Two breakfasts???

WolfsbaneSand23

Hey everyone!

So I have a bit of a dilemma that I've been facing for some time now. I have to wake up at 2am everyday for work. Once I get there I'm starving so I eat something filling to get myself up on the right foot, however by 9am I'm hungry (full force stomach growl) and I can't help but feel like I'm having two breakfasts. I end up having my lunch and dinner around normal times but eating something at 3 am and then again at 9 am, I feel, is a bit much. Anybody have any suggestions on what I can do or eat where I'm not starving however not overdoing it either at that early time in the AM. I know I can't be the only one with this issue.

Thanks in advance and good luck to everyone on their goals!

Michelle

geneticsteacher

Why not call 3am breakfast, 9am lunch, 3pm or so dinner, and maybe a snack before bed? If you are getting up at 2am you are probably going to bed very early.

kshama2001

I couldn't go 5-6 hours without a meal. I have three meals and one or two snacks on a normal day, plus more if I've been especially active. Is your job sedentary or active?

I have a smoothie for breakfast which is super filling and takes me a few hours to consume. I have a few sips and put it back in the frig and repeat until it's gone. I work from home - otherwise I'd bring a little cooler and pop it on and out of that.

avskk

It's totally fine to have however many breakfasts you want, as long as they fit into your calorie goals. I ran a jail kitchen for five years and also started work at 2AM -- you'd better believe I had two "breakfasts!" I lost 40 pounds in my final six months there, still eating two "breakfasts," lunch, dinner, and the occasional snack.

Another option is to wait to eat, if you're not actually hungry when you get to work. You said you eat then to "start off on the right foot," but no mention of hunger. If you're not hungry, wait until you are, eat breakfast then, and see how you feel at 9:00. Adjust according to your hunger!

That said... from 2AM to 9AM is seven hours. That's a long time to go without eating, especially when you're working. Fuel yourself however works best for you, and don't feel bad about it.

seska422

Spread your eating out in whatever way works for you. Some people eat most of their calories early in the day (a "day" being your awake time and not what the clock says) and some eat most of their calories late. You could eat one meal a day or 12 meals a day and it wouldn't make any difference in anything but your level of satisfaction. Overall calories are what matter, not when you eat them.

You could play around with your macros to try to get your first meal more satisfying but I think that 5-6 hours is a perfectly valid time elapse to start getting hungry for a meal again. I generally eat every 3-4 hours.

MyFitnessPal lets you have up to six separate meal slots that you can rename. I have mine named in 4 hour blocks (for example, 12 AM to 4 AM) and just put whatever I eat into the correct time slot.

crabbybrianna

I have 2 breakfasts. I get up at 4:30 and usually eat something small at 5:30 and have coffee. Then I'll have a second breakfast at around 9:30. Lunch is at 1-ish, and dinner around 5. I've just started doing this recently because I have to get up so early now, and it seems to be working out just fine.

Mouse_Potato

This is a thing. It's called "second breakfast." It's the elevensies that will pack on the pounds...

dragon_girl26

crabbybrianna wrote: »

I have 2 breakfasts. I get up at 4:30 and usually eat something small at 5:30 and have coffee. Then I'll have a second breakfast at around 9:30. Lunch is at 1-ish, and dinner around 5. I've just started doing this recently because I have to get up so early now, and it seems to be working out just fine.

This is pretty close to my work/food schedule. I'm like a hobbit and have to eat every few hours; I couldn't imagine trying to go 7 hours without food. Are your lunches and dinners pretty good sized? I'd imagine your dinner would be fairly close to your bedtime if you get up that early...maybe the dinner should be a later snack instead? Either that or just plan for 4 meals each day at X number of calories per meal (like, 400 calories x 4 for 1600 calories total a day, or whatever your goal is) and see how that works for you.

