I always overeat at breakfast!

rosesandsuch
rosesandsuch Posts: 39 Member
edited November 2017 in Health and Weight Loss
My general intake is around 1500 cals, but I often wake up super early in the morning feeling extremely hungry, usually around 5 am, but sometimes as early as 4! For whatever reason my urge to nibble and graze after eating the +/- 400 calorie breakfasts I usually prepare in advance (unsweetened oatmeal with fruit and nuts, veggie omelettes, etc) is so intense that I can end up scarfing down 750 calories before 9 am, but because I couldn’t keep my mouth shut I have to eat lighter the entire day! I feel like I’m starving by 10:00! I’ve tried eating higher fat breakfasts, higher carb breakfasts, and I always keep the protein count high, so... what’s worked for all of you?!

Replies

  • KarlJoosepMark4991
    KarlJoosepMark4991 Posts: 1 Member
    I suggest eating something high in fibre, low-structure carbs such as fruits and veggies + some low-cal proteins. A smoothie with fruits and chia seeds + veggie omelette or almonds with skyr for etc. That was my lean breakfast when i wanted to lose weight.
  • Daddymonte
    Daddymonte Posts: 24 Member
    Drinking a glass/bottle of water before eating to fill full faster.
    Eat the amount you want or planned for then rinse your mouth out with water to get the flavor out of your mouth so your body doesn’t keep craving more.
  • COGypsy
    COGypsy Posts: 1,352 Member
    I just eat huge breakfasts and plan it that way. I always see lots of posts about skipping breakfast to have a bigger dinner. I do just the opposite. I'm at about 1500 as well and it's not at all unusual for me to have 2/3 of my calories by mid-morning. I have a smoothie at 4 as soon as I get up (fruit, yogurt, protein, BCAA's, beet & blueberry powders). I go to the gym, then once I'm at my office I have "second breakfast" which today was a big chicken thigh, rice and green beans, and some chex mix. I don't usually eat lunch after that, but have a snack mid-afternoon. Today that will be carrots and salsa. Dinner will be a bit heavier than usual since I have supper club tonight, but generally I have 300-500 calories for dinner and don't have too much of a problem sticking to that. If you're a morning eater, I think it's just easier to work with your body than against it.
  • dwilliamca
    dwilliamca Posts: 325 Member
    I'm hungry in the mornings also and sometimes have lunch before noon after eating breakfast at 8:00. If you are a morning grazer then work with it. Stick to low calorie foods so that you can eat more volume. Be careful of additives like nuts that are good, but for me not that filling. I only add 1/4 cup of nuts and super low-cal berries to cereal which is only around 250 calories. I often eat two turkey sausages for protein which helps fill me (60 calories). When I have an omelet like today it is two eggs, 1 bacon, 0.5 ounce of cheese and lots and lots of vegetables, 255 calories and for now I feel full. If I get hungry before lunch I eat 50-60 calories of fruit. I try to eat under half of my calories for breakfast & lunch, have 100-150 for afternoon snack, then my largest meal at dinner (@450 cals) and 100-200 evening snack. Another trick I use to avoid over snacking is to make drinks with cashew milk, coffee, cocoa, & stevia or teas and stevia which do help to stretch out the time.
  • solieco1
    solieco1 Posts: 1,559 Member
    edited November 2017
    Add some more fat in the morning- it definitely helps satiate me longer. I know you have that listed already. The other thing I do sometimes is to split breakfast into two parts. It may up your overall calories by 100-150 in the morning but will avoid the crazy binge need.
  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
    If a larger breakfast and smaller meals the rest of the day works for you, keep at it.

    If you want to eat a bigger dinner, and you want to stick to 1500 calories, you have to stick to a moderate breakfast/lunch. If you eat more later in the day, you will most likely be less hungry in the morning.

    If you find yourself too hungry overall, maybe 1500 calories is too little for you. What's your height and weight? How active are you?
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    rosesandsuch wrote: »
    My general intake is around 1500 cals, but I often wake up super early in the morning feeling extremely hungry, usually around 5 am, but sometimes as early as 4! For whatever reason my urge to nibble and graze after eating the +/- 400 calorie breakfasts I usually prepare in advance (unsweetened oatmeal with fruit and nuts, veggie omelettes, etc) is so intense that I can end up scarfing down 750 calories before 9 am, but because I couldn’t keep my mouth shut I have to eat lighter the entire day! I feel like I’m starving by 10:00! I’ve tried eating higher fat breakfasts, higher carb breakfasts, and I always keep the protein count high, so... what’s worked for all of you?!

