Breakfast struggles

[sweetcee]

Day 7 of my 2nd Whole30 here. I prepped a ton and I’m feeling pretty good, but struggling with mornings. I am up at 5 daily and I don’t get hungry in the mornings yet. On Monday, the idea of eating my frittata at 7:30 made me want to throw up. I choked half of it down and went about my day. I have some ideas from the forum that I’m implementing:

- no coffee before food

- mini meal to work up to real meal- today was two HB eggs, and spinach cooked in ghee

- non egg breakfast ideas - I LOVE a good frittata or scramble but not at 5:30

How long is it going to take to adjust? Or a ballpark? I am with teenagers from 7:30-12:30 straight and can’t eat during those hours. Yesterday I was able to get down eggs and spinach at 5:45 but I didn’t get hungry again until mid morning. I want to get this right!

thanks in advance

[ladyshanny]

Good on you for mining the forum for answers! You make a mod's heart all warm!! 

I would just say, skip the mini meal and make your whole breakfast and eat as much as you can. Then pack it up and take it with you to eat as soon as you feel able (not waiting for hunger). This is how to train yourself to eat breakfast. If you just keep eating a mini meal you won't open up your morning appetite. Fixing morning appetite usually takes around 10ish days if you really work at it. 

The other thing you can do to balance your hormones is work on sleep. Going to bed at a good hour. If you're a night owl, try to put a stop to that. 

[sweetcee]

Thank you! I mean, this has to be one of the most common questions. Why re-invent the wheel?

so it isn’t “snacking” to finish up that meal when I can? I will try to work on that. Hopefully my new options will be more palatable. I have always been an “eat when hungry” person and have a tough time otherwise.

I’ve been working on improving my sleep for a long time. I don’t think I sleep deeply, but I’m in bed winding down by 9/9:30 and shooting for 7 hours.

[ladyshanny]

59 minutes ago, sweetcee said:

Thank you! I mean, this has to be one of the most common questions. Why re-invent the wheel? -  You'd be surprised. No....really. 

so it isn’t “snacking” to finish up that meal when I can? I will try to work on that. Hopefully my new options will be more palatable. I have always been an “eat when hungry” person and have a tough time otherwise. Sort of, I guess, in that you are eating between meals. But the point is to help align your hormones rather than munching mindlessly or out of boredom. Plus the goal is to eat it again as soon as you can. So for example you would eat as much as you can at your meal time, get in the car and drive to work and finish it before you get out of the car and go in to work. More like just extending the breakfast hour. Eat it again as soon as you feel like you can do so without puking. 10 minutes, 40 minutes later....that's the idea.

I’ve been working on improving my sleep for a long time. I don’t think I sleep deeply, but I’m in bed winding down by 9/9:30 and shooting for 7 hours.

 

[sweetcee]

I actually had some feelings of hunger when I woke up this morning! (But thanks to snow day it was closer to 7 than to 5... so we will see about when I have work...) I made a version of the chicken apple hash and ate it all within an hour of getting up.

when the guideline says “no coffee before food” I get that, no cup of coffee to put off eating, but can they be consumed together? Just wondering.

Lastly, I get “palm of your hand” as a reference point, but I legitimately have hands smaller than some 10 year olds, so is there a cup or pound reference I can use for protein? I don’t think I can hold 3 eggs; I’ll have to boil more to try 

[ladyshanny]

1 hour ago, sweetcee said:

when the guideline says “no coffee before food” I get that, no cup of coffee to put off eating, but can they be consumed together? Just wondering.

Lastly, I get “palm of your hand” as a reference point, but I legitimately have hands smaller than some 10 year olds, so is there a cup or pound reference I can use for protein? I don’t think I can hold 3 eggs; I’ll have to boil more to try 

Hi @sweetcee - if you are struggling to eat a proper breakfast, just leave the coffee until after. Once you're regulated, yes, coffee with food is fine.  

As for the palm of hand reference, unless you have hands that are freakishly small for the size of the rest of you, the measurement is still valid because your hands should be in proportion to the rest of your body. 1-2 servings that are the length, width and thickness of your own palm or as many eggs as you can hold. That said, it's a range and also just a starting point. The goal is to make it 4-5 hours between meals comfortably - where you're not starved at 3 hours and are feeling ready to eat around 4-5 hours.  If that means you need more than how many eggs you can hold in your hand, that's OK, just go ahead and eat them. Or add another form of protein as well.

[sweetcee]

So, things I’m noticing:

- I can fit 3 eggs in a hand, and that’s what I ate today. Progress!

- my greatest appetite issue is on work  days, when I wake up at 5. We had snow days this week and now it’s the weekend. I’m much more able to tolerate the idea of eating (and eating a lot, volume-wise) in the 7-8am hour as opposed to the 5-6am hour. 

Besides sleep hygiene, which I’ve been working on long before Whole30, and keep pushing down the food before 6, is there anything else I should be doing?  (Other than finding myself a profession where mornings can be later...  )

[SugarcubeOD]

5 hours ago, sweetcee said:

So, things I’m noticing:

- I can fit 3 eggs in a hand, and that’s what I ate today. Progress!

