I do my best and try to eat 1700-1900 calories per day (on the eat more to lose more plan) but sometimes I'm having trouble finding places to cut calories, especially for breakfast. Monday through Thursday I'm in class from 8:30-12:30 and I stop at Dunkin Donuts for breakfast just about every day. Is there any breakfast sandwiches or things along that line that are less than 400 calories? My bagel with reduced fat cream cheese comes in at a whopping 410 calories, which I think is a lot. Where do you guys cut calories/fat during the day? Have you modified normal fat kid recipes to be skinnier?

The first thing I did was cut out soda and snacks, it was so hard! But now I never get any calories from drinks except coffee (and the calories are minimum) and sometimes Crystal Light (which is 10 calories for 16oz).

Dunkin Donuts would be the first place I cut for food (too much sodium, too many calories and too high a price!). Are you able to make your own breakfast sandwiches at home and freeze them for the week? It would be so much healthier and economical! You could get low calorie English muffins or bagel thins (a 1/3rd less calories!), eggs, low sodium American cheese, and low sodium bacon (a slice for each sandwich). This is how we make them here and they work out great for my husband. (I don't eat eggs or bread type breakfasts anymore as I am a carb addict!)

I have cereal or oatmeal, a piece of fruit and a coffee for breakfast and it satisfies me so much better than a bagel or donut.

Don't try to change too much at once. Just cutting out drink calories saved me almost 700 a day between juice, soda, cream in my coffee, and the occasional beer or mixed drink (those days were even higher!).

Hope that helps.

I had that same issue just with my job. What I have noticed worked out for me is doing it the night before. I am really lazy when it comes to cutting fruit so what I do is by the bowls that are prepared and just make a little lunch bag the night before that way i can just grab it and go... You can also try oatmeal it only takes 1 min to make. So while your brushing ur teeth or coming ur hair put it in microwave.

Elvislover -- I have pretty much cut out soda completely, minus the one or two diet pepsi's I'll have per day. Most of my in take is water now (Nestle Pure Life lemon water, omg yum!) as opposed to before when I would literally NEVER drink water, cause tap water is so gross. I think I'm a chronic snacker, and I always will be, but my snacks have changed drastically from a whole tube of ritz crackers and cream cheese to a yogurt or an apple with some peanut butter. I actually really don't like breakfast sandwiches, I really only eat their bagels, which is my favorite morning food. I also get an iced coffee because I'm just not good at making them, but my iced coffees are only about 130 cal for a big size, that's not the problem. I'm trying more now to eat a few hardboiled eggs for my protein in the morning to keep me curbed until lunch, but I'm always going to get coffee in the morning simply because I'm NOT a morning person. I'm also a carb addict but I'm filling my plate with more protein and veggies as of late. Thank you for your advice!

Sh0rty - that's a good idea, I will also try making up snacks and things the night before. If I wait til morning, it's DEFINITELY not happening.

Oops, sorry I didn't realize you only meant the bagels and cream cheese. I was hoping you were getting a lot "more" for all those calories like meat and cheese and eggs! I'd try the bagel thins at the supermarket then. Also, 2 tablespoons of peanut butter (if you need that much) will go a lot further protein-wise on your bagel if you like it that way.

I think you are doing great, I was just trying to help with some more choices.

Choices are what I have a hard time coming up with, to be honest with you! I'm still of the mind that I need to be "full" constantly. It's going to take a lot of hard work and mind over matter to get over the fact that I'm "hungry" (feeling emptiness in my tummy) 30% of the time. I'm not getting too much for those calories, although their bagels are quite large, and regardless I won't eat again until after class (about 12:45-1PM) because I make a point not to carry any sort of snacks with me or venture over to the vending machines. I guess I'm just trying to feel more full overall :/

Wheezy - I hear you on the bagel love! My breakfast is usually a whole wheat bagel w/2 tablespoons of natural peanut butter. This is about 430 calories (on the high side for breakfast) and 17 grams of protein. I will also eat a banana with this, or as a mid morning snack.

I do feel like the protein helps to tide me over until lunch though, I don't mind starting my day with this meal (plus it gets my "complete protein" out of the way for the day since I'm a vegetarian). I know you say you need your coffee...but if I were you and was looking for a way to get more food for my calorie buck - that 130 calories from the coffee could be spent on some fruit, or those hard boiled eggs instead to help keep you good until lunch! Easy for me of course, I don't drink coffee

Good luck!

wheezy - the great thing is that your body (and your stomach) will slowly adjust over time. Your stomach can literally shrink, and so less food will feel fuller. I realize that's not a concrete suggestion, but more of an encouragement to keep in mind when you're confronting that hungry feeling -- you have the knowledge that it won't be like that forever.

