Breakfast - My Nemesis

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LeslieT83
LeslieT83 Posts: 14 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I love breakfast... and lots of it.

My favorite thing is a cup of 2% Fage yogurt with a tbsp of honey, 1/4 of granola, and a big tbsp of walnuts... seems reasonable, but it's more than 25% of my day!

I tried nonfat yogurt, but I'm not sure if the reduction in calories is worth the empty feeling it leaves me with.

Has anyone tried bran as a filler? Maybe less granola and yogurt, and add some wheat or oat bran?

Thanks... it's so depressing to enter breakfast and see what is left!

Replies

  • czecher
    czecher Posts: 21
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    Have you tried hemp seed or toasted buckwheat? The hemp is up there in calories because of the Omega3, but it leaves you satiated much longer.

    I wish I could remember the name of it, but there is a new greek yogurt that costco is selling that is fat free and thicker than fage!!!! and it is AMAZING!!!!!

    Wendy
  • tavenne323
    tavenne323 Posts: 332 Member
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    I eat too much fruit in the morning... takes up all my sugar for the day.
  • mrintjema
    mrintjema Posts: 1
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    I have this problem too. I freakin' love breakfast. Here's some replacements you can do to cut down on some calories:
    - 1% Greek yogurt is super think and only 60 calories for 1/2 cup.
    - try with less or no honey. i know it doesn't taste as good, but you'll get used to it, and it won't mess with your blood sugar levels. you could also try putting some fresh fruit like blueberries or strawberries to boost the sweetness.
    - Unfortunately granola is super high in calories. (I know, I love it too) So instead of granola, try crushed cereal. I use Barbara's shredded oats, and it tastes amazing.
    I hope this helps you!

    Michelle
  • 007FatSlayer
    007FatSlayer Posts: 132 Member
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    Try something different for breakfast (eggs and toast, or another breakfast combo). Also, you don't have to have breakfast food for breakfast =)
  • Johanne1957
    Johanne1957 Posts: 167 Member
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    Love breakfast too...couldn't go without!

    I usually have plain oatmeal with berries and a fat free yogourt...that seems to satisfy me for a couple of hours...pretty plain but filling!
  • BeckyAnne4
    BeckyAnne4 Posts: 143 Member
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    i don't know exactly how they compare, but have you tried fage total 0% instead of the 2%? per serving single cup serving (6 oz/170 g) there are 100 calories, no fat, 7 g carbs/sugars, and 18 g of protein. if you have a full cup (8 oz/227 g) out of the "family size" container it's 130 cals, no fat, 9 g carbs/sugar, and 23 g protein.
  • momtocanda
    momtocanda Posts: 16
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    Try a smoothie? I did a smoothie today with 1/2 cup nonfat greek yogurt, 1 small banana, 5 medium strawberries, 2 cups of spinach, and 1 scoop whey protien powder and it was amazing and super filling! It was only 302 calories which is about where my health coach told me I needed to be in the morning.
  • BYoung77
    BYoung77 Posts: 1
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    This is totally not on topic, but how did you go about finding a health coach?
    Thank you
  • SteveJWatson
    SteveJWatson Posts: 1,225 Member
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    Eggs are low-calorie and nutritious...

    Maybe have some of those instead? I find them pretty filling.
  • laceylucas86
    laceylucas86 Posts: 120
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    I make my own granola because i am gluten free, it's only 106 calories per 1/3 with 3 grams protein, verry little sugar.

    Toast 1 cup gf rooled oats (not quick) and 1/4 tru roots quinoa (dry) in the oven until ightly browned.

    Combine 1/4 pepitas (pumpkin seeds) 1/4 sunflower seeds 1/4 slivered almonds and 6 apricots snipped with scissors in one bowl, add oats and quinoa to and as much ciniimon as you like (cinnimon levels off blood sugar) it and mix well

    whisk 2 egg whites, 1 tbs coconut oil or other oil and 1/4 honey or agave nectar, poor over oat mixture and stir well.

    spread out onto waxed paper on a cookie sheet, bake at 300 for about half an hour or until browned, don't flip or stir it so you get nice chunks, then dump it into a big bowl and stir in 1/2 c dried cranberries. cool well then store in air tight container until you gobble it all up! even if you eat a double portion and your yogurt you would still be under 500 cals for the meal. enjoy :)
    p.s. don't let the long recipie freak you out it's &#$* simple!
  • Keegansmum6
    Keegansmum6 Posts: 193 Member
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    I agree with the hemp seed suggestion. I added it to my yogurt this morning and it was super good!
  • laceylucas86
    laceylucas86 Posts: 120
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    I have this problem too. I freakin' love breakfast. Here's some replacements you can do to cut down on some calories:
    - 1% Greek yogurt is super think and only 60 calories for 1/2 cup.
    - try with less or no honey. i know it doesn't taste as good, but you'll get used to it, and it won't mess with your blood sugar levels. you could also try putting some fresh fruit like blueberries or strawberries to boost the sweetness.
    - Unfortunately granola is super high in calories. (I know, I love it too) So instead of granola, try crushed cereal. I use Barbara's shredded oats, and it tastes amazing.
    I hope this helps you!

