What's Your Under 300 Calorie Breakfast?

[trekkingirl]

I'm really good at counting calories at breakfast and lunch but by mid afternoon I can't control the snacking and lose count. I recently gained back the five pounds I worked so hard to lose. I'm not making much progress on any weight loss. So I was thinking that maybe since I can count calories well at the beginning of the day I should start by cutting back there.

I usually have a 300 calorie breakfast. A bowl of cereal or oatmeal and a cup of coffee. I would like to lower my morning calorie count. Is your breakfast less than 300 calories? If so, what are you eating? How long does it keep you full?

Thanks

[alison77]

some things i like that seem to keep me full for longer:

lentil soup

black bean soup

i love the low carb/low cal joseph's pitas (45 cal) and spread with peanut butter and put 1/2 banana inside

same pita with egg and spinach inside, sometimes with small slice cheese or some shredded cheese

lots of fruit, a little yogurt and small amt of crushed nuts on top.

a few hardboiled eggs (you can do 3 for 210 cal)

i think if you're already having a 300 cal breakfast, you might want to plan your other meals out in advance to meet your calorie requirement.  i always found when i was counting that i did the best when i packed everything or put everything aside for the whole entire day in the morning - so i wasn't getting things ready when i was hungry.

good luck. 

[trekkingirl]

thanks for those suggestions! Anyone else?

[nolansmummy]

The josephs pitas are great!  There are also some low carb la tortilla tortillas that i think are around 50 cals e. They are fairly small, but you can stuff two of them with eggs, spinach and a sprinkle of cheese.

In the summer i eat a lot of greek yogurt with granola and fruit.

Breakfast is not my favorite time of day to eat. In fact, I only eat because I'm supposed to, so my breakfasts are small and I eat a snack around 10:30ish. The only breakfast that fills me up is eggs with potatoes and a slice of toast, but its usually around 350+ cals.

[homemademom]

I need protein in the morning, so I eat a couple pieces of sausage (totaling 200ish calories) and an apple. I've eaten other fruits for breakfast, but apples always keep me full and don't do weird things to my blood sugar.

I eat 6 small links of Jimmy Dean turkey sausage or 2 larger chicken sausages from Costco (I can't remember the brand, but they're all natural and have red peppers and spinach in them). Both servings are roughly 220-240 calories.

[trekkingirl]

those are some great ideas guys, thanks

anybody got any more?

[mylilmonkeys]

 i always found when i was counting that i did the best when i packed everything or put everything aside for the whole entire day in the morning - so i wasn't getting things ready when i was hungry.

good luck. 

That's a great idea!  Thanks.

[MidwifeErika]

greek yogurt!!!

My favorite is to take the non-fat Fage and add some sugar free Torani syrup and fruit slices or a sprinkle of Kashi go-lean cereal. It is low calorie, low fat, and high protein.

Or, if you went with a fruit flavored greek yogurt like a Chobani, then those are about 140 calories, so there is still quite a bit of room to add in a piece of fruit and still stay below 300 calories.

[trekkingirl]

I actually just bought the huge costco tub of fage 0%  

[MidwifeErika]

Originally Posted by trekkingirl 

I actually just bought the huge costco tub of fage 0%  

Oh, and there is soooooo much you can do with it! I make veggie dip with it and dried herbs and dip mixes. I make fruit dips with it and dry pudding mix (I stick with sugar free) or mixing the fage with powdered peanut butter (PB2.... it is reduced fat, but still high protein).... YUM! Or I just eat it as yogurt. You can mix in jams or jellies or flavored syrups or fruits..... the possibilities are endless. All that protein helps me feel full for longer than eating a high carb breakfast. A bowl of cereal leaves me hungry less than an hour later, but a bowl of fage and I am set for a few hours, at least :)

[trekkingirl]

I had no idea you could do so much with the fage?!? I have used it in burritos and tacos as sour cream.

[peainthepod]

1 slice of raisin and nut whole grain toast with a tablespoon of almond butter

1 banana or apple

2 cups of black unsweetened coffee

Sometimes I have low-fat Greek yogurt and granola or a bowl of cottage cheese with berries instead of the almond buttered toast, but that's my standard pre-run meal. It's about 290-310 calories, depending. I tend to eat most of my calories earlier in the day so breakfast can be bigger, especially if I'm planning on a long run later.

[Lovesong]

I really do think breakfast is not a meal to cut calories from, unless you really tend to overdo it.

