Bigger Breakfast, Bigger Appetite?

moe5474

I know that breakfast is supposedly the most important meal of the day, and that those who eat breakfast tend to live healthier lives and make better food choices.

HOWEVER, it seems that every time I eat a large breakfast (albeit it's a very healthy breakfast such as oatmeal with fruit), I want to eat more throughout the day. But if I eat fruit and something very light for breakfast, then my natural tendency is to eat lighter throughout the day as well.

I know it shouldn't work that way but it does for me. Anyone else struggle with that same problem? I'm GAINING because of this.

BigWhompy

Try omega-3 enhanced eggs. Two of them, over-medium, cooked in smart balance or olive oil. I eat eggs every morning whether I'm dieting or not, and they curtail my appetite well into the afternoon.

erickirb

Try eating smaller meals/snacks every 2.5-3 hours instead of a larger breakfast.

suzycreamcheese

yeah me too. If i eat a big breakfast it just sets me up eating big the rest of the day.
Not supposed to work like that, but i guess we're all different.

carlybarley22

I find that if I have a breakfast of 2 eggs, peppers, and onions with one piece of cheese it keeps me full longer than if I'm on the run and I just grab a multigrain bagel which is almost the same amount of calories. I have my breakfast with green tea every morning which is a metabolism booster and helps you feel full longer.

lm235141

Yes! It's almost like I wake up and tell my boby "alright, this is what you've got coming today - lots of food." It has gotten better since I've started eating and then working out about a 1/2 hour later. Again, I don't know why and it dosen't make any sense but it does help.

arwamya

I can only tell you something that i face myself.. if i don't eat in the morning or if i don't eat for a veryyyy long time my appetite sort of dies and i can even go through the day without eating, which is absolutely NOT GOOD. I eat a heavy filling breakfast ..i feel fine..feeling hungry every 4 hours or so. My take is you mightn't be eating a filling breakfast , add some fibre and proteins too . You should have a good number of your daily alloted cals for breakfast itself.

tabbychiro

How are you eating your oatmeal? And when you just eat fruit and something light, what is the something light?

sarahazelnut99

its because when you eat breakfast your metabolism starts working...it only really starts working when you eat
this is why you become hungry
so a good idea is to have little meals throughout the day to continuously have your metabolism work without feeling so hungry
you could also try getting more fiber in the morning or just suffering through it until lunch time

rockabyesarojane

is it that the foods are not keeping your full for very long?

what kind of oatmeal are we talking here?

steel oats or instant oats? BIG differences in the type.

sarahazelnut99

yeah me too. If i eat a big breakfast it just sets me up eating big the rest of the day.
Not supposed to work like that, but i guess we're all different.

it is suppose to work like that, ESPECIALLY if your not use to eatiing breakfast

bert177

What is true of the group may or may not be true of the individual. If you do a research study with 100 people eating a little or no breakfast, and 100 people eating a full breakfast, you may find that the AVERAGE result favors eating a full breakfast. That's like finding out there are 2.3 children per family in a certain town. Not one of those families will have 2.3 children, and some of the families will have none. It's all about your weight loss, not the group's. My suggestion is that you do what works for you!

freerange

It's because you are eating carbs, and spiking your insulin responce, which leads to a crash and hunger. Try eating protein and fats instead, you will stay full longer and not experience the crash.

moe5474

Thanks so much for all of the responses! To clarify: I eat quaker high fiber maple and brown sugar instant oatmeal. I would love to be able to cook eggs as so many of you suggest, but I have to get to work at 6:30 every morning and don't eat breakfast until around 8. If I ate before I left my house at 6:00 I would be hungry by 9:00.

When I mentioned the other option of eating a lighter breakfast I was referring to fruit and a very small granola bar (90 calorie).

erickirb

Thanks so much for all of the responses! To clarify: I eat quaker high fiber maple and brown sugar instant oatmeal. I would love to be able to cook eggs as so many of you suggest, but I have to get to work at 6:30 every morning and don't eat breakfast until around 8. If I ate before I left my house at 6:00 I would be hungry by 9:00.

