I feel like I've been having the same conversation lately about breakfast. I'm always really shocked to find out that so many people don't eat breakfast, and not because its healthy or will apparently help you to lose weight, but I just can't go without eating in the morning and wondering how people do that.
I've always eaten breakfast. I should start this by saying, I've never missed a meal. I eat every meal with avid passion which is probably why I'm trying to lose weight. Every time I hear a report about breakfast eaters being thin and healthy, eating less calories throughout the day and some other things I can't remember. I wonder how that applies to me. I'm here to tell you that I've been overweight for a long time and I always, always eat breakfast.
I have no idea why I'm writing this, just that I woke up this morning really hungry and wanting a large breakfast. I scoff at cereal and yogurt for breakfast. Whats the point? If I eat that, I will only be hungry 45 minutes later. I want a meal that is full of protein and keeps me full for hours. I don't want a mid-morning snack. I want to be hungry again at like 2pm. haha
I've also been known to eat anything from turkey burgers to lasagna for breakfast and if I skip this meal I feel ill. I've dry heaved so many of a morning at school on days when I skipped breakfast to know that I can't not have it. Is there anyone else out there that must eat breakfast? Come on, I'm not alone in this, am I?
The above picture is my breakfast from this morning which is a little bit bigger than what I normally have. I had two turkey sausage patties, two eggs, 1/8 c cheddar, 2 slices of whole wheat high protein toast and 1 T smart butter. Total calories: 755
I could definitely stand to scale back, I usually try not to eat more than 550 calories for breakfast. I exercised before bed last night and that probably had a lot to do with my appetite this morning. But, I'm really pleased because this breakfast did not give me a blood sugar spike, has not made me crave more food, made me full and satisfied and I won't even think about food for about three or four more hours.
What do you guys think? Big breakfasts, or small meals throughout the day?
PS: If you look up above my banner you will see a link titled "food and exercise log" that is where I will be tracking that information from now on. It has been updated from january 4th to today. I'm working on a weigh-in log now.
My breakfast is usually my biggest meal of the day and dinner is usually my smallest. I need protein in the a.m. or I’m ready to chew my arm off by 9. I save cereal for a nighttime snack/dessert when I’m craving a little sugar (which is probably why I need to lose weight!)
Fave breakfast: scrambled egg whites w/a TBS salsa, 1oz of LF shredded cheese (mexican blend) in one of those low carb, low calorie Flat Out wraps. Served with a double tall nonfat latte or a good cuppa joe w/half and half. Total calories: 350-400, I think
Also, the Biggest Loser cookbook (the original, not the new family cookbook) has a GREAT recipe for healthy breakfast sausage.
Hey Tina! I know what you mean, cereal for me is usually a snack at night when I’m craving something sweet.
Your breakfast sounds really good, i love breakfast wraps.
Its funny, I actually have that cookbook and know exactly the recipe you’re talking about. Have you made it? I should really give that a try.
Ooh! You should try boca sausage links. I think they make a great sausage replacement. Or if you’re doing a breakfast sandwich – I love the boca fake-bacon strips. They aren’t as good on their own though.
xx
Oh my, can you come and make my breakfast every morning?! Mine reason for scant breakfasts isn’t because I don’t want it, I just honestly don’t have the energy in the mornings to make anything. I hate mornings with a passion and I get up only when I absolutely have to get myself and my kids ready. Kudos to you!
Breakfast is my favorite meal of the day! I’ve had friends who say they can’t eat breakfast until they’ve been up a few hours. That’s never been me. (Although I’m finding that I don’t wake up hungry anymore.) Like you, I’m trying to eat meals that don’t spike my blood sugar. And as I can be a compulsive eater, I try to have three meals a day — meals with protein that will last. That way I’m limiting my exposure to food. (It’s only a very good thought on some days.) But hey, I’m trying.
Oh, here you are! I guess I wasn’t paying attention because I didn’t know you’d changed sites. What can I say – I’m slow.
I like your simple, new approach to weight loss. Right now I’m counting WW points to help me, and I like that, but if I’m being honest with myself I know that there are really just a few things I need to do to be successful, and none of them have anything to do with a specific program. I need to manage my sleep and stress successfully; I need to journal in some way (right now I’m tracking points, using TwitPic to post my food journal and blogging about it); I need to steer towards whole, unprocessed foods, and I need to move – just some form of exercise most days of the week, whatever it is. It really should be simple!
Wow, what a beautiful looking way to start the day!
I prefer small meals all day, this way I stay full, and I get to eat all day long.
I have the same breakfast everyday – 1/2 cup Oatmeal, a few eggs, and a cup of herbal tea. I have a 2nd breakfast 3 hours later!
