Forcing myself to eat in the morning...

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cieraangel
cieraangel Posts: 88 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Why do I have to force myself to eat in the mornings? I wake up. I am not hungry. I know I'm supposed to eat breakfast, and I do, but whatever I eat, I feel like I'm forcing down. I usually eat an egg or two...an english muffin w/cream cheese, or a yogurt (and none of this together, mind you...unless it's a LATE breakfast) . It's not enjoyable. Does anyone else have this problem? Does anyone know what causes it? What can I do differently?

Replies

  • timlord
    timlord Posts: 158
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    just eat what you can and try to add to eat gradually/remember you need food to keep the fat burning process going
  • SpaceMarkus
    SpaceMarkus Posts: 651
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    How late are you eating at night? I try not to eat past 7-8pm. I wake up nice and hungry :)
  • sophjakesmom
    sophjakesmom Posts: 904 Member
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    Everyone is different. Breakfast is highly recommended, because it provides you with the fuel you need to get going, but no one says you have to eat right when you get up. I get up at 5 am, workout and then eat breakfast (usually a bowl of special K with skim milk) and I feel great. Then I might have a hard boiled egg around 10 am if I am hungry. Nothing huge, but that works for me. Others have to eat something before they workout. I suggest you experiment with a few different foods and times in the am and log in your journal how you feel at say 10 am. That will give you a good indication of what plan works for you.

    I have a 14 year old who is an active athlete and breakfast too early makes her nauseous, so we had to modify how she ate in the am.

    Good luck to you!:drinker:
  • MinnieInMaine
    MinnieInMaine Posts: 6,400 Member
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    I used to have the same problem and started with just having something really light like a cup of dry cereal with my coffee, but after a while, my body got used to it and now if I don't eat a semi-big breakfast (300-400 calories with lots of protein), I'm hungry all day long.

    As the above poster mentioned, it may be that your dinner is your biggest meal and if you're eating later, you might just not be that hungry in the morning. Or it could be that you're just not a morning person and it takes a while for your system to wake up. Your light breakfasts are absolutely fine! Just enough to get the metabolism going. And who knows, maybe in another few months, you'll actually wake up hungry and want to combine that english muffin with those eggs.
  • catcrazy
    catcrazy Posts: 1,740 Member
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    I can wake up absolutely ravenous but if I eat before i've been up about 3 hours i'm more or less guaranteed to see it again...and even if I don't (puke) i'm fighting severe nausea for a couple of hours. I've questioned Dr's and none can answer properly but some think it might be the same reason I suffer badly from travel sickness (can't even tolerate a kiddy swing!)
  • craft338
    craft338 Posts: 870 Member
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    i'm never hungry in the mornings either. i hard boil a bunch of eggs for the week, so every morning when i wake up, the first thing i do is grab an egg from the fridge. i'm usually still half asleep and i don't really think about it anymore cuz i've been doing it for months. then i have a "REAL" breakfast for when i actually get hungry around 10am.

    i NEVER used to eat breakfast, but i just got into the habit and i really think it's helping me.

    good luck!! =)
  • HMonsterX
    HMonsterX Posts: 3,000 Member
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    This is another one of those topics where opinions vary wildly.

    We all heard that having breakfast kickstarts the metabolism, and you may even burn off those breakfast calories just from this kickstart.

    Then i read that that is a total myth. The only thing breakfast does is reduces the chances of you snacking in the morning. If you dont have breakfast, and dont snack, you dont need breakfast. I cant face food for a good few hours after waking up, so i dont snack even without breakfast, and it saves me a few hundred calories i can have later with lunch or dinner.

