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EATING 06.23.2008 BY WEETABIX

did you have a good breakfast this morning? did you really?

As if you needed more proof, a new study proves something that we've known all along: a decent breakfast and adequate calories are essential to long-term weight loss. Researchers studied two groups of obese subjects: one group followed a low-carb diet, ingesting about 1,100 calories each day, with a 300 calorie breakfast, while the other group had about 1,200 calories and ate half their calories first thing in the morning. From the BBC:

Four months on, the low-carb dieters appeared to be doing better, losing an average of 28 pounds to the 23 shed on the "big breakfast" diet. However, after eight months, the situation had reversed, with the low-carb dieters putting an average of 18 of those pounds back on, while the big breakfasters continued to lose weight, on average 16.5 pounds each. They lost a fifth of their total body weight on average, compared with less than 5 percent for the low-carb dieters.

As you know, I'm horrible when it comes to getting a good breakfast, but even when I do have the foresight to pull something together the night before, it's usually pretty spartan, calorie-wise. For instance, this morning, I had an apple and oat square (240 calories), a giant bowl of whole fresh strawberries (which, according to Nutrition Data, clocks in just under 100 calories), and an unsweetened black iced tea (0 calories). I try not to think too much about calories (because quite frankly, it's just asking to resurrect my disordered eating mentality) but until I did the math, just now, I actually thought I had a pretty generous breakfast. After adding it all up, however, I realize that while it had loads of fiber and tasted delicious, it just might be derailing my long-term efforts to lose some of my ass. Man. Clearly, I should have stopped at Krispy Kreme or something. Clearly I shouldn't have scoffed at Ed's daily "ideal diet" breakfast.

I'm nosy, so I was all over this man-on-the-street poll on what some New Yorkers eat for breakfast. And looking at Simply Breakfast's photos inspires me to start taking a more Zen approach to my morning.

What did you eat for breakfast today?

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13 Comments

Melody said:

Very interesting article.

I had 1/3 cup cooked brown rice with two teaspoons of honey and three toasted walnut halves. I also made a latte with a cup of unsweetened vanilla almond milk and some sugar free syrup. I'm not sure how many calories, but, based on the fact that I can't wait for lunch, I suspect it wasn't really enough.

June 23, 2008 11:37 AM

said:

My new favorite breakfast - a Stonyfield yogurt mixed with a half-scoop of protein powder (am pregnant - need to up my protein). Add to this some fresh strawberries and blueberries, and either a handful of almonds or granola. It is glorious. It feels very substantial and is delicious! A much better choice than my former bagel or giant bowl of cereal...

June 23, 2008 12:02 PM

sizzle said:

English muffin, two eggs over medium and black tea with milk & sugar.

June 23, 2008 12:02 PM

jessica said:

I had a nectarine, and a bagel w/ whipped cream cheese and raspberry preserves.

This wasn't a great breakfast for me -- I try not to eat bagels. I am not a lo-carber by any means, but I do know that when I eat stuff like that, I am just hungry later. Typically I eat eggs on a whole wheat english muffin wiht some sort of fruit and/or yogurt alongside it, but I'm out of eggs and leaving town so the cupboards are fairly barren right now!

But breakfast is, I truly believe, the most important meal of the day. Usually the way I start my day sets the tone for the entire day -- food, drink, stress, and exercise-wise. I like my zenful mornings. ;-)

June 23, 2008 12:27 PM

FitSugar said:

I had a half a cup of lowfat yogurt (vanilla mixed with plain to cut down on sugar, and I know it sounds obsessive, but that is how I roll), 1/2 cup blueberries, 1/2 cup Kashi Go Lean Crunch, and a latte.

June 23, 2008 1:20 PM

Mary Sue said:

I usually don't care about calorie counts, so I just had to Google and figure this all out, which explains why I am so hungry at 10am. I usually just have 1 dry cup steel-cut oatmeal, 311 calories, but today I added 1/4 c raisins, 108 calories and 1/4 c almonds, 70 calories. Not hungry yet, and it's lunchtime!

I also had seven tiny merengue cookies from Trader Joe's, they're 1 calorie each. And like crunchy marshmallows. Yes, I have a cookie every morning with my breakfast. Usually it's Oreos or equivalent. Because I can.

Lunchtime! Homemade dal and brown rice! And you know what the fun thing is? I'm going to go visit my parents in a little over a week and my mother is going to lecture me about not eating right and press a whole box of those 100-calorie chemical-laden snackyfoods in my luggage. Because I'm still fat.

June 23, 2008 2:06 PM

whyme63 said:

2 cups of coffee with sugar and half&half, and a cup of wonderfully perfect whole strawberries from the local strawberry farm. Had the berries about 10:30, because I am disgusted by all food in the mornings. Which is why I don't eat breakfast, even though I know perfectly well that it is good for me.

June 23, 2008 2:37 PM

Kelly said:

I enter my food in SparkPeople and according to them I had 471 calories for breakfast this morning. Well, 581, if you count the Pria bar I ate before I worked out. I'm shooting for 1800 calories today total so that's about 1/3 of them right off the bat.

Pre-workout Pria bar
Swim 80 laps
Breakfast: Smoothie with 1 scoop vanilla whey protein, 1/2 C. almond milk, 2/3 C. OJ, 1 C. strawberries, 1/2 C. blueberries and 1 T. flaxseed; plus a homemade oat and cranberry muffin

I find the protein and healthy carbs right after I work out help me stay full.

June 23, 2008 3:26 PM

Kim said:

I had a smoothie with 1 cup of mixed frozen berries, 1 banana and 1 cup of plain soy milk. I also had a slice of whole grain bread with organic peanut butter and a cup of green tea with honey.

June 23, 2008 4:22 PM

Ashley said:

Oh, I'm embarrassed to admit this now after reading the rest of the comments. Espresso, a diet coke, and a Luna bar. I would act like I was just in a hurry this morning and grabbed something, but this is what I have every day. I wish I was one of those people who made themselves an egg white omelet with veggies and fruit and whatnot, but that will never be me. Who are you people who have these healthy breakfasts everyday? How do you make this work?

June 23, 2008 4:51 PM

Amber said:

I had a cup of steel cut oats with a teaspoon of carob powder stirred in, a cup of soymilk and a few grapes.

June 24, 2008 10:34 AM

Laura said:

I'm a creature of habit, and perhaps a bit OCD about my breakfast, but I love it. I eat a 6-oz cup of lowfat lemon yogurt, a Kashi Go Lean bar and a 16-oz homemade nonfat vanilla latte. I ate a banana as well and felt pretty good until almost noon, which is much longer than I usually last before feeling ravenous.

June 24, 2008 5:34 PM

Marissa said:

Well today I had 2 eggs scrambled in virgin coconut oil and a bowl full of cherries...seriously. Plus some green tea. Another breakfast fave of mine is a bowl of sliced grapes (or lazy and unsliced) with greek yogurt on top, sprinkled with raw walnuts and a drizzle of honey.

I also just say this today and have to say...might become a staple of mine

http://milkforthemorningcake.blogspot.com/2008/07/nice-loaf-of-banana-bread-not-cake.html

July 9, 2008 3:21 PM