Help with Breakfast Choices - Peanut Butter on Wheat Toast or Turkey Bacon?

jhakayaker

Hello,

I tend to eat (3) hardboiled eggs and either: (2) 40 calorie pieces of whole wheat toast with 1 Tablespoon of Peanut Butter between them (175calories), or (4) pieces of turkey bacon (140 calories). Putting aside that calling Turkey Bacon "bacon" is an affront to bacon and pigs everywhere, which is the better choice and why? The protein is pretty close (8g for the bacon and 9g for the PB and toast). The Turkey Bacon has 0 carbs and 12g of fat. The PB and Toast has 25g of carbs and 7g of fat. The turkey bacon has a stupid amount of sodium (560g).

For context - I am a 48 y.o. father of 6 year old twins and my goal is to be 185 lbs and much more fit by the time I turn 50 in Aug. of 2022. I am trying to eat 1700-1800 calories/day to stay in a deficit and am working out (3-4 days of ~25 minute full body dumbbell workouts, sometimes with a YouTube "follow along" video and sometimes on my own and 2 days of cardio (indoor cycling or mountain biking usually)). I am also trying to walk 1.5-2 miles at lunch a couple of times at week while I am working my desk job. I tend to do a lot of strenuous yard work on the weekends and/or go for a short hike with the family. I have dropped 25 pounds from 263 to 238 since March 8, 2021!! I feel MUCH better and know that it is only going to get better the more weight I lose and the stronger I get.

I respect that there are much healthier/cleaner foods I could eat for breakfast. I am trying to stick with these for sustainability reasons but would be open to other suggestions. I could see myself doing a homemade Greek yogurt/Almond Milk/frozen strawberry/banana/flax seed/chia seed smoothie from time to time, especially when it is hot.

I thought I would pick your collective brains about this choice to help me stay on the right track. Thanks in advance for your input.

janejellyroll

There's no way to answer this outside the context of what else you're eating each day. If these are sustainable and enjoyable for you and you're meeting your daily goals, it seems like things are working.

cmriverside

Well, why don't you switch back and forth if you like them both?


I would choose peanut butter over turkey bacon every day of the week, more fiber, healthy fats, and that salt in the bacon is a third of my daily salt intake so it would be a no-go for me.

cwolfman13

They both seem fine to me, and really you have to look at things in the context of the whole. I also agree that if this is something you enjoy, why not just switch it up day to day so things don't get too boring.

I don't really use turkey bacon, but I go through quite a bit of Canadian Bacon. I tend to switch things up between this open face egg sandwich thing with Canadian Bacon and green chiles and Coach's Oats with chopped almonds, some dark chocolate chips and just a bit of cinnamon and vanilla extract.

joyanna2016

Which ever one you feel like eating that day...eat that one! 😋

yirara

For weight loss it doesn't matter as long as you account for the calories. Whatever makes you full and happy. Both are important. If neither makes you happy then maybe look for something else. If neither leaves you full then you need to figure out what kind of food satiates you as this is different for everyone.

nicsflyingcircus

Why not 1 piece of toast with pb and 2 pieces of bacon, and have both?

wunderkindking

I would personally do the pb toast because it leaves the toast adds some fiber and carbs and I need to benefit those to go WITH my protein and fat when I eat my first meal of the day, but honestly either? Probably the biggest consideration is how much sodium you get in the rest of your diet and, even bigger consideration, which you enjoy most

VegjoyP

I definitely choose peanut butter- natural with nothing added unless it's just salt and whole grain bread. Iber, complex carbs, good fats, protein. Excellent. I admit that I am plant based but it would be my answer regardless. Even as meat eater bacon in any form was not on my list.