    What do you consider high protein, as a percent of the calories in a meal? Neither of the things you mentioned are a meal I'd call high protein. The omelet may have adequate protein.

    As others have said, you may not be eating enough at dinner or overall.

    For myself, I feel hungry in the AM but because it goes away for a few hours after I start drinking my tea, I was actually thirsty. But I'm definitely eating enough overall and at night.
  • laurenebargar
    laurenebargar Posts: 3,081 Member
    If I eat breakfast, Im starving all day. So I have to skip breakfast, I have coffee until 11 or sometimes until one and this is really the only way I have managed to control my hunger
  • JennyRATL
    JennyRATL Posts: 199 Member
    edited November 2017
    I remember a proverb or saying I heard once that says:

    Eat like a king for breakfast,
    A prince for lunch,
    And a pauper for dinner.

    I think it is fine to have your heaviest meal in the AM if you are feeling satiated with what you eat later in the day, which I'm not sure if you are based on your post. I will assume you aren't....? And out of curiosity, why only 1500 cals a day? Is that for loss or maintenance? Maybe you just need a bit more? *shrugs* I'm kinda new to this whole process myself, really.

    Anyway, a shake I like in the AM that fills me for hours is kale, 8 oz coconut almond milk, a banana, a scoop of Vega one, a tbl peanut or nut butter and a quarter to half cup of oatmeal. It is huge and the cals are about 450 , but I usually only want a light lunch because it fills me. Maybe a salad with fiber and protein and then an apple later in the day. I also like soups for dinner because they can fill you without tons of calories.

    ETA after more thinking...I"m kind of like the other posters who don't eat first thing. I have coffee with sugar and half and half around 7, then usually don't have anything to eat or my shake until around 9.

    Do you wake up because you are so hungry or is that just your normal wake up time?
  • fitmom4lifemfp
    fitmom4lifemfp Posts: 1,572 Member
    Dunno. I can't imagine being that hungry in the morning. It's an infrequent thing for me to wake up hungry. And normally, I don't even eat until 10am. Perhaps you have just gotten yourself into a bad habit.
  • deannalfisher
    deannalfisher Posts: 5,600 Member
    can you open your diary up?
  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,575 Member
    Eating in the morning makes me ravenous all day. I skip breakfast.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    kshama2001 wrote: »
    rosesandsuch wrote: »
    My general intake is around 1500 cals, but I often wake up super early in the morning feeling extremely hungry, usually around 5 am, but sometimes as early as 4! For whatever reason my urge to nibble and graze after eating the +/- 400 calorie breakfasts I usually prepare in advance (unsweetened oatmeal with fruit and nuts, veggie omelettes, etc) is so intense that I can end up scarfing down 750 calories before 9 am, but because I couldn’t keep my mouth shut I have to eat lighter the entire day! I feel like I’m starving by 10:00! I’ve tried eating higher fat breakfasts, higher carb breakfasts, and I always keep the protein count high, so... what’s worked for all of you?!

    What do you consider high protein, as a percent of the calories in a meal? Neither of the things you mentioned are a meal I'd call high protein. The omelet may have adequate protein.

    This is a good point. My idea of protein for a breakfast is 25-35 g, and to hit around 30 g with an omelet (I use 2 eggs, and reasonably high protein veg, like spinach and broccoli), I have to add something else, like cottage cheese, greek yogurt, or smoked salmon on the side. The oats aren't going to be particularly high protein at all, unless you add protein powder.

    For me -- but this may not be the answer for you -- a combination of protein and fiber are needed for breakfast. I try to have some vegetables, and like I said get to around 25-35 g of protein on a 350-450 cal breakfast. Less protein seems to be needed when fiber is higher, but that could be my own quirk.
    As others have said, you may not be eating enough at dinner or overall.

    I'd look at this.

    But also if you are setting new habits, it may not be comfortable at first, and for me it was important to plan and stick to the plan. If you are hungry after breakfast you really don't need to eat before lunch or eat more than your planned lunch. If you do that for a week and continue to feel really hungry post breakfast, try something else, like 3 small meals (adding up to the same calories) over the time period from breakfast to lunch. Or try delaying breakfast even if you wake hungry (have coffee or tea if you drink them) and see if the hunger diminishes, sometimes that happens.