NancyYale

You can eat whenever works best for you as long as you say at your calorie goal. I tend to eat 2 dinners. One at work at 5, and another when I get home at 8. I just call them Food. No labels required.

eimaj5575

I was having this issue too. I would eat breakfast early morning but the I would have a high protein snack for my so called second breakfast to get me to lunch. It was just enough to dull the hunger to get to lunch. I hated feeling like I was eating 2 meals before 10 am but 1 normal size and 1 snack felt better. Usually celery and peanut butter as a snack and a flavored carbonated water. This worked for me.

elka67

Sorry, couldn't resist.

courtneyfabulous

Heck I eat 7 times a day every 2-3 hours. Sometimes I have breakfast and then immediately have a protein bar like 1/2 hour later if I'm still hungry...

It's fine to eat however often you want as long as you're within your calorie goal at the end of the day.

For you with that crazy schedule I'd be more concerned with getting enough sleep than how many meals you're having

lacroyx

courtneyfabulous wrote: »

Heck I eat 7 times a day every 2-3 hours. Sometimes I have breakfast and then immediately have a protein bar like 1/2 hour later if I'm still hungry...

It's fine to eat however often you want as long as you're within your calorie goal at the end of the day.

For you with that crazy schedule I'd be more concerned with getting enough sleep than how many meals you're having

Pretty much this. I work nights and have crazy schedule as well. Typically 11PM to 7AM but sometimes it's more. I personally find sleep is more important. If I am tired, it doesn't matter how often I eat since I overeat to help me stay awake and thus go over my calorie goal for the day/night.

trigden1991

Without being a pedant; you can only break your fast once in a day so technically no.

crabbybrianna

courtneyfabulous wrote: »

For you with that crazy schedule I'd be more concerned with getting enough sleep than how many meals you're having

I'm in bed by 8:30 every night to be up at 4:30. I can't function without at least 8 hours of sleep! I couldn't imagine when I'd have to be in bed if I got up at 2am.

JeromeBarry1

The I in IF is the time between meals. As in, between dinner and breakfast, and between breakfast and second breakfast.

Cbestinme

Hi OP I have two breakfasts all the time, and in my case I don't have any excuse of getting up at two am. My body isn't hungry first thing on waking. But since decoding to lose weight I learnt to feed myself (not forcefully) at some point in the morning. I start with something of about 250 calories. Within a couple of hours (or less), the body is ready for more food (usually works out to 250-500 calories). You can call it second breakfast, mornings snack whatever you like. I discovered that mfp lets you create additional meals if you like.

daniip_la

elka67 wrote: »

Sorry, couldn't resist.

If I had gotten through this entire thread without seeing hobbits, I would have been extremely disappointed.

Francl27

Just skip dinner then, or have a small snack. Have breakfast at 2am, lunch at 9am, dinner at 1-2pm. I can't even imagine having a 'normal time' dinner if I had to be up at 2am every morning, as I'd be in bed at 6pm anyway (and my last meal is typically 4 hours before I go to bed, so the schedule above would be just fine for me).

Wendy__D

When you say normal time for lunch and dinner what time is that? Also when you wake up at 2AM are you up for the day or is it "wake up, must eat, back to sleep" then having breakfast at 9? If it's the latter you might want to figure out what's causing a disrupted sleep cycle like that. If you're just on a different clock than a lot of other people from 2AM to 9AM is a pretty long time! You may want to even eat earlier than 9 if that is the case so you don't get to the stomach-growling point. And if it helps rename the meals in MFP for what works for you. You might skip names entirely and call it Meal 1, Meal 2, Meal 3, Meal 4 (and use the other two however you like.)

Lounmoun

Divide your calories however works best for you. I think it is pretty natural that you might be hungry after 5-6 hours. Plan a snack for around that time period or eat even more at breakfast.
I eat about every 3-5 hours while awake. Breakfast, lunch, dinner and 1-2 snacks.

extra_medium

I'd eat breakfast food for every meal if I could. I'd only call the first one breakfast though and not worry about eating 3 breakfasts..