When I mentioned the other option of eating a lighter breakfast I was referring to fruit and a very small granola bar (90 calorie).

Try switching to quick oats instead of the prepackage instant stuff, they have more sugar, and sodium than you should be getting, granola bars are not very good either. Try quick oats with peanut butter to add fat and protein.

moe5474

Thanks so much for all of the responses! To clarify: I eat quaker high fiber maple and brown sugar instant oatmeal. I would love to be able to cook eggs as so many of you suggest, but I have to get to work at 6:30 every morning and don't eat breakfast until around 8. If I ate before I left my house at 6:00 I would be hungry by 9:00.

When I mentioned the other option of eating a lighter breakfast I was referring to fruit and a very small granola bar (90 calorie).

Try switching to quick oats instead of the prepackage instant stuff, they have more sugar, and sodium than you should be getting, granola bars are not very good either. Try quick oats with peanut butter to add fat and protein.

Good idea. I guess I've always gone with instant because they're so easy to throw in my purse when I'm headed out the door.

Sumo813

Should be between 250 and 500 calories, fiber and protein. Should help you feel fuller longer. But also as others have suggested, get the snacks (fruit, veggies, nuts, etc) in at around 2.5 - 3 hrs.

spurlore

I have to go against the experts and go with what works for me. If I eat a big breakfast I am famished by 9:30 - 10:00. I know a lot of people that eat big and then say, "I wont be hungry the rest of the day". For me the opposite is true. The more I eat the hungrier I am later. Same way with small snacks. If I get hungry and eat at 2:00 today, then I will be twice as hungry at 2:00 tomorrow because I am training my mind and body when to be hungry. So to counter that I eat a very light breakfast and a small snack about 9:30. After all with MFP telling me my goal calories is 1440, I can only spend about 300 calories per meal and a couple of other snacks.

nyctraveler

yeah me too. If i eat a big breakfast it just sets me up eating big the rest of the day.
Not supposed to work like that, but i guess we're all different.

Ditto. I am also never hungry in the morning although I think now my body is slowly adapting.

I just tell myself that if I don't eat breakfast, then my body will be slowing down and that's why i'm not hungry during the day. After all, we are here to rev our metabolism, right?

moe5474

I have to go against the experts and go with what works for me. If I eat a big breakfast I am famished by 9:30 - 10:00. I know a lot of people that eat big and then say, "I wont be hungry the rest of the day". For me the opposite is true. The more I eat the hungrier I am later. Same way with small snacks. If I get hungry and eat at 2:00 today, then I will be twice as hungry at 2:00 tomorrow because I am training my mind and body when to be hungry. So to counter that I eat a very light breakfast and a small snack about 9:30. After all with MFP telling me my goal calories is 1440, I can only spend about 300 calories per meal and a couple of other snacks.

Glad to know I'm not the only one It is frustrating because the opposite should be true.

SueInAz

Your morning routine sounds similar to mine. I get up at 5:30 and used to wait until I got to work around 7am to actually eat breakfast and it was usually a Fiber One bar and a banana or something similar. If I go without eating, I can go without most of the day (BAD!) If I eat a big breakfast, I'm starving a few hours later.

Rather than try to eat a really big breakfast, if it will just make you hungrier, eat something small on the go (an apple, banana, Fiber One bar, etc.) as you head to work and then eat again at work two hours or so later. If you want to slide eggs in to the menu, hard boil some one night and then you easily throw one in your purse to eat at work or before you leave the house. You'll be getting the same amount of calories, but spreading it out a bit so you shouldn't get that big crash that makes you so hungry before lunchtime. I'm finding that works much better for me.

tabbychiro

It's because you are eating carbs, and spiking your insulin responce, which leads to a crash and hunger. Try eating protein and fats instead, you will stay full longer and not experience the crash.