    Also, if you are waking really early and not sleeping well (something I have struggled with) the hunger could well be a result of sleep-deprivation and your body needing energy. Try working on that.
  • whosshe
    whosshe Posts: 597 Member
    I'll drink a coffee as soon as I wake up. It works as an appetite suppressant for me so it gives me a couple of hours before I get hungry.
  • 93pear93
    93pear93 Posts: 48 Member
    If you have a such a small amount of kcal per day, I would suggest use protein + fat as a breakfast, move the carbs to the latest meal or afterworkout.
    Do not be afraid the to eat carbs before sleep, but have at least 1 hour before bed time.
    Breakfast is not necessary tho, hunger will pass anyway.
    It might be just in your head that the first thing u wake up is having breakfast, have some drink instead lets say coffee with coconut oil or alternative.
  • steveko89
    steveko89 Posts: 2,223 Member
    I work out first thing in the morning before work. Until recently I would have a post-workout protein shake, yogurt as a morning snack at 10am and lunch at noon. I found I was always starving by 10am and counting down until it was yogurt-o-clock. I decided to try Intermittent fasting starting in late September/early October where I would only eat during the window of 12-8pm, only consuming BCAAs before and during my morning workout per typical methodology put forth by the guy who did LeanGains. It took a little getting used to and I don't always stick to 12-8pm hard and fast (ended up eating dinner at 9:50pm last night because I'm terrible at being a human) but enjoy the freedom to have larger meals in fewer occurrences throughout the day at the same calorie level. Since grazing after breakfast seems to be your problem you could curb that by completely eliminating eating from your morning routine.
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,416 Member
    Maybe 1500 isn't enough in general. I would be starving on 1500, and I'm a little old lady with no job and a relatively low-maintenance/low activity lifestyle. If you are younger and active (a job? school? kids? husband?) you definitely need more than 1500 as a baseline.
  • xxzenabxx
    xxzenabxx Posts: 935 Member
    I used to overeat at breakfast too and was always hungry in the morning until I started IF. Try easing into a gentle intermittent fasting routine where you fast until 10am then eat a protein breakfast. It might help with your hunger levels.
  • dsboohead
    dsboohead Posts: 1,899 Member
    Well overeating breakfast is better than at dinner. More day to run it off!
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    dsboohead wrote: »
    Well overeating breakfast is better than at dinner. More day to run it off!

    It's irrelevant -- you burn calories even when you sleep. If you're eating at a deficit, you'll lose weight. If you're eating what you need to maintain, you'll stay the same weight. If you're overeating (defined as eating more than one's body is using), you'll gain weight no matter when you're eating it.
  • Ashtoretet
    Ashtoretet Posts: 378 Member
    Some of dieting is just dealing with being hungry, it sucks but it is temporary, it gets easier the longer you do it and eventually you'll be back at maintenance and not having to do it anymore.

    I think many people tend to have one meal bigger than the other. I usually eat all of my calories before 6 PM, and I've tested it that whether I eat everything before 1 PM or 6 PM, I feel the same at the end of the night.
  • livingleanlivingclean
    livingleanlivingclean Posts: 11,751 Member
    i can cope with hunger until i start eating, then it just makes me want to eat.
    i skip eating in the morning - it helps me ignore the hunger til later in the day. i like eating more at night, it works for me.
  • Aaron_K123
    Aaron_K123 Posts: 7,122 Member
    It is possible that you feel like you are starving because you have established a calorie deficit that is too high.

    If your target calorie intake is 1500 what is your typical expenditure? What is your TDEE?
  • Aaron_K123
    Aaron_K123 Posts: 7,122 Member
    Ashtoretet wrote: »
    Some of dieting is just dealing with being hungry, it sucks but it is temporary, it gets easier the longer you do it and eventually you'll be back at maintenance and not having to do it anymore.

    I think many people tend to have one meal bigger than the other. I usually eat all of my calories before 6 PM, and I've tested it that whether I eat everything before 1 PM or 6 PM, I feel the same at the end of the night.

    If your calorie deficit is modest you won't feel hungry. Hunger is not something that has to happen with weight loss.

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