How much do you eat for breakfast?

[Reesha]

My schedule changes throughout the year-- currently I'm on summer break from teaching so I've been eating larger breakfasts (but not huge). During the school year I wake up at 4:50 and get into the pool right away and tend to have smaller breakfasts (a yogurt or something) and eat lunch at 11 on the dot.

Still, do some of you swear by large 600 calorie breakfasts?

This morning mine was 300 calories and I'm thinking I should up the calories in the morning and decrease caloric intake at dinner. I had a slice of Feldkamp's wholemeal rye bread with muesli and a slice of aged provolone and two carrots to crunch on. Bam 335 calories.

Do you feel a larger breakfast makes a difference when trying to lose weight?

I'll be curious to know everyone's thoughts.

[OakLeaf]

I'm more about the fat and protein content and less about the calories. The one thing I have to do is have fat and protein for breakfast. Nuts or nut butters, usually; sometimes eggs. Just enough carbs to get me started. If I don't get fat and protein at breakfast, I get a blood sugar spike and crash within two hours.

That includes yogurt. Even though some of the lactose is converted by the bacteria, plain yogurt is still very high in sugars. http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcom...st_nut_edit.pl Whole milk yogurt (from grass-fed cows) would be better than lower-fat, but still, I would avoid dairy products at breakfast just because of the sugar content.


ETA: I suppose it's more about glycemic index than it is total sugars. I really don't pay much attention to all this number-o-jumbo - IMO it's always better to listen to my body - but it's definitely true that dairy spikes my blood sugar much worse than, say, berries which are so high in soluble fiber even though they're also higher in total sugars.



ETA: IMO the most important thing you can do is feed your body sustaining foods when it's most depleted. That means breakfast and immediately after a workout. If you do that, then it won't be screaming for calories later on.

[Reesha]

This is going to seem awful, but for some reason my body doesn't even get hungry at all (during the school year) if I don't eat breakfast. I imagine this has something to do with my metabolism for the day, but this is even after swimming. Not wise, I know. I will have a cube fridge is my classroom this coming year so hopefully I will eat more.

My body tends to respond adversely to a higher fat diet... so I've been working to keep fat to 55g or less per day and mostly from nuts/avocado/coconut/olive oil and less from cheese/dairy/meat. It's probably the one macronutrient that really gets away from me if I'm not watching closely and adds up really fast.

[KnottedYet]

I have no idea how many calories I eat for breakfast.

Pork chop, onions, mashed potatoes, fried eggs.

Beef posole, avocado, corn tortilla.

Big hearty lumberjack breakfasts work best for me. "Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and dinner like a pauper."

[redrhodie]

I eat 2 breakfasts every day. Today I had a big bowl of cereal with blueberries pre-ride, and whole wheat toast with cream cheese post ride. Until I started eating the second breakfast, I'd be starving by lunch.

That probably adds up to around 500-600 calories total.

[azfiddle]

I have been focusing on weight loss/maintenance the last year, so I try to spread my calories out through the day. I'm also a teacher.

Typical breakfast is probably 250 calories or less, and I eat around 6:30. A cup of tea and a bowl of oatmeal and half a banana, or half a bagel with cream cheese and lox, or toast and melted cheese- maybe with a piece of fruit

I usually have another 100 -150 calorie snack during a class break, 9:45 or 10:45. It varies- fruit, cereal bar, pretzels, 1/2 Luna bar, a handful of almonds ....

Lunch is at 11:25 and I am always hungry- usually try to keep it at 250-300 calories.

If it's a weekend and I'm going out for a ride in the morning, I don't change my breakfast much, if at all, but add more snacks on the ride or afterward, and/or a bigger lunch. If I go less than 20 miles, I don't really eat extra.

[Veronica]

I also teach, but I try to stick to the same eating schedule year round. It's too easy to do a lot of extra snacking when I'm home.

Days I work out with my trainer I drink a recovery shake on my way back home.

First breakfast for me varies - right now I'm on a yogurt and cereal kick. Sometimes it's cereal, whole milk and blueberries, or oatmeal.

Second breakfast comes a couple of hours later and roughly corresponds to snack time at school. When I'm working I have a granola bar and trail mix. Since, I'm home I tend to eat more of the same stuff from first breakfast.

I can't eat a large amount first thing in the morning.


Veronica