I HAVE to have carbs for breakfast or I won't be satisfied.
I eat 1/2 cup of oatmeal with 1/2 cup of organic vanilla soy milk, 2 tablespoons of flaxseeds and 2 fruits of choice (berries/pineapple/orange/banana are my favorites with oatmeal).
I have tried low-carb breakfasts before (mainly eggs in all forms and shapes) but it just doesn't cut it for me. Veggies are an absolute no-go for me, unless I have a sandwich or something (which never happens). I just can't eat veggies for breakfast.
Also, I drink 1 cup of hot green tea before I eat and then another cup with my food. It keeps me full and satisfied until lunch which is why I haven't changed up my breakfast routine in so long.
Lots of ideas and it's interesting to see what works well for one vs another.
What works best for me is not eating breakfast, at all. I haven't eaten breakfast for about 4 years. This allows me to eat more later in the day. The only thing to keep in mind is if you try this you will need to give yourself a couple weeks to adjust. I used to be ready to eat my left arm if I hadn't eaten anything by 10:00 AM but not I don't even start getting hungry until around noon.
I usually eat a pretty small breakfast, around 300 or 400 calories. I vary between 3 egg whites w/ a slice of whole grain toast and peanut butter, just the eggs, or sometimes just a granola bar. The catch is that I always have a snack around 10AM. Half a cup of cottage cheese, or a string cheese stick and a guzzled bottle of water. Always hold me over until lunch. Good luck.
I am definitely a fan of carbs for breakfast. I generally eat between 20 and 30 carbs for breakfast. It's generally the most carbs I eat at one time. I'm not saying I feel terrible without carbs for breakfast, but if I skip carbs for breakfast, I will probably forget to have carbs with lunch, then by dinner I feel completely knackered and irritable.
I am not picky about breakfast, either. I can eat anything for breakfast and feel okay about it. I sometimes eat leftover dinner for breakfast. I like having oatmeal, eggs and toast, or an omelet and coffee. Sometimes I have some bacon or sausage and potatoes with peppers and onions or just have toast if I'm not hungry.
The fun part about breakfast is that you have all your calories available! You can have a big breakfast and a small dinner, or if you don't feel like it, a small breakfast and a bigger dinner.
I have a smoothie every morning. Right now I use 1/2 scoop of a meal replacement (not a protein powder but it has protein), some unsweetened almond milk and some frozen berries. That keeps me full for a while plus I don't like eating hot things in the morning.
My husband has Bob's red mill 5 grain cereal with chia seeds and unsweetened almond milk almost every morning. He swears by it and keeps telling me I should try it. Since I'm 'picky' in the morning, I don't know if I could get over my aversion to hot foods to eat it but it works for him.
Lots of ideas and it's interesting to see what works well for one vs another.
What works best for me is not eating breakfast, at all. I haven't eaten breakfast for about 4 years. This allows me to eat more later in the day. The only thing to keep in mind is if you try this you will need to give yourself a couple weeks to adjust. I used to be ready to eat my left arm if I hadn't eaten anything by 10:00 AM but not I don't even start getting hungry until around noon.
I have been playing around with this, too, especially ever since I started doing 5:2 and realized how easy it is to not eat breakfast (just coffee!) because I'm simply not hungry. I used to get sick when I ate breakfast as a kid, so I'm not sure why I forced myself to eat breakfast first thing in the morning most of my life. I do still usually eat breakfast on non-fasting days, but I wait until much later in the morning than I used to.
When I do eat breakfast, I eat a much bigger breakfast than I ever used to. Lately it's been cottage cheese and pineapple plus an apple and peanut butter. Fruit and protein seems to do it for me.
I have experimented a lot to get my breakfast right. And by right, I mean good for my boxing which is at 7.30am in the morning and requires a lot of moving around.
I eat a serving of stonecut oats (1/4 cup) with ceylon cinnamon, vanilla, dried fruit and flaxseed milk (1.5x the amount recommended for a portion of oats to bulk out the oats more) and two cans of fish (typically sardines, mackeral, kippers and/or smoked oysters). I once went too heavy on the oats and felt bloated. But I need some carbs for my workout: too few and I just tire so easy during my morning workout. The fish keeps me full.
I have a similar calorie intake to Novus for breakfast but I go lower on the fat and higher on the carbs:
Ian, I work out in the evenings after my meal. I have met many people on 5:2/IF who work out in the mornings in a fasted state and have experienced high levels of energy and have amazing workouts. I personally can't work out without eating - I'm too sluggish - but that's probably because it's evening by the time I get to the gym.
Today I ate a really small and green banana with a handful of the square little bail bran whole wheat no sugar/salt cereal dry (lol avoiding a name brand, but it was good, good whole wheat) around 5am
Then I hit the gym and just had a second breakfast with strawberry/spinach and another really small banana smoothie.
I find a protein at breakfast is usually too much for me and I get luggish, although, I will have an egg or two if I am having one breakfast to last right to lunch. Sometimes a yogurt.
I lost with protein sparing low carb and low fat and am maintaining now at 100-200g carb a day, slightly higher than MFP recommended fat levels - usually from EVOO, avocado and proper servings of regular fat dairy, and normal amounts of lean proteins.
For breakfast I like a veggie stir-fry with 2 eggs scrambled in & a touch of no-sugar salsa, or you can change the proportions to make it a frittata. I also eat a piece of fruit in the morning with this breakfast. Sometimes I have cottage cheese on toast (I use Gluten free because I have to) and some fruit. I've had tuna with hot lime pickle in it on toast and cucumber slices.
If I'm in a hurry I will have a mini 0% greek yogourt to take with me and some raw unsalted nuts. Sometimes in a hurry it's cheese or 1/2 peanut butter/1/2 Walden Farms 'peanut spread' in celery sticks . Sometimes its Mesa Sunrise G-free cereal 3/4 c with nuts or raisins or berries in it and unsweetened vanilla almond milk. Lots of choices out there.
I am usually up at 6:15, eat by 6:45 (I have to take supplement 1/2 hr before breakfast) and have a protein snack - usually a vegan protein smoothie at 10 or 10:30 so I never feel that crazy hunger.
Hope this gives you some ideas....
Liana
BTW: Wannabeskinny is totally correct... the brain MUST have carbs. Just remember that we need to control the amounts, lol. Some people are more carb sensitive than others, but you can 'reset' your pancreas and the way your cells accept the insulin messages sent out. You will have to play with the proportions to find what works for you personally.
Hey there, what do you use for your vegan protein smoothie??
These are some really great menus I will have to try. I have started adding an English muffin (easy to eat in the car) to my breakfast and it seems to be helping. On the weekends I will try to add some oatmeal when I have more time.
Quote:
Originally Posted by IanG
Do you really box? I do and I love it.
Ian, I do box! It is wicked awesome, I love it. I don't kick box though, if that's what you meant, I do traditional boxing. Feel free to PM me if you ever want to chat more about it!
Hey there, what do you use for your vegan protein smoothie??
There are a ton of options. If you are looking for straight powders, there are hemp, rice, soy or pea or a simple mix of those. Some others use things like chia. Vega, SunWarrior, Plant Fusion are a few brands. If you go on a site like vitacost.com (or even amazon), you'd be inundated by a search of 'vegan protein powder'. These are also things that can often be found in your local health food store or a place like Whole Foods. I find Plant Fusion to be a bit too 'airy' but a lot of people like it and it is probably the closest to Whey in texture/taste without having soy as an ingredient. I avoid soy protein powders (although I don't avoid soy) but I know many body builders who use them.
