MY 'healthy breakfast' is 1200+ calories what the HECK???!! SHOCKED
jaderecovery1992
Posts: 3 Member
guys i need some advice for breakfast i had oats with water golden syrup a splash of milk chia seeds 1/2 avocado and 1/2 a banana pumpkin seeds and a glass of nesquick chocolate milk it says ive already had about 1200 calories , thats my daily intake WHAT THE HECK??? and i only just feel full any advice , i thought i was been healthy ??? please help me i thought i was been healthy like seriously omg !!
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Replies
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Food perceived as healthy don't necessarily equate to a healthy food intake for weight management.
As you have found out, foods thought of as healthy can be quite high calorie.
For weight management calorie intake is what matters.
This is a post from TheFitnessChef's IG that sums it up pretty well:
Find the happy medium, foods that meet your calorie goal, help you get your nutritional requirements and help you feel full.
Also maybe consider if you've chosen a suitable rate of loss and the correct activity level, 1200 calories is usually only appropriate if you're very short, sedentary or old.27 -
Like a bank statement you have to buget those calories. You need to get a handle on how many calories are in your favorite foods. Eating "healthy" can mean weight gain. There are foods that can help you feel full without blowing your calories. There are several threads on here asking about them.2
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"Healthy" can be calorific. Which is why it's subjective.9
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I'll also add further to above post, you've mentioned in another post you're struggling with binge eating, a huge deficit is not the way to go to help with that. You need to work on a healthier relationship with food and being restrictive isn't the answer.14
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My "healthy breakfast" is a tall glass of water and a cup of black coffee ... essentially 0 calories.
I prefer eating my calories later in the day ... my preference.13 -
Healthy is a term open to interpretation. Weight loss happens when you eat less calories than your body burns. Weigh, measure and record everything that you eat and drink accurately. People can over eat, perceived, healthy foods, the same as any other food. Stay at a calorie deficit, plan and consume your meals and snacks, in a way that will work best to keep you satiated through the day, and keep you in a calorie deficit.2
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Uh yeh, healthy and low cal doesn't always go hand in hand.
Some of those foods, while they might be healthy, are extremely high in calories. Best to check the calorie amount in foods before you eat them. I use Chia seeds very occasionally partly for that reason. I do eat 1/2 avocado every day but factor the calories into my daily total. Syrup is a very occasional thing as well for me. And drinking flavored milk just doesn't happen for me. But then I only use skim milk to make my oatmeal with.
My daily breakfast usually consists of oatmeal made with skim milk(if I have any on hand), half a banana. Period. And that's after my early morning coffee.
Reading labels, getting to know where calories are, it's all a balance act and you'll soon learn which calories are the most important for you. Ex. I will never give up my peanut butter; high cal. but I make it fit. With lots of tweaking and switching around, you'll figure it out.
To feel fuller, I've been trying to incorporate a lot more veggies into my diet, even for breakfasts sometimes. You can usually eat more for less calories.
Good luck!!! Learning to live and eat differently is a whole new learning curve.1 -
I totally understand the frustration, I'm the same way! It's shocking sometimes when you really break down what that "healthy" meal comes out to.0
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To be aware is to be alive.15
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I remember I nearly cried when I saw how small a serving of peanut butter was, so I feel your pain.
Eat the same breakfast except leave the chocolate out of the milk, have less avo, maybe fewer seeds, a smaller portion of oats and see if you can go with about 1/4 the amount of golden syrup.
I studied that food diary and learned to cut portions down.
For the record, my tendency to "binge" is greatly increased if I have a sugary, high carb meal like the one you describe. If I used a half scoop of protein powder and 1 teaspoon of sugar along with that banana it would be plenty sweet enough for me now.6 -
Did you weigh all these items? because that seems high to me. That being said, I eat "healthy breakfast" every day and it is still around 800 calories, but my daily limit is around TWICE that of yours. You really have to watch things on just 1200 calories.6
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Everything has calories, even healthy foods! 1200 calories is a low goal, so you really have to be careful with your calorie allotment. I try to plan my meals for the day in the morning, so I don't end up running out at lunchtime.
I like to eat overnight oats for breakfast, and it seems similar to what you are eating, but it's about 320 calories.
40g dry oats, 1/2 cup flaxseed milk, 1tsp maple syrup, 1 tsp chia seeds, 1/2 tbsp peanut butter, 1/2 banana. Mix together the oats, milk, syrup, and seeds the night before and leave it in the fridge overnight. Add the banana and peanut butter in the morning. Sometimes I switch it up and add different fruits in the morning.0 -
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nighthawk584 wrote: »Did you weigh all these items? because that seems high to me. That being said, I eat "healthy breakfast" every day and it is still around 800 calories, but my daily limit is around TWICE that of yours. You really have to watch things on just 1200 calories.
