How bad is a daily bagel with cream cheese

I want to eat one bagel with cream cheese a day. For breakfast I have a slim fast shake, lunch I have grilled tilapia and spinach with a fruit salad. And for dinner I have a bagel with cream cheese and coffee. Am I sabotaging my weight loss by eating the bagel? I read somewhere that bagels have 700 calories in it. I don't know how true this is because my fitness pal says that a bagel is only 230 calories.
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Replies

  • 126siany
    126siany Posts: 1,386 Member
    It depends on the bagel. Some of them are huge and are several hundred calories and some are smaller and fewer calories.
  • emmaxbon
    emmaxbon Posts: 123 Member
    Check the nutritional info on the bag of bagels that you intend to use. That will give you the calorie content.

    If a bagel with cream cheese fits into your daily goal then by all means eat one per day. But would you not rather have some variety in your food? That said, I've eaten the same thing for lunch for a while now (until today as I think I've finally sickened myself of it!) so who am I to judge.

    Can I ask what your daily calorie goal is?
  • DeguelloTex
    DeguelloTex Posts: 6,652 Member
    230 is a lot closer to the bagels I've eaten. I think they are 210.
  • jlahorn
    jlahorn Posts: 377 Member
    Weigh your bagel. Weigh your cream cheese.

    They can easily be giant calorie bombs, and they are nutritionally sparse.

    Delicious, though :)
  • stepmark1
    stepmark1 Posts: 2 Member
    Depends on the cream cheese :) errr...how much of it you use :) Or depends on how willing you are to exercise for one said bagel and cream cheese....
  • wizzybeth
    wizzybeth Posts: 3,578 Member
    The bagel & cream cheese in and of itself is not good or bad. The question is: how well will it fit into your plan?

    If you can work it into your plan without feeling like it's too many calories, and if it makes you feel full long enough, go for it. If you want it for an occasional treat - maybe a way to make you look forward to Mondays or Wednesday, scale back and have it just once or twice a week instead of every day.

    "Oh goodie, today is BAGEL DAY!" makes it a treat to look forward to rather than something "bad" to avoid. Make sense? Just figure out the exact calories for it and the cream cheese and be sure to log it.
  • cookieinbk82
    cookieinbk82 Posts: 320 Member
    Check the nutritional info on the bag of bagels that you intend to use. That will give you the calorie content.

    If a bagel with cream cheese fits into your daily goal then by all means eat one per day. But would you not rather have some variety in your food? That said, I've eaten the same thing for lunch for a while now (until today as I think I've finally sickened myself of it!) so who am I to judge.

    Can I ask what your daily calorie goal is?

    I get the bagels from the bagel store in my neighborhood. So I don't have the nutritional information available.
  • ValGogo
    ValGogo Posts: 2,168 Member
    Good, this is something I have experience with.

    A bagel a day with cream cheese, even if it's scooped, is still responsible for approximately 25 lbs in a year. If it fits in your macros, try it, but I am living proof that it's not a very good idea for maintenance if you are trying to lose. Ok, there are the tiny bagels made by Thomas' and that may be a better deal, but I like the "real bagels."

    We have the best bagels in the world (New York) and when I started working at my job, I was at least 25 lbs less. I have been eating a bagel a day for about two years. I'm working on trying to have it once a week but it's hard.

    Even if it's pumpernickel or whole wheat, it's still heavy. Like I said, if it fits your macros and you're already on the path to awesome fit monster, I say go for it, but it not, be careful.
  • ValGogo
    ValGogo Posts: 2,168 Member
    Check the nutritional info on the bag of bagels that you intend to use. That will give you the calorie content.

    If a bagel with cream cheese fits into your daily goal then by all means eat one per day. But would you not rather have some variety in your food? That said, I've eaten the same thing for lunch for a while now (until today as I think I've finally sickened myself of it!) so who am I to judge.

    Can I ask what your daily calorie goal is?

    I get the bagels from the bagel store in my neighborhood. So I don't have the nutritional information available.

    See, someone who knows......bagels are never bought in packages, only in the corner bakery.
  • ValGogo
    ValGogo Posts: 2,168 Member
    Depends on the cream cheese :) errr...how much of it you use :) Or depends on how willing you are to exercise for one said bagel and cream cheese....

    Nope, the cream cheese is not the bad part. Don't get it twisted.
  • emmaxbon
    emmaxbon Posts: 123 Member
    Check the nutritional info on the bag of bagels that you intend to use. That will give you the calorie content.

