Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a pauper. Who hasn’t heard this famous saying that has firmly settled in many people’s minds? But how much truth is actually behind the myth of starting the day with the largest meal and letting meals become smaller as the day goes on?

To be honest – none.

Why breakfast is still the most important meal of the day and how you can make it work for you is what I want to explain in this article.

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day!? Yes, but …

Let’s be honest for a moment: On the one hand, I encourage you to practice intuitive eating and to listen to the signals of your body. At the same time, today I’m presenting you with the idea that the portion size of your meals might depend on the time of day. Even though the title might suggest exactly that, nothing could be further from my intention.

Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, dinner like a pauper

Let’s take a closer look at this sentence. Essentially, it expresses two things: (1) Breakfast is the most important meal of the day and (2) it should therefore also be the largest meal of the day.

While I would immediately agree with the first part, I consider the rest of this statement complete nonsense. But what exactly is the difference?

Why breakfast is so important

In principle, all meals are equally important because they serve the same purpose: providing our bodies with the nutrients they need. So what makes breakfast special?

Let’s take a look at the English word itself: breakfast. Literally translated, it means breaking the fast. This means the first meal of the day has another important function – it gets digestion going again after a longer period of rest.

You can also picture it like this: with the first proper bites of the day, you light the digestive fire. A stone that is consciously set in motion, because your entire hunger and satiety rhythm for the rest of the day largely depends on it.

However, there is one important thing to keep in mind: the importance of a meal has nothing to do with its portion size. If you find it difficult to eat large portions in the morning, you may find the following points helpful.

How to adapt your breakfast to your body’s needs

Do you eat breakfast out of habit or hunger?

The first meal of the day is often simply a habit that we rarely question. Do you really feel hungry at 6 a.m. before leaving for work? Or could you actually wait a little longer, but it simply fits better into your routine this way?

Or perhaps your stomach is already growling right after you wake up, but you ignore this signal because you want to have breakfast together with your colleagues a few hours later during your break?

>> Tip: Don’t decide when to eat breakfast based on convenience or routine. Decide solely based on when your body clearly signals that it’s time for your first meal.

Be prepared that your body will ask for food again regularly

Once we ignite the furnace of our body, we have to expect that fuel will need to be added again at more or less regular intervals.

In line with the previous point, this means: If you eat breakfast out of habit (not because of hunger!) at 6 a.m., even though you’re not hungry yet, you can expect your stomach to signal hunger again about 3–5 hours later.

Rule of thumb: A balanced meal keeps you satisfied for about three to five hours.

What really matters is not how large your first portion is, but that it fits your needs and that you refuel accordingly. You should also keep in mind that this rule of thumb only applies to reasonably balanced portions. If your breakfast consists only of a small portion of fruit, for example, your stomach will most likely start growling again after one or two hours.

Similarly, a late and very large breakfast can easily push your lunch further back.

3 or 5 meals a day – which rhythm suits you?

Let’s confidently throw outdated beliefs like “X meals per day are ideal” into the trash, because they contradict each other anyway. The spacing and frequency of your meals should ultimately depend on how you feel.

Some people love eating many small meals throughout the day. Others – myself included – find it incredibly stressful to eat frequently.

Experiment with what gives you more energy and organize your rhythm according to what creates the most sense of well-being for you. Not according to something you once read or heard somewhere. You are allowed and encouraged to listen to what your body is communicating.

More about the important indicator of well-being in relation to eating can be found in my article on intuitive eating.

Sweet or savory for breakfast? Does it actually make a difference?

No matter how I look at it, fruit alone for breakfast makes me hungry. After trying different breakfast options for a while, I realized that my body needs more in the morning than something purely sweet or light.

For some time, two slices of bread with savory toppings were the ideal start to my day. Recently, however, protein oats have also turned out to be surprisingly satisfying. What seems to matter less is the exact form of breakfast, but rather that it contains enough nutrients, especially protein.

As beautiful as pictures of classic smoothie bowls may look on social media: when they consist mainly of fruit, they simply don’t keep me full for long and therefore miss their purpose for me.

If you feel that your current breakfast is more the result of a trend or an old routine, it might be worth experimenting with new options. Tune in to yourself again and again and notice what truly suits you in the morning. Try to find out whether you are more of a sweet or a savory breakfast person.

For me, it was a milestone to realize that the composition of breakfast has a significant impact on satiety. I wrote more about this in my article “What eating fruit for breakfast taught me about hunger.”

Last but not least: Your breakfast should feel good

After breakfast, do you feel ready to start the day, or do you feel heavy and wish you could go back to bed? I think we can agree that the latter should not be the case.

Even if you believe you have already found the right breakfast for yourself, it can be helpful to stay open to a little fine-tuning. Sometimes it makes a difference whether you prefer something sweet or savory in the morning, whether you eat something warm or cold, or which specific foods you choose – for example which types of bread or grains you tolerate better or whether a gluten-free option feels more comfortable for your body.

Try different variations and observe what truly makes you feel good.

Conclusion

Breakfast should be your most important meal because it lays the foundation for all the meals that follow. Only when you eat breakfast do you consciously ignite your digestive fire.

However, it’s important that this happens when your body signals that it needs food – not simply out of habit. Otherwise, especially if you choose foods that don’t suit you well, your entire rhythm can become disrupted, which in turn can negatively affect your overall eating behavior.