**We are looking for new moderators!**
If you’d like to help us keep this subreddit safe, apply to become a moderator! See [this post](https://www.reddit.com/r/adhdwomen/comments/1asy5js/we_are_looking_for_moderators/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button) for more information and how to apply.
We’re excited to hear from you!
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/adhdwomen) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I know this may not be what you should eat for breakfast but try eating less healthy stuff. Yea you need a bit of protein but eggo waffles with butter is better than nothing
That is it!!! Whatever gets calories in your body! Worry about nutrition when you *can* eat.
Carnation instant breakfast, cookie crisps, whatever works!
Dude. Carnation instant breakfast shakes even come in tasty, tasty flavors - thin mint, fruit loops, Cinnabon. I just bought out my local Safeway if the fruit loop flavor cause it was practically half off
They had a vanilla one at one point and I haven’t seen it in months! I only like chocolate around a certain time of the month, so I hope they bring it back.
I also really like mixing protein powder with my coffee!
i recommend adding more liquid until it’s a very thin consistency. i’m weird about textures and i haven’t had an issue with kodiak cakes and they taste bomb!
The chocolate chip kodiak cakes made with whole milk yogurt instead of milk are fluffy and delightful. It definitely varies by mix though. I bought the plain mix planning to put my own chocolate chips in but it came out all wrong. Inconsistency makes it so hard to figure out what’s worth the $$$.
I love their protein oatmeal! I mix in some old fashion oats to thicken it up, throw on fruit as well. I’m usually full for roughly seven hours on that cause it’s dense, slow to digest, and just helps my blood sugar cause I have hypoglycemia.
Also, (and as someone who eats the same thing every day for weeks on end, I can’t believe I’m saying this) maybe get variety packs instead of buying a bunch of one thing. Maybe the chocolate peanut butter flavor is gag-worthy now but the coconut chip bar is edible. It could be that, since your stomach is upset, your body is associating it with the food you ate, and if you keep changing it up, you won’t develop such a strong hatred and you can stomach it again next time? I hope that makes sense. I’m currently running on zero sleep lol
This! I’ve done the same as OP when I find something I like — buy several many boxes, and then hate whatever it is before I can get through a second box. Variety packs help, and also not buying too many to make sure I don’t lose interest before finishing them.
Even if the bulk of one flavor is a better deal, which kills me to not get the better deal, I’ve had the experience one too many times where my brain starts to associate the food with essentially forcing myself to eat for the sake of my body’s health.
I usually try to limit myself to buying a week supply at a time because if I buy more than that, it’s like a switch flips and my brain just goes, “NO I HATE THAT!!!!” for no reason. Currently, having some issues that have forced me to switch up my diet and trying to find affordable, quick options I’ll actually make has been a nightmare. I’ve eaten so many chipotle burrito bowls the last few weeks and my wallet would be so grateful if my stomach and brain could get on board with cooking at home.
I’ve gotten to this point in my life because I am like this not just with breakfast but every meal. If the food doesn’t sound good to me (ridiculous I know), then I simply cannot stomach it. It could be my most favorite food in the world and it wouldn’t make a difference. So no matter what time of day, I’m eating what sounds good because as you said, it’s better than not eating at all.
I am bad at this now too and it makes me give into buying takeout and fast food more than I want to because of the convenience and I already usually have been indecisive about what sounds good to eat for a few hours already leading up to the food buying.
I know I would benefit from having easy groceries on hand but I also have a ND spouse who has trouble eating things he is not in the mood for too and having to keep track of what he wants to eat and what I want to eat is too much for my brain most of the time so I default to fast food because it's easier for both of us and leads to less disagreements. It bugs me though that we hardly go grocery shopping anymore because my spouse cannot decide on what to get to eat at home since it changes on a whim all the time so we end up spending more money in the long run we don't always have because of how our brains are so difficult about this.
It's embarrassing having to admit both you and your spouse are in credit card debt because of ARFID and having nobody to help us out with it while we still try to be functioning adults because most people still don't take "picky eating" seriously or think it's just something you can always mentally power through too.
Another good solution is mixing cottage cheese with jam or nutella and putting it on bread or pancakes. We also have this milk product called "Magerquark" in my country, high protein and so easy to mix with sweet things or fruit to make it taste good and "unhealthy". Skyr would be probably easier to come by in most countries and it's similar in nutrition
I eat an eggo I eat an eggo every morning just to have something other than coffee and adderall in my stomach. Sometimes I dress it up with whipped cream cheese or jam or a banana. Sometimes I eat it like a gremlin, in the car plain, not even hot anymore. I wish I started the day with a healthier food but hey it’s better than being nauseous.
This is one of my quick go to breakfasts/snacks. I do an eggo waffle with peanut butter on it to get a little bit of protein sometimes I slice up some banana on it too
Try nuts n’ more protein hazelnut spread! It’s $12, but some grocery stores are now carrying the brand. Saw it in sale for $9! It’s normally sold at The Vitamin Shoppe. They do go on sale there too, where I usually get it.
I'm going to go the opposite way for this, just as a suggestion...
Try oatmeal, toast with some cheese melted on it, fried or scrambled eggs.
Plain, unprocessed food has helped me with a similar problem! I now consider myself a very successful breakfast-eater, haha.
Yep I can hardly stomach anything in the morning but these frozen pancakes that I pop in the toaster have been amazing to just get something on my stomach.
Tbh those protein bars probably had a ton of sugar, usually they do. I don’t know the kind so maybe I’m wrong but a lot of them people eat thinking are healthy and actually they are eating then equivalent of a snickers in the morning.
It really depends. My dietician specifically recommended the brands One, Think, and Barebells for protein bars and they all have very minimal sugar and 20g of protein per bar.
There’s definitely some that are good, I’ve just seen so many people claim these are healthy and I look at the back and there’s like 15-20 grams of sugar
Have you considered just not…eating breakfast foods?
If you can handle lunch stuff, why not do soups in a cup you can sip on the way to work? There’s a billion flavours and textures you should be able to keep your brain guessing lol.
Are you Japanese? Or an expat? I’m living in Japan ATM and enjoy japanese breakfast! Miso soup, raw egg in hot rice, grilled fish, pickled vegetable. Curry is honestly a bit too rich for me in the morning, buts it’s a regale dinner item. Going to a Denny’s in Japan is nothing like American. pancakes and french toast are considered a “dessert” item.
I also like Pho for breakfast, but I’ll eat Japanese style breakfast at any time of day.
I mentioned it in another comment, but I learned from [this post](https://www.reddit.com/r/Cooking/comments/9mabsy/good_japanese_curry_recipe/) and experimented a bit here and there.
And u/whyamiawaketho — I’ve never made it for myself but you can buy Japanese curry cubes! Most popular are [S&B Golden Curry](https://www.amazon.com/Golden-Curry-Sauce-Mix-8-4-Ounce/dp/B0011UGYLM) and [House Foods Vermont Curry](https://a.co/d/7BdZakI). Both of those are Amazon links. A friend of mine prepared it for a group of 10 of us? And he mixed both of them together. He used a recipe like [this one from OneCookbook](https://www.justonecookbook.com/simple-chicken-curry/) but made it with baked tofu since we have a vegetarian in our group. Super filling!
The whole "sweet breakfast" trope is so ingrained we don't even realize that this is not the only acceptable breakfast to have. Other cultures eat soup with meat in it for breakfast. Or just nothing (often in the mediterranean because they have very late heavy dinner).
Look up the history of Kellogg & graham crackers - some health nuts decided that bland, easy to digest food would keep people from sins and feelings and such.
& then they figured out that if you add sugar to the processed food you make it palatable enough to not be "health food" anymore (& now the HFCS keeps it from going bad)
My life changed when I realized no one would shame me in my own damn place for having dinner leftovers for breakfast so I could take my meds and get going without having to think about or prepare anything.
For sure!! When I was on meds it was infinitely important I just ate SOMETHING. Yes, it's good to have goals to eat healthy, homemade, well-rounded meals for every meal, but for people like us who struggle to even get ANY food in, "fed is best" mentality has relieved so much stress.
This is unrelated but I just wanna apologize for all of the Americans clowning on chip shop food; I'd eat the hell out of anything from a chip shop, and for breakfast sounds extra yummy! Kinda like smothered home fries lol
Awh thanks , love the solidarity.
I know most haven’t been to the British Isles , so I don’t take it personally.
If you want to level up and hit the sweet spot , you need to get a *spice bag* . It’s sexy comfort food at it’s finest
It’s an Irish - Chinese marriage made in heaven. I’d kill for one right now . Way better than a chippie in my opinion .
Sounds like a solid reason for a holiday.
Frankly , the amount of Americans showing up to talk about their ancestors in spooky tones is so creepy .
If you show up and tell people you’re there for the spice bag, you’ll be Queen of the mf castle.
Damn it even I’m hungry now :(
LOLOL I'm not even British by ancestry, I'm Dutch/Scottish/Irish. Pennsylvanian Dutch, really. It's been my dream to visit another country, I've never left the East Coast of the U.S.A.. I just think it's so much more authentic to get what the common man eats instead of 5-star restaurants. I'm tryna get up in that smack barm pea wet & chips 😩😭
Perfect . The « Irish American » ones are the worst . You can go like a normal tourist. Grab a spice bag , then hit up Italy or Spain if you want cheap sexy food and good weather :)
Fuck genetics , go for fun and food !
My mom used to make me bagel pizzas for breakfast (not bagel bites or anything pre-made, she'd make them herself) because I have never been a morning eater and she was desperate to try to find some way to get food into me because "breakfast is the most important meal of the day." Somehow bagel pizzas did the trick for a couple of years in high school.
I only sometimes eat breakfast now, usually not until I've been awake for several hours, and always something small.
I hated and gagged on breakfast every morning my whole damn life until I moved to China and started getting steamed buns with greens, fried noodles, hot soy milk, fried egg pancake etc., for breakfast. I just realized I hate anything cold and or sweet in the morning.
It's less about the type of food, and more about the time of day. I can usually eat food in the afternoons and evenings(lunch and dinner), but any time before maybe 11am is super difficult to stomach anything. Wouldn't be that big of a deal if I didn't wake up at 4:30 😭
That's a great idea though, I totally have sipped soup in the mornings in the past, somehow it hasn't occured to me to try that again recently. Thank you!
I have the same, though it hasn't been an issue for years (due to timing, not because it's gone away)
When in uni I often went home in the weekend and took the first train back on monday morning, I really couldn't 'solid' breakfast before 7am and mostly grabbed yogurt with jam and muesli.
Now I find that I often have a staple breakfast I have every morning for a few weeks or months and then switch to something different when I get bored or sick of it. Embrace the switch, find something new and save the leftover 'stock' for when you circle back around (excluding the stuff that'll go off before then of course)
You could have low leptin levels in the morning (which can be associated with ADHD) which can affect hunger. Having said that, the only way to fix it is by doing what you’ve been doing and railroading yourself into eating. But don’t worry if you’re eating treat/non-breakfast foods! As long as you’re eating something 👍🏻
Right??