    If a bagel with cream cheese fits into your daily goal then by all means eat one per day. But would you not rather have some variety in your food? That said, I've eaten the same thing for lunch for a while now (until today as I think I've finally sickened myself of it!) so who am I to judge.

    Can I ask what your daily calorie goal is?

    I get the bagels from the bagel store in my neighborhood. So I don't have the nutritional information available.

    A bagel store?! Living in Northern Ireland, this is something I've never seen or heard of. Here, we only have bagels in packaging :(
  • emmaxbon
    emmaxbon Posts: 123 Member
    I really want a toasted bagel with cream cheese and bacon now....
  • TeachTheGirl
    TeachTheGirl Posts: 2,091 Member
    Fresh bagels = love.

    I'm just curious why you have this as your evening meal. Coffee in the evening would probably have me awake for hours, unless that's the point...
  • dpwellman
    dpwellman Posts: 3,271 Member
    Bagels, I just avoid them completely, not worth the hassle-- compared to chicken breast (tenderloins), you'd have to eat more than 224 grams (half a pound) to break 200 calories..
  • Efflictim
    Efflictim Posts: 147 Member
    I really want a toasted bagel with cream cheese and bacon now....

    The temptation!
  • mandos_13
    mandos_13 Posts: 21
    I get the bagels from the bagel store in my neighborhood. So I don't have the nutritional information available.

    I would find a bagel entry in the MFP database that closely mirrors the type (plain white, whole wheat, etc.) that you get from your store, and then weigh the bagel and enter by weight.

    And as others have said, if it fits in your daily calorie/macro goals, by all means eat the bagel. But I highly recommend weighing both the bagel and cream cheese, so you can count the calories as accurately as possible.
  • WBB55
    WBB55 Posts: 4,131 Member
    Check the nutritional info on the bag of bagels that you intend to use. That will give you the calorie content.

    If a bagel with cream cheese fits into your daily goal then by all means eat one per day. But would you not rather have some variety in your food? That said, I've eaten the same thing for lunch for a while now (until today as I think I've finally sickened myself of it!) so who am I to judge.

    Can I ask what your daily calorie goal is?

    I get the bagels from the bagel store in my neighborhood. So I don't have the nutritional information available.

    The bagel store knows the calories in their bagels. Ask them. If they won't tell you, ask them to weigh it for you (they have scales if they're baking anything onsite). If they won't do THAT either, then I wouldn't trust their food.

    Big bagels are about 400 calories. Smaller bagels are about 250. (edit to add: that's calories without cream cheese)
  • FindingAmy77
    FindingAmy77 Posts: 1,268 Member
    look for a bagel that has lower calories, use low fat or no fat cream cheese, log it and enjoy.
  • biscuit71
    biscuit71 Posts: 43 Member
    I buy the bagel thins.
  • levitateme
    levitateme Posts: 999 Member
    If it fits your goals, I don't see why you shouldn't have it. I count a "scooped" bagel from my local spot as 180 calories based on the size/amount they scoop out. One of the problems with bagels is that you can never really be sure of the calorie content from a mom&pop establishment.
  • megareen325
    megareen325 Posts: 3 Member
    I used to work in a coffee shop, and I LOVED bagels. Bagels for breakfast, lunch, or dinner, it didn't matter. Then we started putting calorie counts on all the food items we sold. YIKES. 1 bagel is the equivalent to about 3-4 pieces of sliced bread, anywhere between 200-400 calories. They are DENSE, and unfortunately those carb calories add up. It couldn't hurt to cheat every now and then, but if your ultimate goal is dropping pounds, it might not be the best food choice to go with on a daily basis.
  • howardheilweil
    howardheilweil Posts: 604 Member
    I want to eat one bagel with cream cheese a day. For breakfast I have a slim fast shake, lunch I have grilled tilapia and spinach with a fruit salad. And for dinner I have a bagel with cream cheese and coffee. Am I sabotaging my weight loss by eating the bagel? I read somewhere that bagels have 700 calories in it. I don't know how true this is because my fitness pal says that a bagel is only 230 calories.
    Are you saying that you have the exact same three meals every day of your life? Why?