I tend to eat 5 – 6 smaller meals a day and love it – because I love to eat
That looks like a tasty, very filling breakfast!
I am following WW, and work out (pretty hard…jogging on the treadmill or spin class) in the mornings.
For the first few months I would work out on an empty stomach and eat breakfast at work when I “got hungry” around 10 AM.
Then I keep hearing about how it’s good to eat something within a 1/2 hour of waking up, etc…so I try and eat 1-2 pts before my work out now.
I usually have a couple bites of cottage cheese or something else with a mix of protein & carbs for 1-2 pts before my workout, and still eat something around 10 @ work.
I get 24 pts now (down from 30 when I started), and usually break my day up as follows:
Morning – 4-5 pts
Lunch – 5-7 pts
Afternoon snacks – 3-5 pts
Dinner – 9-11 pts
Dessert – 2-3 pts
So yes, I do like my breakfast, but as you can see I prefer to eat most of my pts later in the day!
I usually have a bowl of Cheerios with milk. If I could have fresh blueberries all year long, I would have that, but I hate frozen blueberries, so just Cheerios until the summer!
Yup… I’ve tried it and like it. I’ve actually played around with the recipe a few times to match whatever I’m cooking. I’ve used cayenne, fennel seeds and red pepper flakes for sausage to go with spaghetti sauce or cinnamon and chopped apple to make apple chicken sausage. It’s actually kinda fun to make something I’ve never considered within my ability to create.
I dry heave in the morning without breakfast, too! I remember so many high school mornings spent mysteriously with my face over the toilet until I forced myself to eat something, even if it felt like the last thing I wanted to do. I’m glad I’m not alone in this!
I’m totally a breakfast person. Usually I go for an eggbeaters omelet with spinach and whatever else goes with it that is left in my fridge. I tend to keep my breakfast low in calories because I know no matter what I am going to want more food in a couple hours, regardless of how big it is.
So I guess I am a small meals throughout the day kind of eater. It lets me eat and eat different things without having too much of it.
The new blog looks great!
If you exercise enough you can eat big meals all the time and you’ll just burn up the ‘extra’ calories. That said, I don’t think any of us really do that much exercise, so then where do we go from there? Big breakfasts are great if you then equate that to having small dinners. It’s like a seesaw one end goes up the other comes down.
If you want to lose weight stay away from high sugary foods, drink water instead of juice/coffee/tea/softdrinks etc, and find something that you love to do exercise wise and enjoy yourself. My kids and I have started hula hooping and it’s the best fun. I lost 5cm (2 inches) off my waist in one week just from playing in the backyard for 30 minutes a day. I’d recommend it to anyone and the great thing is I didn’t realise I was exercising, I was having way too much fun for that. A great website I visit is http://www.hoopgirl.com she lost a staggering amount of weight just from hooping and having fun. hope this helps.
i actually did NOT eat breakfast today. i ran out of time. but you know how i am with breakfast foods – i’m a cereal and yogurt fan for life.
sigh. i did eat an early lunch though.
It varies for me. Some days I’ll have three eggs scrambles with toast. Some days I’ll have a english muffin with a fried egg and cheese. Other days all I want is cereal and milk and today I had a 1/3 cup of yogurt mixed in with 1/3 cup of cottage cheese!
I have to eat breakfast, too. I’m usually not one to miss a meal, either, ANY meal.
I also have trouble understanding how people can NOT eat breakfast.
I wake up STARVING. My husband doesn’t get this because he never eats breakfast unless I fix him something. But then he’s ravenous by lunchtime, whereas I feel like I can be more reasonable about my lunch choices because I’m not so hungry. I don’t get sick to my stomach, but I might get a headache and I get light headed really easily if I don’t eat in the morning (or keep my blood sugar up for the rest of the day)
Also, I’m overweight and I’ve always eaten breakfast too. However, I think eating breakfast is key to losing weight because you have to get your metabolism going.
I work as a breakfast cook, so I don’t really eat breakfast.
I am a big fan of eating breakfast but I must admit I don’t have massive breaksfasts. I have enough to get me to morning tea.
However, I have recently discovered that if I don’t have protein at breakfast (one hard boiled egg) then I am starving about 2 hours later.
I pretty much eat cereal every morning because I just can’t spend a second more on preparing breakfast but I still need to eat it. I am already almost late for work each morning! This morning I had Kashi cereal that has blueberries in it. So good.
I love the new site! I especially like the food and exercise log. That is a great idea that I might do too.
I’ve ALWAYS hated breakfast food– so I’ve pretty much ALWAYS skipped it—I did find though that if I just eat fruit or yogurt for breakfast it does the trick– so I’ve been trying to do that instead of skipping because of all the studies that says breakfast is essential when you want to lose weight. Interestingly enough I noticed if I eat a banana for breakfast I’m ravenously hungry exactly 2 hours after initial consumption– note to self no bananas for breakfast!