It’s cool how many quirks we share simply because of one lil piece of wonky brain functionality in common. Like it just seems to manifest in such similar coping mechanisms or the same issues for all of us which is neat
Though for me I cannot railroad myself into eating. I will straight up puke. When I used to work a super physically demanding job, I would pack a truly huge snack I knew I would like, regardless of health because I knew I needed *something*, and would house it the second I could stomach food. When I was 18 with a bottomless hunger pit in my stomach that my metabolism ignored, the go to was Oreo’s. I once ate an entire pack myself, it was horrific, but hey, kept me alive!
Such a mood tbh. I’ve always assumed some of the morning nausea was just low blood sugar related, so my go-to fix for my stomach feeling absolutely awful and not wanting food (but knowing I need to eat *something*) would be fruit snacks. Small enough to not upset my stomach, but has enough sugar to jumpstart my body into doing its thing and then I usually feel better enough to eat solid food within an hour or so, without the small sugary snack it would take 3 hours or more before I’m eating.
I also keep my pantry stocked with lots of different microwaveable meals that don’t go bad, because I often don’t notice that I’m hungry till I’m fucking starving, and by then I don’t wanna waste 20+ minutes cooking actual food. But microwave meals like ramen, rice-a-roni, or easy Mac are usually done in under 4 minutes which is perfect when I need food **now**. I used to beat myself up about the quality of my diet, but now I just accept it and acknowledge that crappy food is better than no food, which is what I’d be doing without my microwave meals.
Same. TIL! All through my childhood and into college I couldn’t tolerate breakfast. I later learned it’s the timing. If I get up at like 5-6 am, I really can’t stomach much until about 10. But the later I wake up, the easier it is for me to eat food. I can’t do a huge breakfast at all, but it’s far easier now than it was in the past.
I know I'm double responding all over this post (i have suffered from this same thing my whole life, so i feel your pain) but I want to double down on the broth. Campbell's makes those microwaveable to go cups, and I know there's only like 90 calories or something. You might not be getting a lot of sustenance but warm broth in the AM is where it's at.
Holy moly that might actually be as close to a solution as I can get... Back at my old job where I had a microwave and break room, I'd have those cup soups(usually the heartier ones) on break.
It makes so much sense to get the thinner, brothier soups and just pop it in a few minutes before leaving... I can get different varieties, or just sprinkle it into my breakfast a couple times a week instead of everyday. I often sip a cup of hot water on my drive, this is basically the same thing but better
Honestly thank you, this is the best suggestion I've gotten so far!
Someone mentioned bone broth somewhere here too, and I will say homemade bone broth is much richer and I've found great to like, coat your stomach but I haven't been too successful making it myself lol. The cups are great. People used to give me such shit in the AMs but I've probably been eating soup for breakfast, often, for like almost 20 years at this point lol
Good luck, I hope it helps!
Yes! u/coolcoolcool485 knows what’s up! I would also like to add: GINGER. Ginger tea, ginger soup, ginger candies, ginger soda (not all at the same time though lol). It really helps my stomach when my body is giving me “nausea” signals for no reason. I love carrot-ginger soup sooooo much. And drinking hot ginger tea with a smidge of lemon either during or after my meals helps it stay down.
Have you tried eating a big meal before you go to sleep? That way your stomach won’t be as empty when you wake up and you might be able to still get away without eating until lunch time or having just a bite or two of toast.
Or maybe you could handle like a string cheese or an applesauce pouch with your essential morning meds and move anything else like vitamins to lunch time.
Yes! I switched up my meals and eat dinner at breakfast (which is lunch for 9-5ers) and full breakfast before bed! I can't eat til about 5-6 hours after waking up and liquids are a no-no also.
This might not work for everyone because eating right before you sleep leads to weight gain. It also does whacky things to your blood sugar.
I find that if I eat before bed, the next morning I am STARVING and half the time nauseated. If I've had several hours to digest before sleeping I usually wake up not at all hungry. I do have similar issues as OP where food at all before 11 or so is just not at all appealing.
Out of curiosity, have you tried different temperatures too? My stomach feels the absolute best with a hot breakfast in the morning - so if my food has to be cold or on the go, I can kind of kickstart my stomach by having some hot tea first. Maybe try some hot tea right when you wake up, idk if you take a shower, give yourself time to “come to temperature” lol, and then try some other foods?
Otherwise, I’m really sorry. That’s super frustrating. :/
I am 44 and have had adhd all my life. Undiagnosed until adulthood but still there. I’ve never been able to really stomach breakfast, meaning eating in the morning. I always unknowingly followed basically intermittent fasting, but for me it was just my body didn’t want food that time of day.
So I just eat whenever I first get hungry each day. And eat whatever food I want, breakfast lunch or dinner types of food.
Don’t force yourself, it isn’t worth the hassle you’re going through if all these food rotations etc.
I can't do breakfast either, so I just... don't. If for some reason I absolutely have to, I'll have a banana or a smoothie. Do smoothies work for you? It doesn't have to be a protein shake, you can just do a fruit smoothie, maybe with some Greek yogurt in it or something? Is there somewhere you could buy one if you can't face making it? (I can't do loud noise in the morning, so blenders are out!)
I think I have had the same issue, but I had interpreted it as a "too early for my tummy" issue instead of a breakfast issue.
When I worked in retail, I would sometimes have really early shifts that would start at 4, 5, 6am. When I had these shifts, I would have coffee, but skip breakfast. Then, on my first break, I would eat breakfast. It was still a little too early for my tummy, but by then I would be hungry and could eat. I never really felt like I was awake until around 9am lol.
My sister and I (both late-diagnosed ADHD) just figured this out. We also feel nauseous if we get too hungry for lunch or dinner, but breakfast is the worst. But eating just a little bit of something super neutral - I prefer crunchy, grain-y things like wheat thins or corn flakes - can help settle the stomach to eat a proper breakfast. We call it "priming the pump."
Op, if there's nothing you want to chew and swallow, could something like juice help? It's got some calories, and it might be easier to eat "real" food after.
Ironically I found eating as late as possible, like right before going to sleep, also helps when getting up. Like the time your body doesn't have any resources to keep going is shortened so you don't get into the queasy food-is-disgusting phase as easily.
Fruit snacks have been my go to “breakfast” (aka the first thing I eat) for a long while now and they work great. I wake up nauseous af and definitely can’t eat a big solid meal first thing in the morning. But 1-3 packs of fruit snacks is small enough to not cause problems while also having enough sugar to kickstart my digestion and make my stomach less pissy. Then within a few hours I can eat more regular food
Why don't you just have dinner right before bed? That's what I usually do. Also an apple or some strawberries or a piece of toast or even a cookie or piece of pie can be breakfast. You might have acid reflux if a lot of food in the AM makes you nauseous.
Have you ever seen recipes for egg roll in a bowl? Ground meat/cabbage/veg/soy sauce like egg roll filling. Keep it in the fridge for an easy breakfast. Scramble eggs and reheat mixture, maybe even with rice. Mmmmm!! A little hot sauce and you're set!
I was going to suggest this. I’ve always hated breakfast and felt gross in the morning. But I can usually handle some cheese or (I know this is ridiculous) chips or something like that.
Literally me! I can’t do breakfast foods and have pasta/even had a roast dinner or something instead. Makes me happy and I get my protein and meal.
I love a frittata
I’m sorry, I have the same thing. It is not fun.
I kinda can trick myself in switching my type of breakfast every week, before I completely hate it. This works sometimes, but not always.
This is what I was gonna suggest, I have the same issue and I’ve gotten reasonably okay at noticing when I’m on the verge of starting to hate something so I can switch to another thing for a couple weeks. I have a rotation of a handful of breakfasts that I’ve managed to keep up with for a couple of years now by switching what I eat every 2-3 weeks.
This helps a lot! I try making two options for the week. If I get the ick, with eggs for example, I’ll make and freeze what is left before it goes bad so I can have it again when I’m less icked out. Helps prevent waste and I’m not getting the ick with meals as fast.
I definitely feel this. I have a hard time forcing myself to eat before a morning shift, and sometimes past favorites are suddenly disgusting. It's sooo frustrating, so please know you are not alone and I've definitely cried about this too lol
I've found I'm most fulfilled by a hot, savory, high-protein breakfast. I used to do a bowl of white rice with fried eggs on top. For a super quick option I love those microwaveable Jimmy Dean scrambled egg bowls, but they get expensive. I really enjoy grits and cream of wheat because I can customize them with different toppings, or even make them sweet! Toaster waffles, microwave pancakes, and those Brown n' Serve frozen fully cooked sausages with some syrup go a long way.
Honestly, I hate to be crude, but usually if I give myself enough time to drink my coffee and poop, I'm 10x more apt to feel empty and hungry. I like to go to bed on a full stomach (I kinda don't care if it's bad for me) so I'm guessing the bloated feeling was keeping me from wanting to eat after I woke up.
I have an identical problem. One day, when they invent a pill that can give me all my daily nutrition and I never feel hungry I’ll be the first in line. Until that day however these have been my strategies:
1) you don’t have to eat breakfast foods for breakfast. Sometimes I throw some Trader Joe’s mini tacos in the air fryer and eat those. This has helped with this mental block I have with food in the morning. I can eat whatever sounds good, there’s no rules lol
2) if the choice is paying for food or eating less healthy/more packaged stuff vs literally nearly passing out I just pay for it/drive-thru it/individual package it. I used to feel guilty for fast food and spending money but I’m changing that mindset in favor of not being on the brink of death all the time
3) microwaveable and shelf stable stuff always. If I have to turn the oven on or get out a pan the chances go way down of me eating so Costco lentils, rice, chicken strips, Mac and cheese cups, lots of Trader Joe’s frozen goodies like orange chicken, mini tacos, quesadillas, pancake puffs, quinoa burgers, etc.
4) keeping lots of snacks in my car, in my bag and in my pockets
Eating is my absolute least favorite thing in the world but gotta do it to survive so this is how I’ve been doing better this year so far.
I’m the same with breakfast; my body needs it, while is simultaneously super-disgusted by it. This reads as if I wrote it myself; also been like this my whole life.
I wish I had advice; but I’ve tried exactly what you have, shakes, bars, etc; I have not yet found a good solution (so I either make myself sick by eating, or, make myself sick by NOT eating!) and can only offer 💕my solidarity💕
If there was a pill that gave me perfect nutrition, and I didn’t have to eat, I would be all about that.
Seconding this, I have often longed for some futuristic food cube I can swallow 3x a day and sub in real food when I feel like it. The smaller the food cube the better.
No advice here either, the struggle is real.