Less than 300 calories really is too little to hold me over from around seven in the morning to lunch at twelve. That is one thing I think you should really think about. How long does your breakfast hold you over? Same goes for the lunch, the midday snack and your dinner. If you constantly feel like snacking, and loose track of your snacking, cutting back on calories for the main meals will really achieve nothing since you will just make it up by snacking.

So, start by carrying paper and pen with you to write down everything you eat and drink. Don't bother with counting the calories. Just write the things down. Do this for a week or two then sit down and look at your list.

In my case I've found that I do need four meals a day to keep myself from snacking. I eat a bowl of cereals or oatmeal and apple sauce in the morning. Then, I eat a sandwich (dark sour-dough bread) with a glass of milk for lunch. Then another such sandwich around four in the afternoon and dinner around eight. Generally, I go four-five hours between eating just keeping a glass of water (and a cup of rose-hip tea) on my desk.

So, first, learn what you eat and when you need to eat. Then, look at where you might be able to cut down on the calories without it affecting your need to snack/your energy levels. In my case, dinner is where I make my cuts.

Finally, be aware that cutting calories will only take you so far towards your goal. If you are really over-weight cutting calories can really do quite a lot of good. For one thing, it will help you to get your appetite back under control and get you used to eating smaller amounts. The problem is when we have cut back as far as we can without starving ourselves, and find ourselves at a standstill. In my case, I need 1600 kcal a day to feel good which means I stand still on about 64 kg. Ideally, I do want to get back down to 58 kg again...

This means I have to exercise. 30 minutes brisk walking does wonders. :)

[trekkingirl]

great advice lovesong and peainapod

I need to lose at least 30lbs. I am 200lbs currently and would like to weigh 170lbs. The reason I wanted some fresh breakfast ideas is because I am great at self control in the am, but have no self control at night. Might just be habit but I really over eat at night

[peainthepod]

I so sympathize. I used to be a chronic late night overeater and I think it was a combination of boredom (because I was just sitting around reading and waiting for DH after the kids were asleep) and poor nutrition overall. Eating enough protein early in the day definitely helps, as does giving myself permission to snack on genuinely healthy things when my tummy rumbles.

It took me a long time to learn what "healthy" means, though. Raw fruits and vegetables and to a lesser extent, fat-free cottage cheese and yogurt, are nutrient-dense, low calorie any-time snacks. "Healthy" crackers and cookies, a bowl of cereal, frozen yogurt, other highly processed foods...not so much.

I wrote up this huge long boring description of how I got into shape and lost my baby weight in this thread, if you want to read it: Why am I fat?

Others in there had great advice also. You can totally lose weight if you decide to change your relationship with food. That's kind of a scary prospect at first, but it's also really liberating and empowering. There's no magic solution or quick fix, but by being honest with yourself about how much you eat (versus how much you need) and tweaking your eating habits a little bit, you can make a huge difference in your health with minimal effort. 

[homemademom]

I wanted to add that I do eat about 300-350 calories for breakfast, but I also eat lunch at 11, a snack at 2, and dinner at 5 or 6.  If I have calories left, I'll have some fruit before bed, but if not, I'll just drink lots of water and go to bed earlier!  Normal bedtime is 10 pm for me.

[trekkingirl]

homemademom your eating schedule looks a lot like mine. The big difference is that I'm eating whatever and you're counting calories. That has worked really well for me in the past. Counting calories after my first two pregnancy I lost 80 and then 75lbs. I think with this third pregnancy I'm just burned out on watching what I eat. I have lost that much weight twice and I'm still fat. It's really discouraging. 

peainthepod thanks for the link. I actually read that thread a few eeks ago and really liked what you had to say. I think I need to stop putting it off, and just start paying attention to my intake. sigh!

My DH used to weigh 100lbs more than me, now he only weighs 5lbs more than me! That should be encouraging me to lose right? What the heck is my problem!

[homemademom]

Originally Posted by trekkingirl 

homemademom your eating schedule looks a lot like mine. The big difference is that I'm eating whatever and you're counting calories. That has worked really well for me in the past. Counting calories after my first two pregnancy I lost 80 and then 75lbs. I think with this third pregnancy I'm just burned out on watching what I eat. I have lost that much weight twice and I'm still fat. It's really discouraging. 

peainthepod thanks for the link. I actually read that thread a few eeks ago and really liked what you had to say. I think I need to stop putting it off, and just start paying attention to my intake. sigh!

My DH used to weigh 100lbs more than me, now he only weighs 5lbs more than me! That should be encouraging me to lose right? What the heck is my problem!

Yes, it's the burn out!  I've lost with all my other four babies, but I'm just so tired and unmotivated this time.  It's a battle every day :(