
Now, many years later and with a more management related job (surely no physical labour) I eat 1, at most 2 times per day and are lean. 🙂

@Tomasz,
that actually makes sense. I think it's even reflected in my short personal nutrition history above. When I was a slave...ahem! I mean carpenter, I needed(!) 3 meals per day and sometimes it was still difficult to pack in enough calories not to starve.

Franco,

Intermittent fasting isn't just about staying lean, especially not for kids. Kids aren't ever going to gain weight if they're active and don't severely overeat grains and sugar. Even unhealthy kids don't have to gain weight.

I address the issue because as parents we can relax about meal times and frequency. We don't have to worry about stuffing foods down their throats at each hour. This is a real concern for a lot of parents. They worry that if their kids don't eat dinner that something is wrong with them. Yes, kids will often eat a whole lot and at other times they won't want food at all. That's ok and perfectly normal and even beneficial in some ways!

Peggy,

looks like we agree! That's why I wrote "formal IF" and "eat how often they want". That's basically what my childhood was about. There still was an emphasis on emptying your plate not to waste food on the family meals. After WWII-generation mindset of my parents I guess.
I didn't push it with my son. (not that it was needed - he got my genes for eating large portions).

Thanks for your answers!
I must ask though.
Let's say I'm training, and I'm not hungry all that often.
And even when I am hungry, I can't eat all that much, and I get full pretty fast.
So.. how can I make gains in muscle if I won't eat when I'm not hungry, it's a little problematic.

Guy,

in your situation I would cut out all bulky carbs (potatoes, wheat/grain-products anyway). Rice (not paleo but a safe starch) isn't as filling and easy to digest.
For proteins and fat: beef, liver and eggs, go light on the veggies (a green salad isn't very filling). Use pastured butter freely.
If this doesn't help, add a big quality whey protein shake.
And if you train with the right (read: high) intensity and pay attention to recovery as well (read: NOT everyday) your appetite should increase automatically.