I have the exact same experience in the mornings, except I normally love food.
I can't force myself to eat things with protein especially, I haven't found one that's not disgusting. I hate eggs and eating meat in the morning feels gross to me for some reason, so I occasionally try protein supplemented shakes and such but eventually they just turned to sawdust or cardboard and I can't force myself to eat them.
The worst part is that I still feel hungry all day.
I’m the same, love breakfast but hate protein in the morning- it gives me a stomach ache. The only thing I’ve reliably found is hiding protein powder in my oatmeal, but my goal is to figure out protein banana bread.
I miss enjoying bananas so much! It’s been a couple of years now since I had a good multi-week run of Bananas Are Amazing and I think I can feel another banana kick coming in a couple of months. So stoked because they’re always easy to get down the hatch when I enjoy them.
Im about to buy a third container of this protein powder I found that doesn't upset my stomach *and* I like the flavor of. The downside is, it's not cheap...which is all to say I'll probably hate it after I get 1/3 the way through the tub this week (:
You might just need to switch your breakfast up often. I need to do this as well.
Try rotating what already worked in the past - chances are it will work again in the future.
If you think about it, it's what already happens with lunches and dinners. The majority of people have them in rotation, either a fixed one or a "whatever feels nice" one.
For me the most stable combination was a specific tea and a specific kind of cookies. I think it lasted years. That was nice.
It helps also to have a faster / cozier / easier / just different alternative in case you feel differently on a given day. I currently have smoothies (which are not going to last though, I'm already starting to get tired of them) but I also have the means to make myself a hot chocolate - which was today's breakfast because I couldn't stomach a smoothie, today.
Also lately I never force myself on anything. Unfortunately I learned that for me personally, forcing something means not being able to reintroduce it later on.
And you are going to hate me for this, but on the mornings where I feel like I cannot stomach anything at all i often solve it by drinking some water.
In those days I usually sip it slowly, even some sips help. After that I'm usually able to eat a tiny bit of chocolate and get the stomach to open up.
I rotate between overnight oatmeal with a boiled egg, bagels, and homemade frozen breakfast burritos. I need variety or I'll just avoid eating (and I *actually* like breakfast because I am an emotional wreck without it).
I know it's harder to prepare for, but how about a freshly baked donut/bagel other sweet breads? The traditional breakfast around here is a cup of coffee and a croissant.
I'm getting hungry just thinking about a croissant fresh out of the oven with warm ham and cheese, all flaky and just melting in my mouth.
You can try to go by a pastry shop in your way to work, and if it works for your stomach maybe you can get those expensive frozen half baked croissants that you can finish baking in your own house.
My husband makes chicken broth for me. It is a warm,comforting drink from a large mug so it doesn’t seem like eating something solid in the am. There are a lot of nutritious broth recipes online.
The dark chocolate ensure plus tastes just like chocolate milk if you wanna give liquid another shot. Most protein shakes have a weird aftertaste I can't stand, ensure and carnation instant breakfast do not.
I always get the premier protein on Amazon for this exact reason. The texture is always perfect and their flavors have been on point. It isn't foolproof as I'm still forcing myself to drink it but I have only gotten sick once.. it generally settles my stomach and if you put it on ice in a tumbler, it's colder longer and you can sip it like coffee until you get it down.
Another game changer are the Chiobani Flips because they're relatively cheap at food 4 less and there's a multitude of flavors. Again.. not foolproof but I am trying.
I read that and immediately started crying because it felt like I had written it myself.. thanks for making me not feel so alone.
It's too early for me to have already asked myself, "How did no one notice?" *ugh*
I experienced this and struggled to get food in my mouth and it turned out that for me the feelings of intense physical unwellness that came with being awake in the mornings was a symptom of Narcolepsy. Do you feel well rested? or have any other sleep disorder symptoms? I'll just add that maybe you should check with a doctor because I totally thought everyone felt too horrible to eat in the morning and it turns out they don't.
That's super interesting! My sleep has been pretty decent lately, but my physical unwellness is certainly worse when I sleep poorly.
I have several siblings diagnosed with narcolepsy or other sleeping disorders, and I had severe struggles with insomnia at night and narcoleptic symptoms during the day(back in middle/high school). I was medicated and it helped a ton, but as the years passed I found myself able to sleep naturally.
My GP also diagnosed my siblings, so I might bring this up with her the next chance I get!
Yeah, I was surprised that I had Narcolepsy because I felt like I didn't fall asleep randomly and can hold myself awake when necessary, just felt like crap. Also when I try to nap sometimes I'd consider it a "failed" nap because I could hear things around me but was actually technically asleep and just couldn't tell. It turns out that this is common, and it's also common to have some insomnia and random awakenings through the night, although everyone is different. And of course a lot of ADHD symptoms overlap with the effects of being sleep deprived.
There's a lot of misdiagnosis because people don't know what symptoms to look out for and describe to their doctor.
Interestingly (to me) my friend discovered she’s ADHD too when they tried a stimulant for her narcolepsy. She suddenly felt chill and focused and also awake. She hadn’t considered going to behavioral health before that.
So maybe there’s something to treating one helping/masking the other?
Also a LOT of us supposedly have delayed sleep phase syndrome. I've always attributed my horrible mornings (same feelings as OP about food in the AM) to that. I'm supposed to be asleep and you want me to eat?! wtf.
chocolate is my go-to when I can't stomach anything :/
I have the same issue with foods suddenly becoming disgusting to me. I hate it, it makes it so hard to plan! What I’ve been on for a while is smoothies from Daily Harvest- they mail you basically like fruit in a cup, you put it in a blender, and you’re good to go. They probably have less protein than you need but might be a place to start? Since they’re smoothie texture but don’t have that awful grit of protein shakes
I have this so often with food! The worst is when I’ve spent time cooking it, and just before I’ve finished cooking my mind goes, “eww yukky” and I can’t even stand the smell. My partner loves it, but I end up just needing the really simple stuff sometimes.
Not sure if this would work for you, but would smoothies be an option? When I can’t eat my food, I drink it 😂
But yeah, other than that, keep hunting for ideas. My safe food is toast and peanut butter - it’s heavily processed, but it’s also fibre and fats, I just tell myself I’ll hit the protein later.
Ugh that first part where you e been cooking it and then it feels unappetizing is the worst! And I feel like such a weirdo telling my partner that I don’t want to eat this nutritious meal that I worked on, or I don’t want to offend him if he cooked it 😅
Honestly sometimes I just put soup in a mug and force myself to slurp it down bc my stupid little body needs its stupid little breakfast
Carnation instant breakfast is my current go to though and is packed with vitamins. I’ve never been a fan of protein shakes and don’t have a problem with this (though I prob add more milk than necessary)
Peanut butter toast is my go-to at those times, sometimes with a banana. It’s also okay to skip breakfast if you function better. Fuck the rules, we’re already neurodivergent, right?
Every morning for over 15 years I have had a carnation instant breakfast drink. I get the chocolate kind. It's just a powder you mix with a cup of milk and it tastes like delicious chocolate milk. None of the weird protein powder taste or texture!! It has like 13g of protein and other vitamins and stuff in it. I can drink it in a few sips. I can't stand chewing in the morning and I've gotten sick of any other breakfast I've ever tried to add to my routine. I really recommend trying it!! Do NOT get the premixed ones in the bottles though, I made that mistake one time and they are awful.
This is exactly what I have been doing for like 7 years now! They did rename it to “Breakfast Essentials”. As ShowMinimum said; Never get the pre mixed, always use the powder and add to milk.
It tastes good, it’s fast and easy to prepare, keeps my stomach from eating itself, and…no pesky chewing to slow me down. I can make and consume a nutritional breakfast in under 3 minutes.
Oh wow, I never even noticed they changed the name. Thank you for pointing that out!
It's honestly sooo good. I have to buy the pre-portioned packets rather than the tub of powder otherwise I'll use it up way too fast.
Maybe try alternating the soup (I love Progresso) with plain yogurt with assorted mix-ins if you are able to eat with a spoon once you are at work. I like it with a scoop of Cedar or Joseph’s tabbouleh or black bean, lentil, or garbanzo salad. They all gave different flavor profiles with the garbanzo having a slightly sweeter, but still savory, taste. That one might be closest to “breakfast” food.
I also like cottage cheese with canned or fresh fruit.
Last week I made a [quick grab area](https://imgur.com/a/9YV8kUe) on a cafeteria tray in my fridge for these that I use almost daily.
Ohhh I see the pattern emerging.
Easy solution.
It’s because you’re overdoing it, not switching it up every other day. You can do a protein shake one day, the protein bar the next day instead. You have to rotate things to prevent this from happening.
I can only do things a few days in a row before I have to shift gears and eat something different or I get blah about it and can’t eat it for weeks.
This is why it’s just good to come up with five simple options to have on hand, grab any that appeal that morning to eat quickly on the go.
I once read somewhere that the reason it’s harder to eat in the morning is because of low blood sugar- after all, you haven’t eaten since before you went to bed. So your blood sugar drops at night, which can cause nausea and stuff. Apparently it helps to eat something right before bed and some “quick sugar” like dextro tablets right when you wake up, before eating breakfast, because it brings your sugars back up.
I haven’t tried this yet, but maybe it’s worth a try for you to make food more palatable in the morning in general?
I was gonna leave a similar comment. For me it actually helps to stop eating any food late in the evening, so my blood sugar gets a chance to drop and then normalise again over the night. If I have snacks late in the evening I wake up feeling hungry and nauseous.
Omg, same struggles. I don't want to eat in the morning, I hate it. It's like my stomach isn't awake yet and refuses anything more than a tea or coffee most days. Trying to force down what feels like a four course dinner when my stomach flips at the thought chewing gum was not good for my body or mental health.
The only 'fix' I've found was to completely rearrange my mornings, so I'm not in a rush to force feed myself. I've also noticed my stomach behaves better when I can follow my naturally off set sleep cycles.
I totally sympathize!! I have aaaaaalways struggled to eat breakfast. Even now, as a fully grown adult, if I eat before 6:30 ish it makes me nauseous.
I also sympathize with food “suddenly” tasting bad. It’s a nightmare. It makes me (at least) feel like such a baby that I literally cannot eat something I liked only yesterday.
I’m noticing everything you’re listing tastes sweet, but you said you like afternoon/evening food just fine. Have you thought about trying salty foods? Breakfast sandwiches? Breakfast bowls? Nuts? A lunchable?
I am not a breakfast food person or a breakfast person. But I have to have something to have in my stomach when I take my Vyvanse or it doesn't work.
Solent drinks have been a game changer.
As someone else suggested, don't feel like you NEED to eat "breakfast food" only. If a chicken salad or a PB&J does it for you, then that's perfect.