Food choices can also really, really impact hunger sensations. I'm kind of extreme - simple carbs like rice or potatoes (or bagels) leave me ravenous, often more hungry than before I ate. Everyone's different - some people find carbs filling, though I don't think my experience is uncommon. But that might be one more thing to think about playing around with and seeing how your body responds. If the hardboiled eggs seem to be helping, that might be a sign to poke around further.

I also think you could learn to make a great iced coffee and save yourself some serious dough, if you wanted. It's trial and error, for sure - and there's only so much energy/time to change so many things at once. But you've got a vote of confidence from me - I bet you could do it! I loved iced coffee in the summer - I've found you can't really replicate that with drip coffee at all. But if you have a French press, you can make coffee concentrate overnight that tastes awesome (you can google, but here's one link: http://www.thebittenword.com/thebitt...e-at-home.html)

This may seem like a crazy and wasteful idea ( but better calories go to waste than go to waist), but if you hollow out the bagel by tearing out some of the soft middle, you can save calories that can go to high protein and high fiber fillings like neufchatel and other lowfat spreadable cheeses, hummus, bean pastes, sprouts...

If you're a precise counter (of calories, WW points, exchanges, fat or carb grams... you can use a food scale (which I highly recommend, by the way) to determine how to count.

Most breads for example run between 80 and 100 calories per ounce. With large bagels, you can often scoop out an ounce or three, saving up to 300 calories.

Many bagel shops are used to getting this request, so you can even have them do it for you, but if you want to prevent the uncertainty factor, you pretty much have to do this at home.

In general, the best way to skim off calories has as much to do with what you're adding as what you're taking away. Add sprouts, tomato, onion, cucumber, egg whites.... to your bagel and you have a lot more filling power for very few more calories.

Personally, I find that low-fiber carbs tends to fuel hunger and cravings. My doctor recommended that I try low-but-not-too-low carb (but he admitted to not having a clue as to how low was too low). I'm still experimenting to find my "sweet spot" ( and I'm a dreadfully slow learner because I don't want to give up more than I absolutely have to).

I did learn though, that I can eat about 300 calories more on low-carb than on high carb to lose about the same amount of weight. I'm also far less hungrier on low-carb. So much so that I'm less hungy on 1800 cal of low-carb than on 3000 high-carb.

Some people find no hunger or metabolic advantage to low-carb, so you'll have to experiment (just don't count the first week or two in your comparison because of the waterweight differential. Otherwise you'll falsely assume low-carb has the advantage).

You should check out theyummylife.com she has a method for cold brewing coffee for iced coffe that is delicious. So much better than using hot brewed coffe and adding ice. She has other great idea forgrab and go such as refrigator oatmeal and oatmeal smoothies.

Are you open to buying some bagel thins, or like kaplods suggested, buying your own bagels and hollowing them out? Buy some of your favorite cream cheese and just make your bagel/cream cheese the night before. You can still drive through Dunkin Donuts and grab your iced coffee, but now you already have your breakfast ready to go and could try to make it less than 410 calories.

Also, what kind of milk/sugar are you having in your iced coffee? If it's not skim already, try skim milk or even try to cut out the sugar completely.

This could be your first step to cutting out some calories :-)

I use splenda. I'm not using skim milk for my coffee because if I cut out both it tastes terrible :\ may have to just get used to it I suppose. as for making my own bagels, I could but my toaster is god awful. I guess it's really an excuse and I could deal with that as well. thanks everyone for your suggestions.

I eat a Clif Bar every morning. Keeps me full for a couple of hours. 250 cals. If I need more, I add a Fage 2% yogurt for a total of 400. Adds more protein and some fat for satiety.
Coffee with just milk, no sugar. Oh how I miss sugar in my morning coffee. But I still get the caffeine

I like to make my own breakfast by scrambling 1 egg and 1 egg white in the microwave for 1:30 min, adding a sprinkling of 2% Mexican Cheese blend for 30 more seconds and adding that to a high fiber english muffin or a sandwich round. It nearly always keeps me filled up until lunch.

Egg White Delight McMuffin at McDonald's is 250 calories. A small coffee with 2 creams is 40. Bam! Fast food breakfast for under 300 calories!

I just checked out Dunkin Donuts menu - get the egg white flatbread. The veggie one is 280 cals.

Sometimes at home when i have a craving for bagel and cream cheese - I use those 100 cal thin rounds - toast it, slather it with reduced fat whipped cream cheese. I love to top it with scramble eggs and eat it like a pizza. Around 300 cals.

I modify higher cal recipes all the time. It's how i survive!

Tonight's dinner was pepperoni, mushroom and onion pizza for 400 cals:
Flatout Whole Wheat Wrap: 90
Turkey Pepperoni 9 slices: 45
mushrooms: 10
red onion: 35
marina: 60
reduced fat mozzarella: 140
grated parmesan: 20

8 minutes in oven at 425. Pizza!!!

Bagels is something that has to be a rare treat for me. It is so calorie dense and has a huge carb count. It triggers cravings for me. And i do miss them!