    To answer your question, no one can tell you if it's okay to have the bagel and cream cheese because no one really knows the amount of calories in that bagel or the cream cheese, we also don't know your overall calorie goals, exercise, etc... In general, you can eat anything you want as long as it fits your calorie and macro goals/requirements. Good luck!
  • Bella0531
    Bella0531 Posts: 309 Member
    My local bagel place has the nutritional info posted on a small sheet of paper near the display case. Maybe ask someone there if they have the info available? If not, I'd just guesstimate using somewhere that gives the info (Dunkin' for example).
  • CallMeCupcakeDammit
    CallMeCupcakeDammit Posts: 9,377 Member
    I agree with weighing. You don't have to get the bagel store to do it for you, get your own digital scale, unless you have one already, and weigh them before you eat them. Weigh your cream cheese, too, because you're most likely getting more than a serving if you use a tablespoon to measure it out. As an example, a serving of dry oatmeal is 40g or 1/2 cup. If you measure out a 1/2 cup of oatmeal and weigh it, it comes out closer to 50g. You can eat a bagel every day if you want to, as long as you're staying within your macros. Check this link out. http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/925464-fitting-it-in-giggity

    ETA I also think you should ask them about the calories, but once you have that info you can weigh them yourself.
  • UmmSqueaky
    UmmSqueaky Posts: 715 Member
    Nothing is bad so long as you plan your day and make sure it fits into it. For me, I'm not a big enough fan of bagels and cream cheese to have them more than a few times a year. I did have one last week, and mixed 1 oz of cream cheese with some jam so I got plenty of topping across the whole thing without half a pound of cream cheese. In the end, it was 550 calories, which is a bit more than I normally have for breakfast, but I compensated for that elsewhere in my day.

    If the local store doesn't know the calories, weigh your bagel and find a bagel in the database that has a similar description and weight.
  • popsicklestar
    popsicklestar Posts: 166 Member
    My occasional bagel and cream cheese from the bagel shop is 450 calories. That is pretty typical for a bagel and cream cheese. So, that's a totally reasonable amount of calories for a meal. The problem is that the macros aren't that great. It's 54% carb 35% fat and 11% protein. So, it's high fat and high carb without much protein. It's fine if it's once in a while, but those aren't very good macro ratios for a daily meal.
  • dawnmcneil10
    dawnmcneil10 Posts: 638 Member
    If you truly enjoy your bagel with cream cheese then I say make adjustements but don't remove it entirely. A bagel provides you carbs, protein and fiber so it's not "wasted" calories as some people will tell you especially if it satisfies you. You could cut down to 1/2 a bagel a day (the half that goes stale makes great croutons) with cream cheese, have that with your coffee and add a cup of fruit.

    My own personal choice is to still enjoy all foods I just make sure they fit into my macros. Bagels are high carb so I'm willing to balance out the bagel by having a low carb meal for say lunch.

    As far as caloric info I'd look at Brueggers or Einstein bagels, they're chains but they're probably the closest I've found to the bakery down the street in substance.
  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
    If it fits into your calorie and nutrition goals, you enjoy it, and you don't have any negative effects from eating it, then it's fine. So the question is does it fit into your calorie and nutrition goals? It probably wouldn't fit mine because it wouldn't leave me room for enough protein. You'll have to decide for yourself whether or not it fits into yours.
  • cookieinbk82
    cookieinbk82 Posts: 320 Member
    I want to eat one bagel with cream cheese a day. For breakfast I have a slim fast shake, lunch I have grilled tilapia and spinach with a fruit salad. And for dinner I have a bagel with cream cheese and coffee. Am I sabotaging my weight loss by eating the bagel? I read somewhere that bagels have 700 calories in it. I don't know how true this is because my fitness pal says that a bagel is only 230 calories.
    Are you saying that you have the exact same three meals every day of your life? Why?

    To answer your question, no one can tell you if it's okay to have the bagel and cream cheese because no one really knows the amount of calories in that bagel or the cream cheese, we also don't know your overall calorie goals, exercise, etc... In general, you can eat anything you want as long as it fits your calorie and macro goals/requirements. Good luck!

    Lately I have been eating the same thing everyday for about a month. I have lost a lot of weight during this time. However, I'm wondering if I could lose more weight if I cut out the bagel from my diet and replace it with something else.
  • funfang
    funfang Posts: 200 Member

    We have the best bagels in the world (New York) and when I started working at my job, I was at least 25 lbs less. I have been eating a bagel a day for about two years. I'm working on trying to have it once a week but it's hard.

    Even if it's pumpernickel or whole wheat, it's still heavy. Like I said, if it fits your macros and you're already on the path to awesome fit monster, I say go for it, but it not, be careful.

    LOVE bagels!!!! Like so many other said, if it fits your calories, why not? You should be able to enjoy your food (life)!!