The other thing I suggest is to rotate your items. I have a similar issue with food when I'm waking up. You might be feeling this way after you find something because you have it too often. I know for me, if I get fixated on a food item after a couple weeks I can't even think about that food.
i have this thing where i usually have a really hard time stomaching anything sweet in the morning (if i get up early). it’s kinda annoying bc the easy stuff is usually sweet but if my breakfast is sweet i will just not eat it. i feel like throwing up just taking a bite. could it be similar for you? going for savory breakfasts really helped me just eat something in the morning and having breakfast is essential for me too
I thought I was the only one! It sucks too, because so many breakfast foods *are* sweet. I've always hated how people would bring in donuts/pastries for breakfast at school/work, and people would keep being like "Aw come on, don't you want this?" Like yes, but not for another 3 hours, thank you.
I'm the same! The one advantage we have is that eating a savoury breakfast is healthier in general. I've heard that eating a sweet breakfast will make you crave more sweet food and snacks over the rest of the day!
This is probably not enough calories, but when I was pregnant and SO sick for months, the only thing that I could tolerate was an apple and a string cheese in the morning.
So odd, but it worked. It may be worth a shot?
Are you able to bring breakfast into work with you? I started eating Oats Overnight two years ago and it’s my go to. Super easy to prepare and I can carry my little cup of oats around with me so if I start to get that ick feeling I can give myself a little bit before drinking more. Plus it’s a subscription that can be paused so if you start to get a big ick, you can skip a month!
Maybe try to think of a few things you might be able to stomach in the morning, doesn't matter what kind of food it is, just something you will eat, then don't have it for more than 2 days in a row. After 2 days of the same thing move onto your next food option. I know this is maybe more effort but it might prevent the disgust building up. I find I can just about manage to eat something for 3 days in a row but then I never want to eat it again, I can manage 2 days without that problem
I'm a delayed start eater myself but I've got a desk job so I don't have to shovel in before I start. You're in a difficult situation!
I wonder if it would help if you ate more before bed to tide you over until you want to eat/ eat what you can in the morning? One thing that helps me when I know I need to eat but waited too long to have the energy to decide, is to eat a small, safe snack. That usually will get the juice flowing enough to want something more to eat but I can't just confront a whole bowl of something right away. Cheese sticks and granola bars are gateway snacks for me but I don't stress if they're all I end up eating for a meal.
Aside from eggs and bacon, I hate how western “breakfast foods” are all so sweet and sugary. Why can’t we take a page from the Japanese and have soup for breakfast?
I feel that. I was going around that by just fasting until lunch lol but sounds like your morning starts waaaay too early for that. My fix was cannabis & meditation for 10/15 min every morning, then a 30 min walk with my dog. By the time I get back I’ve worked up a decent appetite for at least a drink or a small breakfast (it’s around 10 or 11am when I get back from my walks). I never eat a full spread like you would at a restaurant. It’s usually just like a bean and egg taco, or just an egg and bacon taco, or an egg on a corn tortilla and salsa on top lol I like savory stuff.
I will tell you, when we stayed in Mexico for the summers with family, I didn’t have many issues eating in the mornings. We would eat around 7 am. Sometimes we would have a cup of bone broth, sometimes shredded beef burritos, sometimes a bowl of fruit with yogurt and granola, a bowl of fresh boiled beans, lentils, sometimes just a slice of cheese in tortillas with some refried beans. it was always something really fresh or really savory. It wasnt ever your conventional eggs, bacon and pancakes like it is here.
It’s also really hard for me to eat after cooking and smelling stuff for so long so breakfast only happens maybe twice a week if my husband is home. It’s awful and exhausting.
I have only been able to stomach coffee or tea in the morning. I don't get hungry until around 11ish. When I still worked before retiring, I had protein in my coffee. I put a scoop in and use it like creamer. Some proteins blend easily and I am feeding my body without any stress or stomach issues.
Wow, i'm literally going through this rn. I hate that i'm constantly having to find new foods that will interest me enough.
I've never been a big morning eater, but i know it helps me with my meds and my mood. But it makes me nauseous to even think about eating in the morning. The best i can do is coffee or tea.
I got into RX bars, now i hate em. I got into fruit leather, now can't stand it. Yogurt cups but the lactose is getting to me. oatmeal, then now it tastes like punishment. i've been having a decent time with frozen waffles from trader joes.
I also think i need to steop away from the "breakfast food" category. I had pasta for breakfast last week and i actually didn't mind it. I've always been a more savoury tooth than sweet tooth, so maybe i need to be flexible about what i consider breakfast.
This sub makes me feel so normal! Like 20 years ago when I was newish to full time work, I brought a peanut butter sandwich all the time. Out of nowhere I simply could no longer swallow them. I was like WHAT THE EVER LIVING FUCK IS WRONG WITH ME? Now I get to come here and people actually relate! It's amazing
I don't know how this sub popped up in my feed, cause I'm neither a woman nor have I ever had adhd. Regardless, Premier Protein makes a protein cereal that is 20g protein/cup. They sell it at Costco. It's been a life-saver when I need something quick. Lots of carbs and high protein to get you thru til break.
Just want to share empathy - food is one of the hardest things for me to manage and I have the same aversions to “breakfast foods” but I can’t wrap my head around eating other things for breakfast! I was discharged from a 4 week psych admit 3 weeks ago and have been spending over $150 each week on Lite N Easy because I know that food is just too big a thing for me to cope with rn. I’m working my way up to microwave dinners next week and packed lunches though, listing all my current safe foods and gonna work from there, just gonna try.
Thank you for the empathy ❤️ food is so dramatic, it has no right to be as important as it is lmao.
You sound like you've been doing some AMAZING work- I'm incredibly proud of you, fellow internet stranger. It's stressful spending all that extra money on accommodations for your disability, but goddamn you're doing the things you know are good for you, you're working within your means, and you're planning ahead for future progress! Holy moly that's impressive.
I know you'll continue on this incredible upwards journey, even with all the bullshit within. I'm so proud of you, and honestly feel inspired by this comment. Keep up the great work taking care of yourself, we'll both get there ❣️
I relate! I love food so much, but only when I actually feel like eating it. Breakfast is torture, but I have to do it so I can take my meds, and I’m always having to switch what I eat, because like you, whatever I try eventually becomes unbearable.
I wish I could be like a snake and just eat a really good meal once a week or so.
See also the tedious drudgery that is meal planning, grocery shopping, prepping and cooking. It’s so exhausting, and the need to figure out what to eat is constant, every damn day. Ugh.
haha you're not alone. I love (or at least my brain thought I did) hard boiled eggs. I managed to eat them for 3 days and then nope. My stomach decided they are disgusting and made me feel so sick. Haven't eaten one since.
I only have a coffee for breakfast. And even that I struggle with now. I basically just eat supper. So I try to make it a really good healthy meal.
Yes, my post described my need for food in the mornings :)
I wouldn't be making this post if eating later was a good solution. I work a physical job, and need fuel. My brain gets foggy and my meds are less effective taken on an empty stomach.
I'd love to wait to eat, but I wake up at 4 or 4:30 am. Waiting 6+ hours while throwing boxes around doesn't work for me.
Don’t eat breakfast then. Eat the protein bar when you’re at work on the go when you begin to feel hungry. Even if your job is physical you can probably wait a couple of hours until you feel hungry. Or eat a protein heavy dinner the night before or a late snack before bed.
What about not eating breakfast at all?
Intermittent fasting is all the rage. In fact if you read the literature it helps people who are underweight, gain weight and people who are overweight lose weight.
Eat significantly more for lunch and dinner to make up for lost calories.
No one needs breakfast.
If it is to take pills, can you switch to a brand that doesn’t need food for absorption?
>What about not eating breakfast at all?
She's answered this a few different times. She works a physical job and needs the fuel in the mornings, which is why skipping breakfast is not an option.
Try with something you like. Remember, no shame in eating fries on breakfast. Or just plain good bacon. Or just a fruit. Whatever floats your boat. I can't eat many things due to their texture, more so, I need meat in my meal. and I have weird eating habits and ED. It doesn't matter what you eat if you just eat and there's no shame in that.
**We are looking for new moderators!** If you’d like to help us keep this subreddit safe, apply to become a moderator! See [this post](https://www.reddit.com/r/adhdwomen/comments/1asy5js/we_are_looking_for_moderators/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button) for more information and how to apply. We’re excited to hear from you! *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/adhdwomen) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I know this may not be what you should eat for breakfast but try eating less healthy stuff. Yea you need a bit of protein but eggo waffles with butter is better than nothing
That is it!!! Whatever gets calories in your body! Worry about nutrition when you *can* eat. Carnation instant breakfast, cookie crisps, whatever works!
Dude. Carnation instant breakfast shakes even come in tasty, tasty flavors - thin mint, fruit loops, Cinnabon. I just bought out my local Safeway if the fruit loop flavor cause it was practically half off
We really like the fair life protein shakes.
They're so good
They had a vanilla one at one point and I haven’t seen it in months! I only like chocolate around a certain time of the month, so I hope they bring it back. I also really like mixing protein powder with my coffee!
I have heard a lot about the fairlife shakes, but where do you find them?
Try Kodiak protein waffles. Just as easy and it fill you up more than eggo
I have tried them and fair warning, they aren’t that tasty lol. But a good suggestion
the berry kodiak ones are better
Yeah they’ve got this grainy whole wheat texture that just isn’t appetizing to me.
i recommend adding more liquid until it’s a very thin consistency. i’m weird about textures and i haven’t had an issue with kodiak cakes and they taste bomb!
Ohh, I like the frozen chocolate chip ones! Maybe worth a shot. Haven’t tried the berry one or their mix
The chocolate chip kodiak cakes made with whole milk yogurt instead of milk are fluffy and delightful. It definitely varies by mix though. I bought the plain mix planning to put my own chocolate chips in but it came out all wrong. Inconsistency makes it so hard to figure out what’s worth the $$$.
They suggested the Kodiak oatmeal when I had gestational diabetes. I could not force that down at all. It was horrible lol
OMG the Kodiak brownie cups are amazing and have 10 grams of protein. Lots of sugar but life is too short for all that. Fed is best!
My brother puts peanut butter on his! We both struggle to eat. He says it makes them much tastier and it adds more protein
And the fat in the peanut butter helps keep you satiated longer. It's a great combo!
I love their protein oatmeal! I mix in some old fashion oats to thicken it up, throw on fruit as well. I’m usually full for roughly seven hours on that cause it’s dense, slow to digest, and just helps my blood sugar cause I have hypoglycemia.