My (skinny… sigh) mother has always said “eat like a prince in the morning, and a pauper during the day” She has big breakfasts that always include oatmeal and protein and then small almost snacklike meals every 3 or 4 hours. unless it’s a salad, then it’s huge of course. I think it keeps her metabolism up, and lets her enjoy eating and preparing food without the calories of a dinner sized portion. As for me, I have trouble dishing out a small meal to myself.
Hi Lorrie – have you thought about adding in any fruits and veggies to your breakfast? You’ll hardly add calories, but you’ll probably feel even better. You could add tomatos, peppers, and/or spinach to your eggs or cut up some fruit to go with everything.
I’m definitely a breakfast person now that I’m trying to lose weight, although I wasn’t always that way. I usually have an orange or some other fruit as soon as I wake up, and 1/2 an hour later I eat something with a lot of protein – either protein pancakes (lots of good recipes for these around the web), an egg breakfast sandwich (I love the Arnold 100% WW sandwich thins for these), or high-protein yogurt with granola. I try to eat about 25-30% of my daily calories for breakfast.
BTW, if you try the BL breakfast sausage, I’d love to know the recipe/what you think of it . . . I’m a major sausage lover!
Definitely big breakfasts. There is a old saying for good health and longevity:
Eat like a king for breakfast.
A prince for lunch.
A pauper for dinner.
I generally eat non-breakfast foods for breakfast. Like this morning I had eggs and refried beans and salsa. It was delish and filling.
First let me say I really like your blog!
For me I have to say that I like breakfast, I can skip it but feel so lethargic and nasty if I do. I don’t like eating a big meal for breakfast unless I skipped an early one and went for a brunch type of one. But really then it makes me ill to eat anything with sugar. Such as jelly, syrup, jams. I need protein. So I pretty much wake up and will either have a serving of high protein oatmeal or I love a serving of peanut butter with high fiber bread. I opt for the high fiber bread instead of high protein because their is protein in the peanut butter and my goal is to get a good amount of fiber and proteins in my diet.
I don’t believe in eating a bigger portion at any meal. I believe the whole idea to weight loss is to maintain good blood sugar levels. So I think its better for your first meal of the day to be a smaller one packed with protein and fiber so your blood sugar levels dont spike and yet you feel full from the protein and fiber. Then I think a snack should take place 2 hours after your breakfast, which should be a carb and protein. Then lunch, which should be a balance of protein and carbs with fiber choices perferably. I pretty much think to lose weight and maintain a good weight requires eating every 2 hours and not eating past 12 hours after you first ate.
This mixed with exercise will surely cause weight loss.
If I have time, I’ll have a scramble with an egg, a bacon, a few shiitakes, a few spinach leaves, a whole grain toast, with a bit of cheese, and a kiwi and tangerine. Big meals, more than half produce by volume. If I have no time, I’ll eat some mini-bagels with a schmear I make myself from neufchatel, lox, and chives. Or a bowl of kamut crisps with chocolate soymilk, though I’ll be hungry in an hour from that. It also depends when I’m eating lunch.
Definitely a good breakfast is a good thing. Whether you need 750 calories I rather doubt, but 550 seems OK. Breakfast like a king, lunch like a Lord and dine like a pauper, someone clever once said.
I’m just starting out on this struggle and learning all the time. I’ve tried just denial for 20 years on and off, never worked for long, so now I’m trying to find something that can last me a lifetime. Eating slowly, putting the knife and fork down, and paying real attention to the food are bits of advice I’ve had that seem to help.
Hi, Just started reading your blog thought I’d comment since I can relate to you. I must have breakfast too and I am not thing either, I can’t stand the blanket statements these “experts” seem to throw out there. Like breast feeding will make you lose weight, I breast fed for 5 months and although it may apply to many people it does not apply to all. We are women, people with different genetic makeups, different lifestyles, different environments and environmental triggers to stuffing our faces with any kind of food. Sometimes I strongly dislike the women’s rights leaders of the past, yes should be equal to men BUT there was an order to things and they did not foresee the consequences of taking women out of the home full-time. Women are now stressed and cancer-ridden trying to juggle everything home and career and there are still men out there who do not see us as equals. How is that a victory? Anyway, my point is that I am an emotional eater, a perpetually stressed emotional eater and if I knew my place in this world and could be where I want to be (at home with my baby…and not thinking about all the things I have to do at home while I work and how we can’t live on just one income) I would be much better off. At this rate, I am shaving years off of my life. Thanks women’s lib.