    Bottom line, if you dont want breakfast, dont have it. :)
  • lb7970
    lb7970 Posts: 79 Member
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    I'm not always hungry when I first get up either. When that happens I opt for a juice size glass of skim milk and a piece of fruit or a glass of juice and a small handful of almonds.
  • Jasmine_Moonstone
    Jasmine_Moonstone Posts: 80 Member
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    I am not a morning person & can never really eat right after getting up. I usually wait about 2 hoursafter getting up before I eat & it usually helps b/c I find myself hungry around that time, but not starving. I also usually have a light breakfast. I have found that having a light breakfast is good enough for me. Another thing I have found that I really love in the mornings are smoothies. They are very filling for me. Some of the things I eat for breakfast are:

    bowl of Special K Red Berries with 1 cup if 1% or fat free milk

    fruit smoothie- strawberry banana, peach banana, strawberry, chocolate banana, or mixed berry

    Atkins Shake

    Granola bar with some fruit

    Slim Fast shake

    Every once in awhile if DH & I are both off together I will make us a bigger breakfast, but it is generally closer to lunch time when we eat, so it really is more of a lunch than breakfast.
  • mapexdrummer69
    mapexdrummer69 Posts: 445
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    No need to eat breakfast. I haven't in a long time. It does not "kick-start" your metabolism.


    Meal timing, size, and frequency are irrelevant to weight loss in the context of proper daily nutrition and not suffering from a metabolic disorder such as insulin resistance.


    To summarize:


    Eat your food when you want, it makes no difference. I enjoy 70% of my calories after 7pm.
  • TenLaws
    TenLaws Posts: 273
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    If you're not hungry, don't eat. If you're super hungry by lunchtime, then we have a problem. I used to be the same way a few years ago. I would spend all morning doing this and that and never get hungry until about 3-4 hours after waking up. Don't force yourself to eat, but don't go ALL morning on empty.
  • HeyLisa
    HeyLisa Posts: 201
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    This is another one of those topics where opinions vary wildly.

    We all heard that having breakfast kickstarts the metabolism, and you may even burn off those breakfast calories just from this kickstart.

    Then i read that that is a total myth. The only thing breakfast does is reduces the chances of you snacking in the morning. If you dont have breakfast, and dont snack, you dont need breakfast. I cant face food for a good few hours after waking up, so i dont snack even without breakfast, and it saves me a few hundred calories i can have later with lunch or dinner.

    Bottom line, if you dont want breakfast, dont have it. :)

    Well stated!
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
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    I give up. Why DO you have to force yourself to eat in the morning? Answer: You don't.
  • gothicprophet
    gothicprophet Posts: 189
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    This is another one of those topics where opinions vary wildly.

    We all heard that having breakfast kickstarts the metabolism, and you may even burn off those breakfast calories just from this kickstart.

    Then i read that that is a total myth. The only thing breakfast does is reduces the chances of you snacking in the morning. If you dont have breakfast, and dont snack, you dont need breakfast. I cant face food for a good few hours after waking up, so i dont snack even without breakfast, and it saves me a few hundred calories i can have later with lunch or dinner.

    Bottom line, if you dont want breakfast, dont have it. :)

    QFT... I have never been a morning person and eating right after I wake up will generally make me sick. I generally have to wait at least an hour or two before I even can eat anything, but even then I'm not generally hungry for a couple more hours.
  • dls06
    dls06 Posts: 6,774 Member
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    I never eat in the morning. I have my coffee and that's it. I eat when I'm hungry.
  • cieraangel
    cieraangel Posts: 88 Member
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    Yeah, I've heard it gets your metabolism kick started if you eat in the morning, which is why I've been trying to eat breakfast, but I don't start getting hungry usually until around 11 if I don't eat it.
  • baisleac
    baisleac Posts: 2,019 Member
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    Why do I have to force myself to eat in the mornings? I wake up. I am not hungry. I know I'm supposed to eat breakfast, and I do, but whatever I eat, I feel like I'm forcing down. I usually eat an egg or two...an english muffin w/cream cheese, or a yogurt (and none of this together, mind you...unless it's a LATE breakfast) . It's not enjoyable. Does anyone else have this problem? Does anyone know what causes it? What can I do differently?

    *raises hand*

    One of my first real goals here on MFP was to start eating breakfast. Just the thought of eating before lunch would make me nauseous. I started small; shake or fruit or toast, adding a bit every couple of days until it was a "real" breakfast and habit.

    Even now, a few months later, the thought of eating when I wake up will sometimes make me nauseous. On those days, I go back to a shake and/or a handful of fruit just so I don't fall out of the habit.

    What causes it? I have no clue. I wish I did.

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