    Michelle

    if you love granola seriously try this soooo healthy and low cal :)

    Toast 1 cup gf rolled oats (not quick) and 1/4 tru roots quinoa (dry) in the oven until lightly browned.

    Combine 1/4 pepitas (pumpkin seeds) 1/4 sunflower seeds 1/4 slivered almonds and 6 apricots snipped with scissors in one bowl, add oats and quinoa to and as much cinnamon as you like (cinnamon levels off blood sugar) it and mix well

    whisk 2 egg whites, 1 tbs coconut oil or other oil and 1/4 honey or agave nectar, poor over oat mixture and stir well.

    spread out onto waxed paper on a cookie sheet, bake at 300 for about half an hour or until browned, don't flip or stir it so you get nice chunks, then dump it into a big bowl and stir in 1/2 c dried cranberries. cool well then store in air tight container until you gobble it all up!
  • ldstrange
    ldstrange Posts: 17
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    I vary what I eat for breakfast but one of my favorites is: One Morningstar Farms sausage patty, 1/2 cup (equal to two whole eggs) of Eggbeaters (SW style), one slice of delightful wheat bread/toast with roughly 1 & 1/2 teaspoons of Land-O-Lakes Light butter/canola, along with my usual vat of coffee (16 oz. cup).

    I find it very filling and about 300 calories. Leave out the toast & butter and it's under 200. :)
  • LeslieT83
    LeslieT83 Posts: 14 Member
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    Clearly, I need to give eggs a chance! I am such a creature of habit :)

    And, I'm going to try something with quinoa - I love that stuff.

    Thanks so much - I think I drop it by 100 cals and still feel ready to take on the day. And my 10 am snack!
  • SarahSmilesCA
    SarahSmilesCA Posts: 261 Member
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    I don't like to eat breakfast because it sets me up to eat poorly the rest of the day. I consumes too many calories in the morning and then I have nothing left in the evening to eat and it makes socializing pretty difficult. Also breakfast foods are too high in carbs as a rule and can cause blood sugar issues by noon. Usually the food I eat in the morning causes low blood sugar so I get cranky and tired and hungry by noon. So then I eat something at noon to appease that low blood sugar issue and by the afternoon I get tired because of the spike in blood sugar after the meal. It is a nasty cycle that I finally broke with a new method of eating and training. Intermittent Fasting 16:8

    Intermittent Fasting 16:8 is unorthodox. It has you skip eating in the morning all together (you usually work out at some point during your fasted state), then you are free to have your favorite breakfast like meal at noon (or anything else). You will have an 8 hour window to get all your calories in. Most fast from 9 pm to noon, but the 16 hour fast is flexible, you just stay within the fasting window and 20% under you TDEE. You usually eat a large lunch and then again at dinner, or how ever you want to fit your calories in.

    Really works. I have lost 45 lbs with this method and control blood sugar spikes all day. This way you can pretty much eat what you want in the 8 hr period. Consuming 25% or more of your calories at noon is EXACTLY the goal. It fills you up so it is pretty hard to over eat later on in the evening. IN fact the most difficult thing about 16:8 is not the fasting but consuming enough calories in the small feeding window. Also IF encourages macro nutrient cycling. So some days I consume less carbs, this helps the blood sugar control even more. I rarely feel hungry except right after my workout.

    The thing with IF 16:8 is once you get used to it you don't even miss eating in the morning. I never feel deprived because I pretty much eat what I want. I just eat it in the time period given and within my calorie/macro nutrient goals. Eating 1600 calories (my average calorie intake per day because I work out), is actually very challenging to do in only 8 hrs, even with a protein shake or two.

    Check out Leangains and Eat, Stop, Eat for more info.

    And before I get told that eating five meals a days is better for you or skipping breakfast is bad for you that whole food thought has been debunked by science The key to weight loss is to eat the proper amount of calories in the proper balance of macro nutrients and exercising to build strength and endurance to keep the weight off for the course of your life time.

    Five small meals a day, or eating breakfast "like a king" does really nothing but make you hungry all day because it messes up your blood sugar. Control your blood sugar spikes and you will control your hunger cues and reduce the possibility of over eating.
  • Skrib69
    Skrib69 Posts: 687 Member
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    SarahSmiles, I see where you are coming from and it clearly works for you so that is great. Personally, if I skip breakfast I am so irritable by 11, no one wants to be near me. I have porridge for breakfast (or rolled oats to you Americans!) with 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon and a teaspoon of honey. That keeps me gong until lunchtime because it is a slow release carb, beating the sugar spikes that you talk about. I find it a lot more satisfying than the usual sugar laden kids cereals, and almost as filling as eggs. (Porridge will see me through until about 12:30, whereas eggs keep me going until about 1:30). I have to say though that I also love granola, if only it didn't have so much sugar. OP, will it help your calories to ditch the walnuts? I now they are great, but I think they are more calorie dense than the granola!
  • momtocanda
    momtocanda Posts: 16
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    This is totally not on topic, but how did you go about finding a health coach?
    Thank you

    The hospital I work at is doing a 10week pound for pound challenge and our wellness department is providing us with health coaches.

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