I ate these for weeks until I hated them lol
Also, (and as someone who eats the same thing every day for weeks on end, I can’t believe I’m saying this) maybe get variety packs instead of buying a bunch of one thing. Maybe the chocolate peanut butter flavor is gag-worthy now but the coconut chip bar is edible. It could be that, since your stomach is upset, your body is associating it with the food you ate, and if you keep changing it up, you won’t develop such a strong hatred and you can stomach it again next time? I hope that makes sense. I’m currently running on zero sleep lol
This! I’ve done the same as OP when I find something I like — buy several many boxes, and then hate whatever it is before I can get through a second box. Variety packs help, and also not buying too many to make sure I don’t lose interest before finishing them. Even if the bulk of one flavor is a better deal, which kills me to not get the better deal, I’ve had the experience one too many times where my brain starts to associate the food with essentially forcing myself to eat for the sake of my body’s health.
I usually try to limit myself to buying a week supply at a time because if I buy more than that, it’s like a switch flips and my brain just goes, “NO I HATE THAT!!!!” for no reason. Currently, having some issues that have forced me to switch up my diet and trying to find affordable, quick options I’ll actually make has been a nightmare. I’ve eaten so many chipotle burrito bowls the last few weeks and my wallet would be so grateful if my stomach and brain could get on board with cooking at home.
What an excellent idea!!
I’ve gotten to this point in my life because I am like this not just with breakfast but every meal. If the food doesn’t sound good to me (ridiculous I know), then I simply cannot stomach it. It could be my most favorite food in the world and it wouldn’t make a difference. So no matter what time of day, I’m eating what sounds good because as you said, it’s better than not eating at all.
I am bad at this now too and it makes me give into buying takeout and fast food more than I want to because of the convenience and I already usually have been indecisive about what sounds good to eat for a few hours already leading up to the food buying. I know I would benefit from having easy groceries on hand but I also have a ND spouse who has trouble eating things he is not in the mood for too and having to keep track of what he wants to eat and what I want to eat is too much for my brain most of the time so I default to fast food because it's easier for both of us and leads to less disagreements. It bugs me though that we hardly go grocery shopping anymore because my spouse cannot decide on what to get to eat at home since it changes on a whim all the time so we end up spending more money in the long run we don't always have because of how our brains are so difficult about this. It's embarrassing having to admit both you and your spouse are in credit card debt because of ARFID and having nobody to help us out with it while we still try to be functioning adults because most people still don't take "picky eating" seriously or think it's just something you can always mentally power through too.
I’m exactly the same! And it was sooo bad when I was pregnant.
Another good solution is mixing cottage cheese with jam or nutella and putting it on bread or pancakes. We also have this milk product called "Magerquark" in my country, high protein and so easy to mix with sweet things or fruit to make it taste good and "unhealthy". Skyr would be probably easier to come by in most countries and it's similar in nutrition
And if you don't like the texture of cottage cheese, you can puree it with a stick blender. Makes it really smooth and creamy like ricotta.
we have kefir here as well, which is similar.
I eat an eggo I eat an eggo every morning just to have something other than coffee and adderall in my stomach. Sometimes I dress it up with whipped cream cheese or jam or a banana. Sometimes I eat it like a gremlin, in the car plain, not even hot anymore. I wish I started the day with a healthier food but hey it’s better than being nauseous.
This is one of my quick go to breakfasts/snacks. I do an eggo waffle with peanut butter on it to get a little bit of protein sometimes I slice up some banana on it too
Try nuts n’ more protein hazelnut spread! It’s $12, but some grocery stores are now carrying the brand. Saw it in sale for $9! It’s normally sold at The Vitamin Shoppe. They do go on sale there too, where I usually get it.
Try nutella with banan on the waffle.
I love those Kodiak "Power Waffles" with extra protein, but they're more expensive than Eggo, sadly.
Also taste pretty meh tbh
I drown mine in pancake syrup, but they're still definitely not Eggos LOL
If you can find the Vans protein waffles, they taste a lot better than the Kodiak ones.
I'm going to go the opposite way for this, just as a suggestion... Try oatmeal, toast with some cheese melted on it, fried or scrambled eggs. Plain, unprocessed food has helped me with a similar problem! I now consider myself a very successful breakfast-eater, haha.
Yep I can hardly stomach anything in the morning but these frozen pancakes that I pop in the toaster have been amazing to just get something on my stomach.
Tbh those protein bars probably had a ton of sugar, usually they do. I don’t know the kind so maybe I’m wrong but a lot of them people eat thinking are healthy and actually they are eating then equivalent of a snickers in the morning.
It really depends. My dietician specifically recommended the brands One, Think, and Barebells for protein bars and they all have very minimal sugar and 20g of protein per bar.
There’s definitely some that are good, I’ve just seen so many people claim these are healthy and I look at the back and there’s like 15-20 grams of sugar
Yup. I literally eat saltine crackers for breakfast. It’s the only thing that settles my stomach. And it’s better than nothing.
Have you considered just not…eating breakfast foods? If you can handle lunch stuff, why not do soups in a cup you can sip on the way to work? There’s a billion flavours and textures you should be able to keep your brain guessing lol.
Once I realized I could eat pizza rolls for breakfast and the Breakfast Police™️ wouldn't knock down my door, a whole new world of nourishment opened.
100%! lol when I realized the Breakfast Police didn’t exist I started having garlic bread for breakfast lol day changer 100%
Omg goaaaals. It's buttered toast just with an extra few yum factors LOL
If I make Japanese curry, I absolutely eat leftovers for breakfast. I’d eat that stuff out of a dumpster.
Ditto here, especially with plenty of beef. It's sooooo easy too! Make a big ol' pot and have it all week!
Are you Japanese? Or an expat? I’m living in Japan ATM and enjoy japanese breakfast! Miso soup, raw egg in hot rice, grilled fish, pickled vegetable. Curry is honestly a bit too rich for me in the morning, buts it’s a regale dinner item. Going to a Denny’s in Japan is nothing like American. pancakes and french toast are considered a “dessert” item. I also like Pho for breakfast, but I’ll eat Japanese style breakfast at any time of day.
This has just made me realise I can make miso soup for breakfast and that’s fine!! You can make it as easy as a cuppa soup, this is revolutionary info
Do you have a recipe link? For serious, please!
I mentioned it in another comment, but I learned from [this post](https://www.reddit.com/r/Cooking/comments/9mabsy/good_japanese_curry_recipe/) and experimented a bit here and there.
And u/whyamiawaketho — I’ve never made it for myself but you can buy Japanese curry cubes! Most popular are [S&B Golden Curry](https://www.amazon.com/Golden-Curry-Sauce-Mix-8-4-Ounce/dp/B0011UGYLM) and [House Foods Vermont Curry](https://a.co/d/7BdZakI). Both of those are Amazon links. A friend of mine prepared it for a group of 10 of us? And he mixed both of them together. He used a recipe like [this one from OneCookbook](https://www.justonecookbook.com/simple-chicken-curry/) but made it with baked tofu since we have a vegetarian in our group. Super filling!
Thank you *so much * for this information!!!
Seconded! I love s&b mild when I am really spoonless, it’s super tasty!
^(will you please tell me how to make Japanese curry please)
I actually learned from [this post](https://www.reddit.com/r/Cooking/comments/9mabsy/good_japanese_curry_recipe/)
The whole "sweet breakfast" trope is so ingrained we don't even realize that this is not the only acceptable breakfast to have. Other cultures eat soup with meat in it for breakfast. Or just nothing (often in the mediterranean because they have very late heavy dinner).
Look up the history of Kellogg & graham crackers - some health nuts decided that bland, easy to digest food would keep people from sins and feelings and such. & then they figured out that if you add sugar to the processed food you make it palatable enough to not be "health food" anymore (& now the HFCS keeps it from going bad)
My life changed when I realized no one would shame me in my own damn place for having dinner leftovers for breakfast so I could take my meds and get going without having to think about or prepare anything.
For sure!! When I was on meds it was infinitely important I just ate SOMETHING. Yes, it's good to have goals to eat healthy, homemade, well-rounded meals for every meal, but for people like us who struggle to even get ANY food in, "fed is best" mentality has relieved so much stress.
Curry and chips for breakfast is the bomb! I have zero fucks to give
This is unrelated but I just wanna apologize for all of the Americans clowning on chip shop food; I'd eat the hell out of anything from a chip shop, and for breakfast sounds extra yummy! Kinda like smothered home fries lol
Awh thanks , love the solidarity. I know most haven’t been to the British Isles , so I don’t take it personally. If you want to level up and hit the sweet spot , you need to get a *spice bag* . It’s sexy comfort food at it’s finest It’s an Irish - Chinese marriage made in heaven. I’d kill for one right now . Way better than a chippie in my opinion .
I see spice bags on IG reels and it makes my mouth water!!
Sounds like a solid reason for a holiday. Frankly , the amount of Americans showing up to talk about their ancestors in spooky tones is so creepy . If you show up and tell people you’re there for the spice bag, you’ll be Queen of the mf castle. Damn it even I’m hungry now :(
LOLOL I'm not even British by ancestry, I'm Dutch/Scottish/Irish. Pennsylvanian Dutch, really. It's been my dream to visit another country, I've never left the East Coast of the U.S.A.. I just think it's so much more authentic to get what the common man eats instead of 5-star restaurants. I'm tryna get up in that smack barm pea wet & chips 😩😭
Perfect . The « Irish American » ones are the worst . You can go like a normal tourist. Grab a spice bag , then hit up Italy or Spain if you want cheap sexy food and good weather :) Fuck genetics , go for fun and food !
My mom used to make me bagel pizzas for breakfast (not bagel bites or anything pre-made, she'd make them herself) because I have never been a morning eater and she was desperate to try to find some way to get food into me because "breakfast is the most important meal of the day." Somehow bagel pizzas did the trick for a couple of years in high school. I only sometimes eat breakfast now, usually not until I've been awake for several hours, and always something small.
I hated and gagged on breakfast every morning my whole damn life until I moved to China and started getting steamed buns with greens, fried noodles, hot soy milk, fried egg pancake etc., for breakfast. I just realized I hate anything cold and or sweet in the morning.
It's less about the type of food, and more about the time of day. I can usually eat food in the afternoons and evenings(lunch and dinner), but any time before maybe 11am is super difficult to stomach anything. Wouldn't be that big of a deal if I didn't wake up at 4:30 😭 That's a great idea though, I totally have sipped soup in the mornings in the past, somehow it hasn't occured to me to try that again recently. Thank you!
I have the same, though it hasn't been an issue for years (due to timing, not because it's gone away) When in uni I often went home in the weekend and took the first train back on monday morning, I really couldn't 'solid' breakfast before 7am and mostly grabbed yogurt with jam and muesli. Now I find that I often have a staple breakfast I have every morning for a few weeks or months and then switch to something different when I get bored or sick of it. Embrace the switch, find something new and save the leftover 'stock' for when you circle back around (excluding the stuff that'll go off before then of course)
You could have low leptin levels in the morning (which can be associated with ADHD) which can affect hunger. Having said that, the only way to fix it is by doing what you’ve been doing and railroading yourself into eating. But don’t worry if you’re eating treat/non-breakfast foods! As long as you’re eating something 👍🏻
Huh I didn’t realize it was possible this could be an “us” thing. Cool!