- my greatest appetite issue is on work  days, when I wake up at 5. We had snow days this week and now it’s the weekend. I’m much more able to tolerate the idea of eating (and eating a lot, volume-wise) in the 7-8am hour as opposed to the 5-6am hour. 

Besides sleep hygiene, which I’ve been working on long before Whole30, and keep pushing down the food before 6, is there anything else I should be doing?  (Other than finding myself a profession where mornings can be later...  )

Youre doing the best thing already which is to keep trying to eat within an hour of waking.  Honestly, the longer you keep making a template meal, eating from it as best you can within the hour and then taking the rest with you and eating as soon as you feel able (not hungry, but able to eat it without gagging), the quicker that your hormones become regulated and it won't be such a struggle.  The bonus is as @ladyshanny said above, this will also help your sleep - when your cortisol regulates properly, then your sleep benefits as much as your morning routine does  

[slc_melissa]

It sounds cheesy, but you could also try positive self talk. “I love breakfast.”  “I’m super hungry and excited for this meal.” 

[sweetcee]

I genuinely love breakfast and “breakfast  foods” - one of my favorite weekend traditions is cooking up a nice big breakfast hash. It’s just the timing that I haven’t worked out yet. And I’ve been making new breakfasts that smell awesome in prep too!

I had been actually doing better until the clock moved forward. I feel really thrown off. I had been eating right around the 50min-1 hour mark since I first posted, and I was up to full breakfasts. Yesterday (day 12) the nausea hit hard and I couldn’t finish breakfast at all. It was also the first time I’ve had any stomach issues. I’m tracking to see if it’s hormonal (my cycle is never regular) or related to any foods I’ve had lately. But I also wonder if waking too early for my sleep cycle - exacerbated by this stupid spring forward - is causing it. I know that for me, being super tired (bad sleep, limited sleep, jetlag) causes nausea. 

[ladyshanny]

55 minutes ago, sweetcee said:

I genuinely love breakfast and “breakfast  foods” - one of my favorite weekend traditions is cooking up a nice big breakfast hash. It’s just the timing that I haven’t worked out yet. And I’ve been making new breakfasts that smell awesome in prep too!

I had been actually doing better until the clock moved forward. I feel really thrown off. I had been eating right around the 50min-1 hour mark since I first posted, and I was up to full breakfasts. Yesterday (day 12) the nausea hit hard and I couldn’t finish breakfast at all. It was also the first time I’ve had any stomach issues. I’m tracking to see if it’s hormonal (my cycle is never regular) or related to any foods I’ve had lately. But I also wonder if waking too early for my sleep cycle - exacerbated by this stupid spring forward - is causing it. I know that for me, being super tired (bad sleep, limited sleep, jetlag) causes nausea. 

Yes ma'am, that extra hour earlier will mess with some people. Just push on and it'll feel better soon. Sorry that you were making progress and then the AWFUL time change (awful!) messed with you. Don't despair, just keep on. 

[sweetcee]

Haha... so the frantic googling of “whole30 daylight savings” is not just me. I ate late today but better late than nothing! (Snow day + interrupted sleep + spring forward monster, it’s been a long winter) 

thank you for the reassurance. I really appreciate it!

[suzannes]

On 3/10/2018 at 10:26 PM, SugarcubeOD said:

Youre doing the best thing already which is to keep trying to eat within an hour of waking.  Honestly, the longer you keep making a template meal, eating from it as best you can within the hour and then taking the rest with you and eating as soon as you feel able (not hungry, but able to eat it without gagging), the quicker that your hormones become regulated and it won't be such a struggle.  The bonus is as @ladyshanny said above, this will also help your sleep - when your cortisol regulates properly, then your sleep benefits as much as your morning routine does  

@SugarcubeOD and @ladyshanny and all the moderators are great, super helpful - I wouldn't want to do this (for the 1st time) without you and the forums, but especially you *on* the forums. Thank you!! 

[laura_juggles]

I post this on practically every "what can I have for breakfast" thread that I click into, but if it helps people, I'll sound like a broken record

Blended soups in the morning are *awesome*. It gets your veg and often fat (coconut milk/cream!) and can be paired with eggs or whatever variety of protein strikes your fancy. Then, once your hormones are more cooperative, you can get into your egg bakes or whatever.

[sweetcee]

Funny you say that. I discovered this shortly after the original post. NNP’s carrot cardamom soup is a lifesaver! I tried a couple others but that is the best one. I have found that super early, my best bets for protein are homemade sausage patties or chicken sausage.  I also now suggest this to people, lol!

W30 made me sleep like a log for the first time I can remember. I now notice that when I’m up at 5 for work, the nausea and reluctance to eat are real. When I wake up on my own (which is usually around 7), this isn’t an issue. I’m trying to push back wakeup time so I’m not up before the sun.

[laura_juggles]

Ooh, carrot cardamom soup sounds divine! Have you tried Mel Joulwan's golden cauliflower soup? That one's my favorite. 

[sweetcee]

I had the golden cauliflower soup on my “to make” list and finally got around to it. THANK YOU, @laura_juggles, for reminding me! It is easy, delicious and seriously the only thing that’s hit the spot over the past few days. I need to go get supplies for another batch!