How can I train myself to eat breakfast?

In My Humble Opinion
1

When I was a little kid, my mom always made big breakfasts that I loved. Then when I got to high-school and college, I never wanted to get up the extra 10 minutes early to eat anything, and stopped eating it. Plus at college I was on a wierd ass schedule.
I got to the point where I pretty much eat one big-ass meal each day.

I heard it’s a lot more healthy to eat smaller portions more times, so I’ve been trying that. But I can’t do breakfast. Antime I eat anything before 4 PM I feel like shit. My stomach hurts like hell, I get nautious and it comes out one end or the other in 10 minutes or so. Over the last couple weeks I have tried muffins, bananas, tator tots, breakfast bars, dry toast(in case it was the grease) etc. It still makes me feel sick.

Has anybody re-taught themselves to eat Breakfast? How did you do it?

2

It IS much more healthy to eat smaller portions. I’m thinking it’s a pschyological hangup you have.

What do you like to eat? Really, really like? Could be candy, chocolate, anything.

Eat that anytime before 4 PM. It doesn’t have to be healthy, or a proper breakfast/lunch. With some effort, slowly you should become weaned to eating earlier and can switch to regular foods.

Try not to let yourself eat this yummy food at any other time. When I first came to the States at age 4, I hated American food, and when I went to school the following year I wouldn’t ever eat any lunch. My parents got me into the habit of eating by putting anything I would eatin my lunchbox, Cheetos, candy, anything. Then when i was used to it, they slowly switched to Snickers and finally sandwiches, etc.

3

What about starting with something liquid, like fruit juice or a smoothie?

4

I’m with you, wolfman. I cannot eat before about 1 PM. It makes me sick to my stomach. All I can have in the morning is coffee.

Now that I have a son, though, I don’t want him to acquire the same hangup. I have no idea how to solve it.

5

You aren’t just missing breakfast, you’re missing lunch also. Try small portions of foods you like for breakfast and lunch, but also get rid of that large meal. By cutting down after 4 P.M. you’ll be telling your body that it better be more receptive to food at other times. If that doesn’t work, I really think you need to consult a doctor (which I know is a radical thought at your age, but I said it anyway).

6

I’ve never had the problem of being unable to eat before 4:00pm but I did eschew breakfast for many years.

Are you eating your evening meal quite late? Eating a meal which is too big/fatty/filling? I’d start making changes at that end of the day and you might be able to bring your ‘breakfast’ (or whatever passes for the first meal of the day) forward gradually. You can’t hope to eat breakfast if you’re waking up still full from the night before.

7

The only solution I’ve found, and my case was nowhere near as severe, was to just do it. Sure, I felt sick for the first few weeks. But I got used to it.

8

Get up early in the morning and hit the gym. Work out HARD. Work up a sweat, train to failure, get some benefit. Add cardiovascular excercise to the weight routine. Jog or cycle to work/school. Avoid elevators, and take stairs whenever possible. Don’t do this once - make it a routine - a habit.

Then try not eating before 16:00. Not gonna happen.

9

Former breakfast eschewer here.

I second the smoothie suggestion. I cannot emphasize enough how much smoothies have changed my life.

Get yourself a hand blender and a pitcher (you can even use one you’ve snuck home from the pub).

Keep your kitchen stocked with:

  • bananas
  • fruit juice (no sugar added, please, that will only cause trouble)
  • milk/soy milk/yogurt (less crucial, you can do without but your smoothie may be too sweet)
  • soft fruit of some kind (fresh is best, but canned/jarred/frozen works well too) - mangos, berries, peaches, cherries, melons, kiwis, papayas, guavas … whatever.

When you wake up, it’s not too much effort to unwrap a few bananas, pour in a few glugs each of milk and juice, and toss in some fruit. Blend.

Rinse the blender, pitcher and glass right away (before you leave them in the sink and forget them until later), and cleanup is a snap.

If you’re in a rush, you can pour it in a jar and take it to work with you.

It’s really easy on your belly and your taste buds, and very filling. It’s easier and faster than making coffee.

The hardest part is keeping your kitchen stocked. Once you get in the habit, I’m telling you, it’s amazing. Easy, tasty, healthy, and if you are ever in a position where you want to add protein powder or flax oil or spirulina or anything like that to your diet, you’re set.

Why has it changed my life, you ask?

Well, for one thing, I’m guaranteed to get at least 2-3 servings of fruit a day, which does wonders for both long-term health and short-term digestion (if you know what i mean).

Also, it’s become much easier to feed myself, because even if I can’t be bothered to cook/shop/eat during the rest of the day, I’m guaranteed one healthy meal in the morning.

Finally, I’m really not very imaginative in terms of meal planning, and this habit means I have reduced planning by 1/3, and yet still eat well.

10

Try eating a lighter dinner like jabiro suggests. You still may not wake up hungry but eating may be more tempting. Keepf orcing yourself to eat something small int he morning and soon you’ll be used to it. I go into phases of eating/not eating breakfast. When I’m not eating it, I’m not hungry. But when I start to eat regularly, I start to get really hungry in the mornings even though I wasn’t eating breakfast before.

11

I too hate eating breakfast so I hunted around and found some yummy meal replacement drinks. They have diff flavours so I haven’t been bored yet. Smoothies sound great but that is too much work for me in the am so pre-packaged was the way to go for me. I honestly feel 10 times better especially in the afternoon, no more drag-me-down headaches and I eat less later on.

12

I used to be a nauseated-in-the-morning person, too.

I started doing the breakfast thing when I had an 8 AM lecture I had to attend. I started with tea or coffee (for obvious reasons.) Then I realized it was making my stomach a bit sour, so I started having a granola bar or a PB&J with it. It did make me feel a bit nauseated, but not too much, and it was preferable the acidy stomach feeling.

After a while, I had created a habit. Now, when I get up in the morning I actually feel hungry. (Amazing how the body works, huh? Why didn’t I get the same, “My blood sugar is low! FEED ME!” message before???)

I try to be sure to have something whole-grain-based, so I don’t just get a spike in blood sugar. And eating breakfast, even a minimal one, has lead me to cut down on my lunch portions. I don’t know if I’m actually consuming fewer calories overall (I suspect not) but if the propaganda is true, at least I’m getting “the most important meal of the day.”

13

Do you smoke? My breakfast for years consisted of coffee and a cigarette, and like you, eating anything made me feel sick. Quitting smoking made me a) permanently hungry at first, and b) Need something to replace the ciggies in my morning routine. 'Course, if you don’t smoke, this is no help to you whatsoever.

14

Try using breakfast drinks first, adding a poptart or two. Then substitute a breakfast bar. Be for you know it, you’ll be weighing 400lbs.

15

Unfortunately I’m most of the way there now, which is the point behind eating breakfast in the first place. Supposedly eating more than one meal a day helps the body’s metabolism work more consistently or something, and makes cutting the gut easier.

Yep, the combination of the need to smoke and pee is the only thing that gets me out of bed at all, if it was only the pee I’d just buy rubber sheets, and I’d probably never move before 4 P.M at all, so the point would be moot.

16

Dude! You call yourself a college student?

Take ya’ a couple of bong hits and I guarantee you wont be asking this question twice.
[shakes cane] “Yew kids these days, with yer, yer, fruit smoothies and what not. Why back in MY day, a man would take’em a couple of nice bong hits to get the ol’ appetite going in the morn.” [/shakes cane]