Its seems dead on for me.
Oats - 300 calories for 2 cups cooked
Golden syrup - 240 calories in 1/4cup
Half a banana - 55 cals
Half an avocado - 125
Calories in 2 tablespoons chia seeds - 260
Calories in 8oz nesquick- 250
Calories in 1/4 c pumpkin seeds - 70
Total = 1300 calories and that's for very reasonable portions of each (and likely smaller portions than consumed of some of it, as its VERY easy to drink 12 and hot 8oz of milk, pour an extra 1/8c of syrup, etc).
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Buttermello wrote: »nighthawk584 wrote: »Did you weigh all these items? because that seems high to me. That being said, I eat "healthy breakfast" every day and it is still around 800 calories, but my daily limit is around TWICE that of yours. You really have to watch things on just 1200 calories.
Its seems dead on for me.
Oats - 300 calories for 2 cups cooked
Golden syrup - 240 calories in 1/4cup
Half a banana - 55 cals
Half an avocado - 125
Calories in 2 tablespoons chia seeds - 260
Calories in 8oz nesquick- 250
Calories in 1/4 c pumpkin seeds - 70
Total = 1300 calories and that's for very reasonable portions of each (and likely smaller portions than consumed of some of it, as its VERY easy to drink 12 and hot 8oz of milk, pour an extra 1/8c of syrup, etc).
If you look at the package, though, that's 2 servings of oatmeal. 1/4 cup of syrup is really a lot especially coupled with the banana, so if you cut that syrup down to 1 Tbsp, you can get the calorie count down to 60 there. Or if you don't have an aversion to alternate sweeteners, use stevia or even a honey blend or something else to drop those calories even further. Cut back on the amount of nesquick - if you use only half that amount, you could save yourself 125 calories; same thing with cutting back on the pumpkin and chia seeds.
You have to really watch those bananas, too - its amazing how calorie dense those things can be! I once picked up a banana to eat as a snack on the way home and was shocked to find what I thought was around 4 to 5 oz was actually 8 oz and a whopping 250 calories by itself!
I've trained myself to eat 1 serving of whole grain oats, lightly sweetened with either stevia or splenda, or sometimes I might add in 1 Tbsp of maple syrup. I'll weight out 1/4 portion of walnuts sometimes as well, but usually, I'm just eating the oats straight. Oh, and I cook my oats in water, not milk, so I'm not adding any calories there. If you prefer your oats to be creamy, try using an unsweetened alternate milk if you can - unsweetened almond milk or cashew milk (my favorite as I think its creamier) is only around 25 calories per cup versus 90 for skim or 130 for 2% milk. Course, you lose the protein boost by the switch, so you'll have to factor that in, and if you really need the protein, then stick with the milk, but if the calories is the primary goal you have, then the alternates can help get those counts down.6 -
Buttermello wrote: »nighthawk584 wrote: »Did you weigh all these items? because that seems high to me. That being said, I eat "healthy breakfast" every day and it is still around 800 calories, but my daily limit is around TWICE that of yours. You really have to watch things on just 1200 calories.
Its seems dead on for me.
Oats - 300 calories for 2 cups cooked
Golden syrup - 240 calories in 1/4cup
Half a banana - 55 cals
Half an avocado - 125
Calories in 2 tablespoons chia seeds - 260
Calories in 8oz nesquick- 250
Calories in 1/4 c pumpkin seeds - 70
Total = 1300 calories and that's for very reasonable portions of each (and likely smaller portions than consumed of some of it, as its VERY easy to drink 12 and hot 8oz of milk, pour an extra 1/8c of syrup, etc).
I stand corrected 2 -
jaderecovery1992 wrote: »guys i need some advice for breakfast i had oats with water golden syrup a splash of milk chia seeds 1/2 avocado and 1/2 a banana pumpkin seeds and a glass of nesquick chocolate milk it says ive already had about 1200 calories , thats my daily intake WHAT THE HECK??? and i only just feel full any advice , i thought i was been healthy ??? please help me i thought i was been healthy like seriously omg !!
The nutritional healthfulness of food has nothing to do with caloric density. There are any number of foods that are really healthy, but also calorie dense. There are also many foods with little nutritional value that are low calorie.
This is a learning process.4 -
Buttermello wrote: »
This 1,000 times. I can't for the life of me do volume. Give me weight measurements. I don't care if it's imperial. I'll convert them to metric but I need to go by weight
I love my food scale 4 -
Hmm, the above have solid advice. If you just need lower cals, fat-free milk, no chocolate, 1 cup oats, eat avocado for lunch, syrup? Weigh things until you know sizes and best always weigh and measure.5
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Piggybacking off the rest of these posts about healthy meals calorie counts. Article that talks about "same meal, different portions" here.0
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I made the avocado fail at the weekend ... peeled and prepared it thinking it would be a med/low calorie food but to my surprise was really high ! Wuite honestly i would have got more satisfaction from a chocolate bar !! 🙈2
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Sorry for the size of this photo - this poor guy on "Secret Eaters" got a similar, but even worse, wake-up call!