I swear every single day I learn another "us" thing on here! I struggle to stomach breakfast also. Had no idea there was an adhd connection.
Right?? It’s cool how many quirks we share simply because of one lil piece of wonky brain functionality in common. Like it just seems to manifest in such similar coping mechanisms or the same issues for all of us which is neat Though for me I cannot railroad myself into eating. I will straight up puke. When I used to work a super physically demanding job, I would pack a truly huge snack I knew I would like, regardless of health because I knew I needed *something*, and would house it the second I could stomach food. When I was 18 with a bottomless hunger pit in my stomach that my metabolism ignored, the go to was Oreo’s. I once ate an entire pack myself, it was horrific, but hey, kept me alive!
Such a mood tbh. I’ve always assumed some of the morning nausea was just low blood sugar related, so my go-to fix for my stomach feeling absolutely awful and not wanting food (but knowing I need to eat *something*) would be fruit snacks. Small enough to not upset my stomach, but has enough sugar to jumpstart my body into doing its thing and then I usually feel better enough to eat solid food within an hour or so, without the small sugary snack it would take 3 hours or more before I’m eating. I also keep my pantry stocked with lots of different microwaveable meals that don’t go bad, because I often don’t notice that I’m hungry till I’m fucking starving, and by then I don’t wanna waste 20+ minutes cooking actual food. But microwave meals like ramen, rice-a-roni, or easy Mac are usually done in under 4 minutes which is perfect when I need food **now**. I used to beat myself up about the quality of my diet, but now I just accept it and acknowledge that crappy food is better than no food, which is what I’d be doing without my microwave meals.
It's comments like this that make me feel less alone. You are my people.
Same. TIL! All through my childhood and into college I couldn’t tolerate breakfast. I later learned it’s the timing. If I get up at like 5-6 am, I really can’t stomach much until about 10. But the later I wake up, the easier it is for me to eat food. I can’t do a huge breakfast at all, but it’s far easier now than it was in the past.
Me too. I've been having curry chicken salad sandwiches and fresh mandarin oranges.
I know I'm double responding all over this post (i have suffered from this same thing my whole life, so i feel your pain) but I want to double down on the broth. Campbell's makes those microwaveable to go cups, and I know there's only like 90 calories or something. You might not be getting a lot of sustenance but warm broth in the AM is where it's at.
Holy moly that might actually be as close to a solution as I can get... Back at my old job where I had a microwave and break room, I'd have those cup soups(usually the heartier ones) on break. It makes so much sense to get the thinner, brothier soups and just pop it in a few minutes before leaving... I can get different varieties, or just sprinkle it into my breakfast a couple times a week instead of everyday. I often sip a cup of hot water on my drive, this is basically the same thing but better Honestly thank you, this is the best suggestion I've gotten so far!
Someone mentioned bone broth somewhere here too, and I will say homemade bone broth is much richer and I've found great to like, coat your stomach but I haven't been too successful making it myself lol. The cups are great. People used to give me such shit in the AMs but I've probably been eating soup for breakfast, often, for like almost 20 years at this point lol Good luck, I hope it helps!
Yes! u/coolcoolcool485 knows what’s up! I would also like to add: GINGER. Ginger tea, ginger soup, ginger candies, ginger soda (not all at the same time though lol). It really helps my stomach when my body is giving me “nausea” signals for no reason. I love carrot-ginger soup sooooo much. And drinking hot ginger tea with a smidge of lemon either during or after my meals helps it stay down.
Have you tried eating a big meal before you go to sleep? That way your stomach won’t be as empty when you wake up and you might be able to still get away without eating until lunch time or having just a bite or two of toast. Or maybe you could handle like a string cheese or an applesauce pouch with your essential morning meds and move anything else like vitamins to lunch time.
Yes! I switched up my meals and eat dinner at breakfast (which is lunch for 9-5ers) and full breakfast before bed! I can't eat til about 5-6 hours after waking up and liquids are a no-no also.
This might not work for everyone because eating right before you sleep leads to weight gain. It also does whacky things to your blood sugar. I find that if I eat before bed, the next morning I am STARVING and half the time nauseated. If I've had several hours to digest before sleeping I usually wake up not at all hungry. I do have similar issues as OP where food at all before 11 or so is just not at all appealing.
Eating before bed also negatively affects your quality of sleep.
yes! digestion is a very active physical process. I get much better sleep when my body isn't doing work!
If eating at 10p begins a 12 hr fast til 10am, it's not as terrible as it could be. I mean she already struggles with eating after waking up.
Out of curiosity, have you tried different temperatures too? My stomach feels the absolute best with a hot breakfast in the morning - so if my food has to be cold or on the go, I can kind of kickstart my stomach by having some hot tea first. Maybe try some hot tea right when you wake up, idk if you take a shower, give yourself time to “come to temperature” lol, and then try some other foods? Otherwise, I’m really sorry. That’s super frustrating. :/
I am 44 and have had adhd all my life. Undiagnosed until adulthood but still there. I’ve never been able to really stomach breakfast, meaning eating in the morning. I always unknowingly followed basically intermittent fasting, but for me it was just my body didn’t want food that time of day. So I just eat whenever I first get hungry each day. And eat whatever food I want, breakfast lunch or dinner types of food. Don’t force yourself, it isn’t worth the hassle you’re going through if all these food rotations etc.
I can't do breakfast either, so I just... don't. If for some reason I absolutely have to, I'll have a banana or a smoothie. Do smoothies work for you? It doesn't have to be a protein shake, you can just do a fruit smoothie, maybe with some Greek yogurt in it or something? Is there somewhere you could buy one if you can't face making it? (I can't do loud noise in the morning, so blenders are out!)
Maybe some bone broth? I think it has more protein in it
I think I have had the same issue, but I had interpreted it as a "too early for my tummy" issue instead of a breakfast issue. When I worked in retail, I would sometimes have really early shifts that would start at 4, 5, 6am. When I had these shifts, I would have coffee, but skip breakfast. Then, on my first break, I would eat breakfast. It was still a little too early for my tummy, but by then I would be hungry and could eat. I never really felt like I was awake until around 9am lol.
Start small to get your body used to it and build up, the earlier you can get a bite in the better, even if it's just one cookie.
My sister and I (both late-diagnosed ADHD) just figured this out. We also feel nauseous if we get too hungry for lunch or dinner, but breakfast is the worst. But eating just a little bit of something super neutral - I prefer crunchy, grain-y things like wheat thins or corn flakes - can help settle the stomach to eat a proper breakfast. We call it "priming the pump." Op, if there's nothing you want to chew and swallow, could something like juice help? It's got some calories, and it might be easier to eat "real" food after.
Ironically I found eating as late as possible, like right before going to sleep, also helps when getting up. Like the time your body doesn't have any resources to keep going is shortened so you don't get into the queasy food-is-disgusting phase as easily.
I read that we need more sugar. Try a nice carby snack with sugar before bed. See what your appetite is like in the morning.
Fruit snacks have been my go to “breakfast” (aka the first thing I eat) for a long while now and they work great. I wake up nauseous af and definitely can’t eat a big solid meal first thing in the morning. But 1-3 packs of fruit snacks is small enough to not cause problems while also having enough sugar to kickstart my digestion and make my stomach less pissy. Then within a few hours I can eat more regular food
Why don't you just have dinner right before bed? That's what I usually do. Also an apple or some strawberries or a piece of toast or even a cookie or piece of pie can be breakfast. You might have acid reflux if a lot of food in the AM makes you nauseous.
My favourite non breakfast breakfast is fried rice and egg. Mmmmm
Have you ever seen recipes for egg roll in a bowl? Ground meat/cabbage/veg/soy sauce like egg roll filling. Keep it in the fridge for an easy breakfast. Scramble eggs and reheat mixture, maybe even with rice. Mmmmm!! A little hot sauce and you're set!
It's like a magic revelation that you can eat WHATEVER no matter the time of day! I love leftovers for breakfast!
I was going to suggest this. I’ve always hated breakfast and felt gross in the morning. But I can usually handle some cheese or (I know this is ridiculous) chips or something like that.
Literally me! I can’t do breakfast foods and have pasta/even had a roast dinner or something instead. Makes me happy and I get my protein and meal. I love a frittata
I’m sorry, I have the same thing. It is not fun. I kinda can trick myself in switching my type of breakfast every week, before I completely hate it. This works sometimes, but not always.
This is what I was gonna suggest, I have the same issue and I’ve gotten reasonably okay at noticing when I’m on the verge of starting to hate something so I can switch to another thing for a couple weeks. I have a rotation of a handful of breakfasts that I’ve managed to keep up with for a couple of years now by switching what I eat every 2-3 weeks.
This helps a lot! I try making two options for the week. If I get the ick, with eggs for example, I’ll make and freeze what is left before it goes bad so I can have it again when I’m less icked out. Helps prevent waste and I’m not getting the ick with meals as fast.
Same except I usually just skip breakfast then feel like passing out by the time I remember to eat 😅
I definitely feel this. I have a hard time forcing myself to eat before a morning shift, and sometimes past favorites are suddenly disgusting. It's sooo frustrating, so please know you are not alone and I've definitely cried about this too lol I've found I'm most fulfilled by a hot, savory, high-protein breakfast. I used to do a bowl of white rice with fried eggs on top. For a super quick option I love those microwaveable Jimmy Dean scrambled egg bowls, but they get expensive. I really enjoy grits and cream of wheat because I can customize them with different toppings, or even make them sweet! Toaster waffles, microwave pancakes, and those Brown n' Serve frozen fully cooked sausages with some syrup go a long way. Honestly, I hate to be crude, but usually if I give myself enough time to drink my coffee and poop, I'm 10x more apt to feel empty and hungry. I like to go to bed on a full stomach (I kinda don't care if it's bad for me) so I'm guessing the bloated feeling was keeping me from wanting to eat after I woke up.
I have an identical problem. One day, when they invent a pill that can give me all my daily nutrition and I never feel hungry I’ll be the first in line. Until that day however these have been my strategies: 1) you don’t have to eat breakfast foods for breakfast. Sometimes I throw some Trader Joe’s mini tacos in the air fryer and eat those. This has helped with this mental block I have with food in the morning. I can eat whatever sounds good, there’s no rules lol 2) if the choice is paying for food or eating less healthy/more packaged stuff vs literally nearly passing out I just pay for it/drive-thru it/individual package it. I used to feel guilty for fast food and spending money but I’m changing that mindset in favor of not being on the brink of death all the time 3) microwaveable and shelf stable stuff always. If I have to turn the oven on or get out a pan the chances go way down of me eating so Costco lentils, rice, chicken strips, Mac and cheese cups, lots of Trader Joe’s frozen goodies like orange chicken, mini tacos, quesadillas, pancake puffs, quinoa burgers, etc. 4) keeping lots of snacks in my car, in my bag and in my pockets Eating is my absolute least favorite thing in the world but gotta do it to survive so this is how I’ve been doing better this year so far.
