Mornings and not overeating- sorry to post again...

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My appetite and energy levels fluctuate throughout the morning. I am usually woken at seven (sometimes earlier - eek!). I usually have a cappuccino and a square of chocolate (I know!) but I don't feel like anything else and if I eat a lot then I feel awful. By ten am I am wanting cake and bread and at the weekend this is readily available.. guess what? today three cakes and two seeded wraps (189 kcal's each) .... I am absolutely sure I won't touch them first thing.

It's odd I know, and foolishness is doing the same thing again and again but I can't seem to come up with a decent strategy, unless I get up and exercise before the kids get up.

Some others advised me to keep busy, and I do but to be honest my willpower is rubbish and the urge to eat become overwhelming but I don't want savoury stuff apart from bread. I find that even with porridge I get a slump.

Has anyone else overcome this? Or come up with a good plan?

It's the high level of carbohydrate that's leading you to eat like this.

Try full fat natural yoghurt, with a few berries/nuts/seeds instead.

Hi,

Thanks so much for replying, do you think the milk is too much CHO too?
x

sorry i meant the milk in the cappuccino..?

If you add it all together, then yes it could well be.

It's a vicious cycle. You're starting the day with Crap Carbs as I like to call them. They're messing with your blood sugar levels leading to you to crave more carbs and so on. You need to eat something protein based and if you must have carbs they should be unrefined. It will take about three days to a week for you to stop having such strong cravings. It's getting through that time that's tough but if you can the cravings will go. Carb craving is very different from real hunger.

Hmmm I guess it's logical really. I wouldn't describe it as stomach gurgling hunger at all- in fact, it's not that at all it's just an overwhelming craving to eat and eat carbs but it isn't complete gluttony (I love cheesecake but don't get the urge to eat that!). It isn't driven by deprivation, or the hunger. I have to not eat anything for a long time to feel true hunger!

I have two cappuccino's with skimmed milk then about 50grams of 70 percent cocoa chocolate... I know it's not exactly salad.... but i didn't think that might be the CAUSE of the cravings. I also have major energy and mood slumps but I thought that was causing the cravings for the carbs rather than the other way round.

If you eat a lot of carbs in one go, your blood sugar rises rapidly, so your body produces a huge amount of insulin to get rid of it as quickly - which means that your blood sugar levels then crash through the floor just as quickly. Its the low blood sugar that makes you wobbly and hungry.

So yes, it's the eating of lots of carbs that makes you hungry!

If you have to eat first thing, make it protein rather than carbs

2 scrambled eggs on a slice of smoked salmon or ham with a grind of pepper on top and a bowl of natural yoghurt with berries to follow

))))skimmed milk(((( = expensive coloured water
semi skim gets you some of the essential dairy fats

I don't think it's a question of carbohydrates, I think it's more a question of the cappuccino and the chocolate!

Firstly, if you're starting off your day with a cocktail of caffeine and pure sugar (there's not that much milk in a cappuccino), then it's pretty normal that your body will want more sugar pretty soon after.

Aren't cappuccino's quite fattening from the foam as well? I know they are one of the higher calorie coffee options.

Why don't you try having a plain white coffee with semi skimmed milk and sweetner in the morning. Make sure you are drinking lots of water as well - you've just been in bed all night, so you need to rehydrate yourself.

After coffee, or when you actually want breakfast, try having something like a wholemeal muffin with a couple of scrambled eggs. This is a balanced meal and should keep you full for much longer.

The other issue is that you aren't having breakfast, so by mid morning your body has well and truly absorbed everything from the coffee and chocolate, so it is desperate for food. It might not feel like hunger, but you obviously need something to eat after nine hours! You may well be craving the cakes because you body is just desperate for something quick and with taste.

Like you, I can't eat for a few hours after I have got up. It makes me feel so ill. So I would drink lots of water at home, and on my walk to work, then I would buy a plain white coffee just before getting to the office, and then have something at my desk. Cereal, or a sandwich (yes, for breakfast), or whatever really.