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jaderecovery1992 wrote: »guys i need some advice for breakfast i had oats with water golden syrup a splash of milk chia seeds 1/2 avocado and 1/2 a banana pumpkin seeds and a glass of nesquick chocolate milk it says ive already had about 1200 calories , thats my daily intake WHAT THE HECK??? and i only just feel full any advice , i thought i was been healthy ??? please help me i thought i was been healthy like seriously omg !!
I am a visual eater. If I don't see a lot of food, I feel hungry.
I found adding flax seeds to my oats helps bulk them up, and I can go up to 3 hours without feeling hungry.
I also make them on the stove rather than in the microwave - let them soak a bit first before heating.
40-45g oats
5-10g flax seed powder (taste might get a bit of getting used to)
Maybe a bit of low fat milk (depending on my plans for the day)
Blueberries for sweetness (they pop and mix nicely!)
Sometimes 1 scoop peanut butter whey if I am craving peanut butter
It really grates my carrot that restaurants advertise these "health" meals that come in at 1000+ calories.
Keep it simple
And as someone who was on a 1200cal diet... don't overdo it. I ruined my relationship with food, and it took me 3 years to realise it. I am slowly getting back on track.
Small steps. Progress might be slower, but it will be consistent and last longer.
You got this!2 -
It is shocking, but you learned something really valuable. You'll keep learning. One thing I learned was that my portions were way too big, and they didn't need to be. Gradually cut some things back. Make small changes. You can do this. Knowledge is power! You're in more in control than you were before you knew! 6
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1200 calories, sure, but what about second breakfast?15
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1200 calories seem like a lot for those ingredients. I plugged a “serving” (i know that varies a lot) of the same foods in my diary and only got 700. So I think it may be the portion sizes or maybe you didn’t have as many calories as you thought you did?
Are you measuring ?
Good luck!🍀0 -
bmeadows380 wrote: »Buttermello wrote: »nighthawk584 wrote: »Did you weigh all these items? because that seems high to me. That being said, I eat "healthy breakfast" every day and it is still around 800 calories, but my daily limit is around TWICE that of yours. You really have to watch things on just 1200 calories.
Its seems dead on for me.
Oats - 300 calories for 2 cups cooked
Golden syrup - 240 calories in 1/4cup
Half a banana - 55 cals
Half an avocado - 125
Calories in 2 tablespoons chia seeds - 260
Calories in 8oz nesquick- 250
Calories in 1/4 c pumpkin seeds - 70
Total = 1300 calories and that's for very reasonable portions of each (and likely smaller portions than consumed of some of it, as its VERY easy to drink 12 and hot 8oz of milk, pour an extra 1/8c of syrup, etc).
If you look at the package, though, that's 2 servings of oatmeal. 1/4 cup of syrup is really a lot especially coupled with the banana, so if you cut that syrup down to 1 Tbsp, you can get the calorie count down to 60 there. Or if you don't have an aversion to alternate sweeteners, use stevia or even a honey blend or something else to drop those calories even further. Cut back on the amount of nesquick - if you use only half that amount, you could save yourself 125 calories; same thing with cutting back on the pumpkin and chia seeds.
I wrote that out, because those are the portion sizes I used to eat before I knew what a real "portion size" looked like. I think many people do the same thing.4 -
Sorry for the size of this photo - this poor guy on "Secret Eaters" got a similar, but even worse, wake-up call!
I love this show! It's really interesting to see what people are eating when they think they're eating healthy. So many people on that show think they're eating a healthy breakfast of cereal and it turns out they're eating 3-4 servings of cereal with full fat cream on top every morning.3 -
You will have so many of these moments. I remember the first time I found out how many calories are in the delicious iced buttery cookies at panera. I think a part of me died that day LOL. Learning is living! You'll get the hang of it, give yourself time. In 3 months, you'll have learned so much and be doing so well!1
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You say you barely feel full on that. I think you could bulk out your breakfast with some much lower calorie items. Stark with some natural low fat skyr or yoghurt. Add a big scoop of frozen or fresh raspberries, blueberries and strawberries. on top of this, sprinkle nom more than 30g of sugar-free granola or muesli. This will add up to a big bowlful but most of its bulk is very low calorie, high fibre berries. Add a big mug of black coffee or green tea, or cafetière coffee, black tea with semi skimmed milk but not lattes. That's just a few more calories but warming and filling.
At lunch, kale salad really does actually fill you up if you like it, if not, try iceberg or romaine and you can add sliced half an avocado and a few toasted nut sprinkles or similar, with lots of sliced veggies.
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