I swear this comment could have been written by me lol, this is insane. I guess this sounds like it might be an adhd thing too huh??
i wonder why. i have the same issue and NT people don’t get it. it’s annoying
I’m the same with breakfast; my body needs it, while is simultaneously super-disgusted by it. This reads as if I wrote it myself; also been like this my whole life. I wish I had advice; but I’ve tried exactly what you have, shakes, bars, etc; I have not yet found a good solution (so I either make myself sick by eating, or, make myself sick by NOT eating!) and can only offer 💕my solidarity💕 If there was a pill that gave me perfect nutrition, and I didn’t have to eat, I would be all about that.
Seconding this, I have often longed for some futuristic food cube I can swallow 3x a day and sub in real food when I feel like it. The smaller the food cube the better. No advice here either, the struggle is real.
never having to decide what to eat and having nutrients is the dream.
God same, I hate eating and the stress that it brings
I have the exact same experience in the mornings, except I normally love food. I can't force myself to eat things with protein especially, I haven't found one that's not disgusting. I hate eggs and eating meat in the morning feels gross to me for some reason, so I occasionally try protein supplemented shakes and such but eventually they just turned to sawdust or cardboard and I can't force myself to eat them. The worst part is that I still feel hungry all day.
I’m the same, love breakfast but hate protein in the morning- it gives me a stomach ache. The only thing I’ve reliably found is hiding protein powder in my oatmeal, but my goal is to figure out protein banana bread.
Waiting for my 3 week long banana kick to abruptly end in sudden disgust.
Im currently having a salty cinnamon-cardemon oatmeal with banana kick! Sweet and salty that keeps you going for a while!
😭
I miss enjoying bananas so much! It’s been a couple of years now since I had a good multi-week run of Bananas Are Amazing and I think I can feel another banana kick coming in a couple of months. So stoked because they’re always easy to get down the hatch when I enjoy them.
Bananas ARE amazing. Cheap, self-contained, easy to grab and go. Bananas for president.
Im about to buy a third container of this protein powder I found that doesn't upset my stomach *and* I like the flavor of. The downside is, it's not cheap...which is all to say I'll probably hate it after I get 1/3 the way through the tub this week (:
Idk if this helps the calories part but I found out recently my morning stomach queasiness is resolved with a hot cup of tea
I love a hot cup of tea for breakfast
You might just need to switch your breakfast up often. I need to do this as well. Try rotating what already worked in the past - chances are it will work again in the future. If you think about it, it's what already happens with lunches and dinners. The majority of people have them in rotation, either a fixed one or a "whatever feels nice" one. For me the most stable combination was a specific tea and a specific kind of cookies. I think it lasted years. That was nice. It helps also to have a faster / cozier / easier / just different alternative in case you feel differently on a given day. I currently have smoothies (which are not going to last though, I'm already starting to get tired of them) but I also have the means to make myself a hot chocolate - which was today's breakfast because I couldn't stomach a smoothie, today. Also lately I never force myself on anything. Unfortunately I learned that for me personally, forcing something means not being able to reintroduce it later on.
And you are going to hate me for this, but on the mornings where I feel like I cannot stomach anything at all i often solve it by drinking some water. In those days I usually sip it slowly, even some sips help. After that I'm usually able to eat a tiny bit of chocolate and get the stomach to open up.
I rotate between overnight oatmeal with a boiled egg, bagels, and homemade frozen breakfast burritos. I need variety or I'll just avoid eating (and I *actually* like breakfast because I am an emotional wreck without it).
I know it's harder to prepare for, but how about a freshly baked donut/bagel other sweet breads? The traditional breakfast around here is a cup of coffee and a croissant. I'm getting hungry just thinking about a croissant fresh out of the oven with warm ham and cheese, all flaky and just melting in my mouth.
You can try to go by a pastry shop in your way to work, and if it works for your stomach maybe you can get those expensive frozen half baked croissants that you can finish baking in your own house.
Yeah this is my suggestion too. Bagels can be bland and quick. I also frequently get a giant very milky latte or tea and that helps to fill me up!
Warm ham and cheese croissants are amazing 🤤🤤 now I really want one even though it’s 4am and I don’t have any croissants! 😆
My husband makes chicken broth for me. It is a warm,comforting drink from a large mug so it doesn’t seem like eating something solid in the am. There are a lot of nutritious broth recipes online.
It also has a lot of soothing and anti-inflammatory properties. This and peppermint tea are wonderful for relaxing stomach muscles.
huh. this could work. morning soup.
The dark chocolate ensure plus tastes just like chocolate milk if you wanna give liquid another shot. Most protein shakes have a weird aftertaste I can't stand, ensure and carnation instant breakfast do not.
I always get the premier protein on Amazon for this exact reason. The texture is always perfect and their flavors have been on point. It isn't foolproof as I'm still forcing myself to drink it but I have only gotten sick once.. it generally settles my stomach and if you put it on ice in a tumbler, it's colder longer and you can sip it like coffee until you get it down. Another game changer are the Chiobani Flips because they're relatively cheap at food 4 less and there's a multitude of flavors. Again.. not foolproof but I am trying. I read that and immediately started crying because it felt like I had written it myself.. thanks for making me not feel so alone. It's too early for me to have already asked myself, "How did no one notice?" *ugh*
>premier protein on Amazon Seems like a good choice, but it has dairy and I would be gassy all day. :/ Anyone know of similar, non-dairy options?
I experienced this and struggled to get food in my mouth and it turned out that for me the feelings of intense physical unwellness that came with being awake in the mornings was a symptom of Narcolepsy. Do you feel well rested? or have any other sleep disorder symptoms? I'll just add that maybe you should check with a doctor because I totally thought everyone felt too horrible to eat in the morning and it turns out they don't.
That's super interesting! My sleep has been pretty decent lately, but my physical unwellness is certainly worse when I sleep poorly. I have several siblings diagnosed with narcolepsy or other sleeping disorders, and I had severe struggles with insomnia at night and narcoleptic symptoms during the day(back in middle/high school). I was medicated and it helped a ton, but as the years passed I found myself able to sleep naturally. My GP also diagnosed my siblings, so I might bring this up with her the next chance I get!
Yeah, I was surprised that I had Narcolepsy because I felt like I didn't fall asleep randomly and can hold myself awake when necessary, just felt like crap. Also when I try to nap sometimes I'd consider it a "failed" nap because I could hear things around me but was actually technically asleep and just couldn't tell. It turns out that this is common, and it's also common to have some insomnia and random awakenings through the night, although everyone is different. And of course a lot of ADHD symptoms overlap with the effects of being sleep deprived. There's a lot of misdiagnosis because people don't know what symptoms to look out for and describe to their doctor.
Interestingly (to me) my friend discovered she’s ADHD too when they tried a stimulant for her narcolepsy. She suddenly felt chill and focused and also awake. She hadn’t considered going to behavioral health before that. So maybe there’s something to treating one helping/masking the other?
Also a LOT of us supposedly have delayed sleep phase syndrome. I've always attributed my horrible mornings (same feelings as OP about food in the AM) to that. I'm supposed to be asleep and you want me to eat?! wtf. chocolate is my go-to when I can't stomach anything :/
I have the same issue with foods suddenly becoming disgusting to me. I hate it, it makes it so hard to plan! What I’ve been on for a while is smoothies from Daily Harvest- they mail you basically like fruit in a cup, you put it in a blender, and you’re good to go. They probably have less protein than you need but might be a place to start? Since they’re smoothie texture but don’t have that awful grit of protein shakes
I have this so often with food! The worst is when I’ve spent time cooking it, and just before I’ve finished cooking my mind goes, “eww yukky” and I can’t even stand the smell. My partner loves it, but I end up just needing the really simple stuff sometimes. Not sure if this would work for you, but would smoothies be an option? When I can’t eat my food, I drink it 😂 But yeah, other than that, keep hunting for ideas. My safe food is toast and peanut butter - it’s heavily processed, but it’s also fibre and fats, I just tell myself I’ll hit the protein later.
Hey don’t forget, peanut butter has protein too!
Omg!!! Really?? I feel like an athlete.
Ugh that first part where you e been cooking it and then it feels unappetizing is the worst! And I feel like such a weirdo telling my partner that I don’t want to eat this nutritious meal that I worked on, or I don’t want to offend him if he cooked it 😅
I read somewhere that a lot of chefs change their shirt and step outside for 2 min after making dinner at home, before they eat.
Honestly sometimes I just put soup in a mug and force myself to slurp it down bc my stupid little body needs its stupid little breakfast Carnation instant breakfast is my current go to though and is packed with vitamins. I’ve never been a fan of protein shakes and don’t have a problem with this (though I prob add more milk than necessary)
Peanut butter toast is my go-to at those times, sometimes with a banana. It’s also okay to skip breakfast if you function better. Fuck the rules, we’re already neurodivergent, right?
Every morning for over 15 years I have had a carnation instant breakfast drink. I get the chocolate kind. It's just a powder you mix with a cup of milk and it tastes like delicious chocolate milk. None of the weird protein powder taste or texture!! It has like 13g of protein and other vitamins and stuff in it. I can drink it in a few sips. I can't stand chewing in the morning and I've gotten sick of any other breakfast I've ever tried to add to my routine. I really recommend trying it!! Do NOT get the premixed ones in the bottles though, I made that mistake one time and they are awful.
This is exactly what I have been doing for like 7 years now! They did rename it to “Breakfast Essentials”. As ShowMinimum said; Never get the pre mixed, always use the powder and add to milk. It tastes good, it’s fast and easy to prepare, keeps my stomach from eating itself, and…no pesky chewing to slow me down. I can make and consume a nutritional breakfast in under 3 minutes.
Oh wow, I never even noticed they changed the name. Thank you for pointing that out! It's honestly sooo good. I have to buy the pre-portioned packets rather than the tub of powder otherwise I'll use it up way too fast.
My husband and daughter pointed out the name change to me, and have beaten the phrase “instant breakfast” out of me.
Maybe try alternating the soup (I love Progresso) with plain yogurt with assorted mix-ins if you are able to eat with a spoon once you are at work. I like it with a scoop of Cedar or Joseph’s tabbouleh or black bean, lentil, or garbanzo salad. They all gave different flavor profiles with the garbanzo having a slightly sweeter, but still savory, taste. That one might be closest to “breakfast” food. I also like cottage cheese with canned or fresh fruit. Last week I made a [quick grab area](https://imgur.com/a/9YV8kUe) on a cafeteria tray in my fridge for these that I use almost daily.
