Hey, I am new to phase two.
I did well throughout phase one, except that I was super hungry ALL the time. I don't know why. I didn't cheat.

Now I'm in phase two, still really hungry most of the time. Not cheating at all. I'm committed to this for my health and my waist.

Breakfast is a challenge for me every single day. He says in the book, avoid carbs in the morning, but all the sample menus are almost all carbs for breakfast? That's confusing. (Plus my doctor said do not eat carbs without protein. I'm hyperinsulinemic.)

I bought the steel-cut oats, but I guess I should avoid carbs for breakfast--even with the protein--since I'm so hungry anyway?

I'm just not sure what to do, a bit confused. (Feel silly that I'm so confused and can't sort this out.)

Any help and guidance would help.

It's really challenging for me to eat breakfast anyway. I'm hungry, but my stomach is... off. (Not new. Always been that. Used to having like... a sandwich or grabbing a cereal bar. No more of that.)

And eating so protein is kind of new to me. Struggling with that since the beginning. But I have to stick with it. According to the doctor, this is my new life. This isn't a diet. So I have to learn how to make this all work.

It would just be easier if every single morning didn't start with me trying to figure out breakfast. (This is so stupid, but some mornings, I get so frustrated I want to cry--like *this* morning.) The rest of the day I do fine, but for some reason breakfast is just terribly hard.

Sorry for the long post.

Hi and welcome! Do you like hard boiled eggs? You can make them in advance, then grab and go if necessary. I try to mix up breakfast. My "regulars" include two eggs over easy with turkey sausage, a smoothie (Greek yogurt, natural PB, psyillium fiber, skim milk) parfait (Greek yogurt with fresh strawberries or peach) rarely do I have cereal anymore despite really enjoying it. Cereal doesn't seem to keep me full. The protein really does help keep you full. You are only a few weeks in, so your system may still be adjusting. Hang in there, check the message board for more breakfast ideas too. These ones work for me, you'll find ones that work for you too

Learning about smoothies for breakfast from this board saved me for breakfast! I make them chock full of protein with Greek Yogurt and protein powder. You can even make them the night before - as long as you don't include chia seeds, flax meal or psyillium... well you can include those things, but after sitting the smoothie becomes a thick viscous pudding instead of a shake. (That's how I ate mine yesterday! It was good, just different)

Also I like "muffin in a minute" which I have with veggie sausage for some protein, and I have been making "protein oatmeal" - just adding protein powder to oatmeal after it's cooked. Here is one example.

Good luck sorting it out!

I have the same problem. I don't like a big breakfast either and the only time of the day I don't feel hungry is the first few hours after I wake up. Protein shakes worked really well for me. I would cut up fruit and put them in seperate zip lock baggies in the freezer. Then when I got up in the morning, I would toss it in a blender with some protein powder, skim milk and sometimes a little peanut or almond butter. It took just a minute to make and tasted great. Hope you find something that works for you

My biggest piece of advice for this is to think outside the "breakfast" box.

Many of us eat non-traditional breakfasts. Like leftovers. In the winter, soup is great in the morning! For almost two years on SBD I had crock pot refried beans; they are a great combination of carbs, protein and fiber and kept me full longer than anything else I'd tried.

Everyone is different but for me it seems to work best not to have cereal or grains or fruit in the morning; I want more and more of them all day if I do. And just plain eggs don't fill me up and I'm not much of a fan. Right now I am on a kick where I eat a "pancake" for breakfast (recipe below) and then have a snack later if I need one. Often I do since this is a pretty light meal but it depends on what I'm doing in the morning, if I get hungry or not. Your sandwich would be fine if it is OP and doesn't set off cravings for you, but I'd avoid bars.

As for figuring out breakfast each day, I find it easiest to eat the same thing every day. There's plenty of variety for my other meals and snacks

Karen's PanFake (comes from a combination of online recipes):
1/3 cup egg substitute
1 T ground flax
2 T SB friendly ricotta (I use fat-free because I have high cholesterol)
1/2 packet sweetener
splash of vanilla
cinnamon
optional - chia seeds

Mix all the ingredients well. Heat a non-stick pan with the “non-stick aid” of your choice. (I prefer Smart Balance Spread since it is good for my cholesterol, adds a bit of a buttery taste and works well. I’ve also misted with olive oil which doesn’t work as well.) Pour in batter and cook as you would a pancake. I eat mind with some sf maple syrup.

I'm going to jump on the smoothie train here. I use some protein powder, and this yummy unsweetened Almond/Coconut milk, and then take off from there. I always add chia seed and/or psyllium, flax meal, etc. Since I'm not eating many grains, I need the additional fiber. Then I get creative with the rest to mix it up. It settles easily, and helps keep hunger at bay for quite a while. How is your fat intake? If you're getting enough protein and you're still hungry, try adding a bit more healthy fat into your diet.

I have egg muffins and tomato soup for breakfast a lot. I mix up some eggs, onions, broccoli, bacon, mushrooms, and cheese, then bake. They give me some good protein and the soup really helps fill me up.

How many veggies are you eating? 5 servings a day goes a long way to keeping me full

I'm probably not eating enough vegetables, honestly. (I don't like many of them.

Love the idea of smoothies, but I'm allergic to milk.

I agree that I need to find something that works and then eat it every day. So far... I'm still trying to work it out.

I was doing the oatmeal he suggests for day one, but am so ravenous afterward, I thought I shouldn't have carbs for berakfast, but I've been noticing that an all protein breakfast does the same thing to me.

Shrug. I'm still trying to work it out.

Thanks for all the replies.

Scorp, I do smoothies with a cup of frozen unsweetened strawberries, a half cup of frozen unsweetened blueberries, 10 oz already prepared Crystal Light (flavor of choice, orange is good, straight out of the pitcher) and sometimes add some psyllium husk or benefiber for extra fiber, but not always. It's like a fruit slushie. Not creamy, but definitely tasty and refreshing in the summer.

Cow's milk is definitely not a requirement for smoothies I bet most of us don't use that as our base. I prefer either unsweetened almond, hemp, or coconut milk for mine.

Seconding Cyndi's post: I've been using an unsweetened Almond/Coconut blend from Diamond. I love the flavor!

I third the almond milk - it's all we use in this house!

I've found that I can NOT eat fruit before noon as it makes me crave sugar all day and only do as a last resort. I do cottage cheese in the morning too (surprisingly filling!), hard boiled eggs for grab and go, sometimes hummus and veggies too (protein and veggies in one!).

I find oatmeal in the a.m. sets off cravings for me so I eat it in the PM as a dessert (oats, some agave and nuts).

I hope you find your groove. Don't give up!

Gosh, thank you, guys! I've done pretty well on the new diet, but I must admit some days I really struggle. (Today has been pretty bad and yesterday was tough.)

I agree, jenne, that oatmeal is not working for me for breakfast. I'm then all upside down all day: hungry, craving things I thought I'd gotten over.

Cydni and cat: I looked at some milk alternatives last night at Good Foods, but their carb counts were so high I got scared. Is that not a problem? (I apologize for my stupidity. This is all so new to me.)

Weezle, okay, what about the protein element? Do you put that in with the fruit?

Again, thanks so much for taking the time to help me. This is a real struggle for me.

Scorp: Are you sure you were looking at the unsweetened ones? I just went to my fridge and checked. One cup of Skim plus has 17g carbs. One cup of my almond/coconut has only 1g. I just get mine at the local supermarket.

Yeah, I'm pretty sure cause I compared flavored to unflavored.
Do you have a brand?