This is what I was thinking, which is why I asked about what your were eating. That instant oatmeal & fruit may be too many carbs for you in the morning, which could be making your blood sugar go high. When my blood sugar is high, I feel hungry. Can you add in some more fats & protein? Nuts, cheese, meat, greek yogurt, etc?

army_cobra

It is healthy to eat a good HEALTHY breakfast. Try to squeeze 5 more meals in after breakfast, much smaller. Make them healthy such as protien some carbs and a little fat.

lodro

I can only tell you something that i face myself.. if i don't eat in the morning or if i don't eat for a veryyyy long time my appetite sort of dies and i can even go through the day without eating, which is absolutely NOT GOOD. I eat a heavy filling breakfast ..i feel fine..feeling hungry every 4 hours or so. My take is you mightn't be eating a filling breakfast , add some fibre and proteins too . You should have a good number of your daily alloted cals for breakfast itself.

Why is that no good? I eat one meal a day, roughly between 4PM and 8PM, no breakfast, no lunch, no snacks. I've found it's the only way I can stick to my calorie allowance. What you're describing is fasting response (because of no glucose, no insulin gets secreted, hence no drop in blood sugars and so no hunger response)

Ever since I stopped being fixated on breakfast (or lunch) it has been easier for me. YMMV

Newfiedan

I think that this is funny and should be a common sense thing or at least to me it is, bigger/healthier breakfasts and being hungry a few hours later is simple, metabolism is given a kick in the butt to get going with the breakfast and in turn you feel hungry a few hours later, gee that was easy, no big breakfast = slower metabolic rate and eating less. The brain is sending the signal to you that it has raised the metabolic rate and needs more food, the key though is to make those healthier choices. If you are pressed for time due to early mornings (which I still think is just ppl being lazy and wanting more sleep) make a protein shake, try this 4 minute breakfast on for size;

1 scoop protein powder of choice, for those on a budget try body fortress at walmart I like the cookies n cream or strawberry
1/2 cup plain greek yogurt
1 serving of frozen fruit (I like strawberries 5 to 7 of them)
1 tbsp organic honey
1/2 large or small banana
2 tbsp ground flax seed
1 cup skim milk or almond milk.

Blend till smooth and grab an apple on the way out the door, you will feel full after that and then grab a healthy carb/protein for when the hunger hits a few hours later.

Eskimopie

I'm the same way, where eating breakfast makes me hungrier, and since so many nutrition facts are being shown to not be nutritious, I've decided to listen to my body and eat when I'm hungry, and not worry so much about what people say I should be doing. For instance, today I just had a green apple. On hungrier days I'll add some almond butter. Yesterday I had a high fiber bran muffin and a hard boiled egg. But sometimes I don't eat til lunch, and that's ok too. I would try to really listen to your body and do what it tells you.

Of course, if you're in school still, you'll probably focus better with food. Now that I'm at work it doesn't matter so much.

arwamya

I can only tell you something that i face myself.. if i don't eat in the morning or if i don't eat for a veryyyy long time my appetite sort of dies and i can even go through the day without eating, which is absolutely NOT GOOD. I eat a heavy filling breakfast ..i feel fine..feeling hungry every 4 hours or so. My take is you mightn't be eating a filling breakfast , add some fibre and proteins too . You should have a good number of your daily alloted cals for breakfast itself.

Why is that no good? I eat one meal a day, roughly between 4PM and 8PM, no breakfast, no lunch, no snacks. I've found it's the only way I can stick to my calorie allowance. What you're describing is fasting response (because of no glucose, no insulin gets secreted, hence no drop in blood sugars and so no hunger response)

Ever since I stopped being fixated on breakfast (or lunch) it has been easier for me. YMMV

First i said i could only tell you something that i face MYSELF. Second i said I can even go through the day WITHOUT EATING which is not good , i guess everyone needs to atleast eat their alloted caloies if not their BMR cals. To each his own. I have a carb and protein brekfast because i work out shortly after . I need to have 4 to five meals a day because that keeps ME full and energized throughout the day. Like i said to each his own