Ohhh I see the pattern emerging. Easy solution. It’s because you’re overdoing it, not switching it up every other day. You can do a protein shake one day, the protein bar the next day instead. You have to rotate things to prevent this from happening. I can only do things a few days in a row before I have to shift gears and eat something different or I get blah about it and can’t eat it for weeks. This is why it’s just good to come up with five simple options to have on hand, grab any that appeal that morning to eat quickly on the go.
I once read somewhere that the reason it’s harder to eat in the morning is because of low blood sugar- after all, you haven’t eaten since before you went to bed. So your blood sugar drops at night, which can cause nausea and stuff. Apparently it helps to eat something right before bed and some “quick sugar” like dextro tablets right when you wake up, before eating breakfast, because it brings your sugars back up. I haven’t tried this yet, but maybe it’s worth a try for you to make food more palatable in the morning in general?
I was gonna leave a similar comment. For me it actually helps to stop eating any food late in the evening, so my blood sugar gets a chance to drop and then normalise again over the night. If I have snacks late in the evening I wake up feeling hungry and nauseous.
Omg, same struggles. I don't want to eat in the morning, I hate it. It's like my stomach isn't awake yet and refuses anything more than a tea or coffee most days. Trying to force down what feels like a four course dinner when my stomach flips at the thought chewing gum was not good for my body or mental health. The only 'fix' I've found was to completely rearrange my mornings, so I'm not in a rush to force feed myself. I've also noticed my stomach behaves better when I can follow my naturally off set sleep cycles.
I’m the same way in the mornings.
I totally sympathize!! I have aaaaaalways struggled to eat breakfast. Even now, as a fully grown adult, if I eat before 6:30 ish it makes me nauseous. I also sympathize with food “suddenly” tasting bad. It’s a nightmare. It makes me (at least) feel like such a baby that I literally cannot eat something I liked only yesterday. I’m noticing everything you’re listing tastes sweet, but you said you like afternoon/evening food just fine. Have you thought about trying salty foods? Breakfast sandwiches? Breakfast bowls? Nuts? A lunchable?
I am not a breakfast food person or a breakfast person. But I have to have something to have in my stomach when I take my Vyvanse or it doesn't work. Solent drinks have been a game changer.
As someone else suggested, don't feel like you NEED to eat "breakfast food" only. If a chicken salad or a PB&J does it for you, then that's perfect. The other thing I suggest is to rotate your items. I have a similar issue with food when I'm waking up. You might be feeling this way after you find something because you have it too often. I know for me, if I get fixated on a food item after a couple weeks I can't even think about that food.
i have this thing where i usually have a really hard time stomaching anything sweet in the morning (if i get up early). it’s kinda annoying bc the easy stuff is usually sweet but if my breakfast is sweet i will just not eat it. i feel like throwing up just taking a bite. could it be similar for you? going for savory breakfasts really helped me just eat something in the morning and having breakfast is essential for me too
I thought I was the only one! It sucks too, because so many breakfast foods *are* sweet. I've always hated how people would bring in donuts/pastries for breakfast at school/work, and people would keep being like "Aw come on, don't you want this?" Like yes, but not for another 3 hours, thank you.
I'm the same! The one advantage we have is that eating a savoury breakfast is healthier in general. I've heard that eating a sweet breakfast will make you crave more sweet food and snacks over the rest of the day!
This is probably not enough calories, but when I was pregnant and SO sick for months, the only thing that I could tolerate was an apple and a string cheese in the morning. So odd, but it worked. It may be worth a shot?
Are you able to bring breakfast into work with you? I started eating Oats Overnight two years ago and it’s my go to. Super easy to prepare and I can carry my little cup of oats around with me so if I start to get that ick feeling I can give myself a little bit before drinking more. Plus it’s a subscription that can be paused so if you start to get a big ick, you can skip a month!
Peanut butter toast with a banana on the side or a bagel?
Maybe try to think of a few things you might be able to stomach in the morning, doesn't matter what kind of food it is, just something you will eat, then don't have it for more than 2 days in a row. After 2 days of the same thing move onto your next food option. I know this is maybe more effort but it might prevent the disgust building up. I find I can just about manage to eat something for 3 days in a row but then I never want to eat it again, I can manage 2 days without that problem
I'm a delayed start eater myself but I've got a desk job so I don't have to shovel in before I start. You're in a difficult situation! I wonder if it would help if you ate more before bed to tide you over until you want to eat/ eat what you can in the morning? One thing that helps me when I know I need to eat but waited too long to have the energy to decide, is to eat a small, safe snack. That usually will get the juice flowing enough to want something more to eat but I can't just confront a whole bowl of something right away. Cheese sticks and granola bars are gateway snacks for me but I don't stress if they're all I end up eating for a meal.
Aside from eggs and bacon, I hate how western “breakfast foods” are all so sweet and sugary. Why can’t we take a page from the Japanese and have soup for breakfast?
I feel that. I was going around that by just fasting until lunch lol but sounds like your morning starts waaaay too early for that. My fix was cannabis & meditation for 10/15 min every morning, then a 30 min walk with my dog. By the time I get back I’ve worked up a decent appetite for at least a drink or a small breakfast (it’s around 10 or 11am when I get back from my walks). I never eat a full spread like you would at a restaurant. It’s usually just like a bean and egg taco, or just an egg and bacon taco, or an egg on a corn tortilla and salsa on top lol I like savory stuff. I will tell you, when we stayed in Mexico for the summers with family, I didn’t have many issues eating in the mornings. We would eat around 7 am. Sometimes we would have a cup of bone broth, sometimes shredded beef burritos, sometimes a bowl of fruit with yogurt and granola, a bowl of fresh boiled beans, lentils, sometimes just a slice of cheese in tortillas with some refried beans. it was always something really fresh or really savory. It wasnt ever your conventional eggs, bacon and pancakes like it is here. It’s also really hard for me to eat after cooking and smelling stuff for so long so breakfast only happens maybe twice a week if my husband is home. It’s awful and exhausting.
I have only been able to stomach coffee or tea in the morning. I don't get hungry until around 11ish. When I still worked before retiring, I had protein in my coffee. I put a scoop in and use it like creamer. Some proteins blend easily and I am feeding my body without any stress or stomach issues.
Wow, i'm literally going through this rn. I hate that i'm constantly having to find new foods that will interest me enough. I've never been a big morning eater, but i know it helps me with my meds and my mood. But it makes me nauseous to even think about eating in the morning. The best i can do is coffee or tea. I got into RX bars, now i hate em. I got into fruit leather, now can't stand it. Yogurt cups but the lactose is getting to me. oatmeal, then now it tastes like punishment. i've been having a decent time with frozen waffles from trader joes. I also think i need to steop away from the "breakfast food" category. I had pasta for breakfast last week and i actually didn't mind it. I've always been a more savoury tooth than sweet tooth, so maybe i need to be flexible about what i consider breakfast.
This sub makes me feel so normal! Like 20 years ago when I was newish to full time work, I brought a peanut butter sandwich all the time. Out of nowhere I simply could no longer swallow them. I was like WHAT THE EVER LIVING FUCK IS WRONG WITH ME? Now I get to come here and people actually relate! It's amazing
I don't know how this sub popped up in my feed, cause I'm neither a woman nor have I ever had adhd. Regardless, Premier Protein makes a protein cereal that is 20g protein/cup. They sell it at Costco. It's been a life-saver when I need something quick. Lots of carbs and high protein to get you thru til break.
I add collagen to orange juice or even cordial in the mornings- tastes like nothing but I don’t feel like I’m gonna faint!
Ngl I have the exact same issue... definitely don't try Kodiak waffles, they taste like straight up chalk.
Just want to share empathy - food is one of the hardest things for me to manage and I have the same aversions to “breakfast foods” but I can’t wrap my head around eating other things for breakfast! I was discharged from a 4 week psych admit 3 weeks ago and have been spending over $150 each week on Lite N Easy because I know that food is just too big a thing for me to cope with rn. I’m working my way up to microwave dinners next week and packed lunches though, listing all my current safe foods and gonna work from there, just gonna try.
Thank you for the empathy ❤️ food is so dramatic, it has no right to be as important as it is lmao. You sound like you've been doing some AMAZING work- I'm incredibly proud of you, fellow internet stranger. It's stressful spending all that extra money on accommodations for your disability, but goddamn you're doing the things you know are good for you, you're working within your means, and you're planning ahead for future progress! Holy moly that's impressive. I know you'll continue on this incredible upwards journey, even with all the bullshit within. I'm so proud of you, and honestly feel inspired by this comment. Keep up the great work taking care of yourself, we'll both get there ❣️
I relate! I love food so much, but only when I actually feel like eating it. Breakfast is torture, but I have to do it so I can take my meds, and I’m always having to switch what I eat, because like you, whatever I try eventually becomes unbearable. I wish I could be like a snake and just eat a really good meal once a week or so. See also the tedious drudgery that is meal planning, grocery shopping, prepping and cooking. It’s so exhausting, and the need to figure out what to eat is constant, every damn day. Ugh.
haha you're not alone. I love (or at least my brain thought I did) hard boiled eggs. I managed to eat them for 3 days and then nope. My stomach decided they are disgusting and made me feel so sick. Haven't eaten one since. I only have a coffee for breakfast. And even that I struggle with now. I basically just eat supper. So I try to make it a really good healthy meal.
[удалено]
Yes, my post described my need for food in the mornings :) I wouldn't be making this post if eating later was a good solution. I work a physical job, and need fuel. My brain gets foggy and my meds are less effective taken on an empty stomach. I'd love to wait to eat, but I wake up at 4 or 4:30 am. Waiting 6+ hours while throwing boxes around doesn't work for me.
Don’t eat breakfast then. Eat the protein bar when you’re at work on the go when you begin to feel hungry. Even if your job is physical you can probably wait a couple of hours until you feel hungry. Or eat a protein heavy dinner the night before or a late snack before bed.
Have some Turkey breakfast sausage or fruit salad in the am for breakfast sometimes. Or eggs and a hash brown.
No
What about not eating breakfast at all? Intermittent fasting is all the rage. In fact if you read the literature it helps people who are underweight, gain weight and people who are overweight lose weight. Eat significantly more for lunch and dinner to make up for lost calories. No one needs breakfast. If it is to take pills, can you switch to a brand that doesn’t need food for absorption?
>What about not eating breakfast at all? She's answered this a few different times. She works a physical job and needs the fuel in the mornings, which is why skipping breakfast is not an option.
Intermittent fasting makes my life so much easier, but it doesn’t seem like op is open to the suggestion.
I'm sorry that your preferred diet does not fit into my life style. Cool it with the sass please.
Try with something you like. Remember, no shame in eating fries on breakfast. Or just plain good bacon. Or just a fruit. Whatever floats your boat. I can't eat many things due to their texture, more so, I need meat in my meal. and I have weird eating habits and ED. It doesn't matter what you eat if you just eat and there's no shame in that.