I’m running into a dilemma. A young girl I know, I’ll call her “Ella”, never likes to eat breakfast. To me this is unimaginable. First, I can’t WAIT to eat breakfast. Breakfast foods are so totally the perfect foods. Simple and delicious. The thought of skipping this most sacred of meals makes me sad, but I may have problems of my own. 
We have battled this for many years, forcing her to “eat a few bites” of something. It just seems wrong to not eat. Plus, she has no opportunity to eat until 11:50, her lunch time. I just think that’s too long and not good for her metabolism.
Here’s the thing. I don’t think she’s being obstinate. She does try, when her parents pressure her. She really just has no desire for food. I have a problem forcing anyone to eat when their not hungry. Eating when you’re not hungry looks to me like the path to and eating disorder or even obesity. Bad.
So, I want to hear what YOU think. Weigh in and give me your thoughts. Maybe you can help “Ella” on the right path to healthy eating for life!
8 Comments
I’ll be checking back too. I have an “Ella” — we’ll call him “Ryan”. He doesn’t like to eat breakfast either which makes his first meal around 11:00. I think that’s too long to go especially since his first grade mind needs to think a lot in 2 hours and 55 minutes.
I remember when I was younger I didn’t like to eat breakfast in the morning either because eating anything early in the morning made me feel gross, even nauseous. It was a phase I grew out of in middle school when I started eating breakfast regularly. Is there any way she can take a healthy snack to eat before lunch?
What kinds of foods has she tried eating?
I totally know what you mean. I LOVE breakfast too.
I’m sure you’ve done this but I’d keep offering healthy options. Eggs prepared different ways. Slow cooked oatmeal with different toppings. Some kids prefer foods that aren’t “breakfasty”. Maybe some trail mix? Fruit? What about something to drink such as a smoothie. When I’m desperate I give my kids Stonybrooke drinkable yogurts. Not the best choice, I know, but better than much of other junk out there. We have also made whole grain pancakes and waffles in bulk and frozen them so we could toast them in a pinch.
Maybe she’s a “warrior”. http://www.warriordiet.com/ Yet, another diet philosophy based on The Flintstones.
BTW I’m not promoting the warrior diet.
I’m not breakfast eater so I’m with her! I am rarely hungry in the morning…and when I force myself to eat I just feel gross…I can do coffee/tea but I can’t even really get a full glass down. My body wants nothing until like 9:30. I’m sure I’ve trained it that way…but I never eat breakfast as a kid/teen either. And I remember my mom giving me a hard time and sending me with toast or fruit.
My daughter (4) refuses to eat breakfast too…She won’t touch a single food item until at least 9:30ish…I can get her do some milk…I figure she just needs time to really wake up and know what she wants to eat…
I’m with you on not forcing people to eat just to eat…I’m sure she is old enough now to know when she is hungry…
and I’m a big fan of those drinkable yogarts and fruit smoothies…
Oh, I know at my sons school they a recess called nutrition break at like 9:15…and since he skips breaksfast a lot too…I put an extra snack in like a bar or freezed yogart stick to eat really quick…
I’m sorry
I also have a “friend”, we’ll call her Wacquie, who is not fond of eating first thing in the morning. She likes a cup of coffee or two, but other than that she would rather wait till 9:00 or so. I, uh…. she has followed many, many eating formats and regardless of the time or the degree of hunger has always managed to get enough calories to stay well above survival!
It seems counter-intuitive to eat when you aren’t hungry since hunger is the body’s communication mechanism saying it needs something. But then for a young girl like “Ella” to wait beyond the hunger stage while trying to focus on school work, and growing, and such, does not seem healthy either.
By the way, that school she goes to; they allow for students to have a snack break somewhere around 9:30 or 10:00. I asked the principal. She said that Ella should bring some healthy snacks to school and eat them mid-morning during nutrition break.