[Closed] Weight loss breakfast ideas

half a glass of OJ?

You might not be daft with that. I just measured how much I have in one glass and it's 250-300 ml which is c.20-26g of sugar!!!

And I've realise my cereal is 30% sugar, which I thin by half with oats (well I have this morning now I've weighed it). But then for my typical portion size that's still 14g of sugar. Plus the fresh fruit!

So probably 40 g of sugar at breakfast. Wow.

Right I need a rethink.

This made me check what I have sometimes. A 40g bowl of shreddies contains 5g of sugar, add a teaspoon of sugar on top (4g) and it comes to less than your muesli which I wouldn't have thought!

Cook something. Eggs can be made ok, I have a cheese omlette with sausages or bacon if I am feeling hungry. Don't worry about the fat, it fills you up.

Otherwise meat/sausages and some.aort of vegetable... Cabbage stir fried up with chopped mini cocktail sausages and lots of pepper is delicious and incredibly filling. Or you could use chorizo or something if you wanted to be more middle-class. But something already cooked saves time.

Skip breakfast? Not like it’s needed.

Make your own muesli. Oats, nuts, seeds and a little bit of fruit to sweeten it.

My weekday breakfast is peanut butter and jam in a toast sandwich, not especially healthy but I have it at 7:30am and keeps me full until around 5pm (doesn't really save me a meal as I generally then have lunch at 5pm and a later evening meal but you might be more disciplined, it mostly just stops me snacking during the day). If I have a normal breakfast (cereal) or even a bacon/sausage/egg bap I'm hungry again by 11am.

strong coffee and a fag?

I’m not giving up the OJ

Come back when you are serious about this then and not just expressing a desire. Sorry to be blunt but if you don't know the difference between a habit and a need you aren't going to get very far.

Porridge. You can get a very big and filling bowlful out of a surprisingly small weight of oats.

I lost some post injury weight by switching breakfast to porridge (40g) - with half teaspoon of golden syrup. Then low calorie lunch eg bowl of soup (no bread) or a couple of poached eggs with maybe one small slice of bread - basically 200 or so calories. Them a normal tea - homemade pasta dish, stir fry,  curry etc but eye on portion size. Minimal snacks (mainly nuts) and almost no booze

I didn't bother with any of the super low carb diets stuff as such - but that said porridge for breakfast did really seem to help not needing to snack and being happy enough with a low calorie lunch.

Also i did lots of walking - I got up to 10 plus miles 4 times a week.

I lost about 7lbs in a month and then another 10lbs over the next 3 months when I go back on the bikes and needed more fuel. Not dramatically rapid weight loss but seems sustainable and all I needed. Even the reduced booze - odd bottle of beer or glass of wine - is doable and I'm happer for it.

Hope that helps

Come back when you are serious about this then and not just expressing a desire.

I see what you are saying, but unlike some people I don't have a coffee till 11 am (I can't face it) and I suffer from low blood sugar (non diabetic, but doctor diagnosis when I was young) so it gets me going so that I can actually get moving in the morning. I am going halve it. I have lost 1.5 stone in the past (from my previous knee injury) and carried on drinking OJ.

Also i did lots of walking – I got up to 10 plus miles 4 times a week.

At the moment my knee limits who much I can walk (part of the problem!) but I'm slowly building it back up. Thank you for the other advice.

Porridge. You can get a very big and filling bowlful out of a surprisingly small weight of oats.

I forgot to add to my preamble that the texture of porridge really makes me gag. I have tried various ways and it doesn't work (it makes hiking breakfast a pain). I'm thinking jumbo oats, lactose free natural yoghurt (I'm lactose intolerant, not a fad!) and a little bit of fruit or maple syrup might be an idea as then it doesn't go mushy.

Coffee and bagel 6.30, roll will coffee or fizz at 10, denner at 1 maybe a hot pastry then tea at 5pm

There must be some knockout breaths with the breakfast then nothing until evening

I need to stop drinking the orange not from concentrate too, Lidls at 99p is so good straight out the fridge

Another reason to avoid OJ at breakfast is that it can soften tooth enamel. If you brush your teeth soon after drinking, it then gets worn away.

I used to have a large bowl of muesli until I calculated the sugar content as part of Chub Club last year. I cut back to 1 Weetabix. It was tough, but you get used to it. Sometimes it was hard avoiding the vending machine at 11am but you have to be hard on yourself. Yes, you may be hungry but at least you know you've got the ability to eat at lunchtime and later that evening.

I was shocked at how small the 30g portion most cereals base there content analysis on.

12lbs in six months is nothing, if that genuinely is the extent of your weight gain.

Simply put, you need to cut down on sugars - swap sugar-added muesli for your own recipe, with seeds and nuts such as pecans/walnuts. Drink half as much OJ, if you can't cut it out entirely.

If you can manage an omelette, having one of those in the morning occasionally with some good stuff in it (don't worry too much about the cheese) will set you up for the morning.

...it's not exactly the weather for porridge either. I like your oats and yoghurt idea for when the weather is like this - I'll give it a go.

Hope the injury resolves well - it's a real git - I had injury setback last year for the first time in a decade and it knocked me sideways for while. I'm back on it now, it took a while and some good support but it came back

KISS: don't eat breakfast.

I've not eaten breakfast for a couple of years now, it's an easy way to lose calories from your diet, especially if you're in a fairly sedentary office job. The "most important meal of the day" guff began life as a marketing slogan, not health advice.

Have you tried learning to like porridge? Took me a month working away from home to get used to unsweetened porridge as it was that or a greasy fry up, now any sugar or fruit in it makes it taste like pudding and I cant stomach it first thing.

I'd seriously reconsider the OJ and fruit, and any sugar TBH. If you have low blood sugar then all it's going to do is cause it to spike and crash again an hour later (so you have more at 9, then tea and biscuit at 10:30, then elevenses, and need chocolate with lunch, a mid afternoon muffin and coffee, and some toast when you get home "just to see you through" before dinner, and more crap in the evening.  Seriously, I found giving up sugar (even 'good' sugar like fruit let alone bad sugar like fruit juice)  at breakfast means however much  or little i eat i don't then get hungry.

Current* breakfast 3 heaped spoons of oats in enough milk to make porridge.  It's not much at all, but I hardly ever snack now before lunch, and I used to need a muffin and latte by 10:00 otherwise (and often clockwatching from 9!)

*not actually, I'm working away again and the OH is on WW so I'm making the most of it and having a fry up (avoiding the carbs though, just sausage, bacon, egg, black pudding and lots of tomatoes).

Skip breakfast? Not like it’s needed.

Very wrong.  Breakfast is exactly what is says and is also a primary fuel source for the day - you put fuel in the car before the journey don't you?

Skip breakfast and potentially - bearing in mind the 6-10hrs fasting beforehand - your body entered a famine state trigger and starts storing fat in response.   You're far better have a big healthy breakfast and cutting out snacks and a large evening meal, having moderate high protein/low fat lunch & dinner's.

FWIW OP Mrs K is having the same issues.  We bought a £15 second hand indoor bike which she sits on during Love Island, she walks, and cycles the kids to school.  She has been putting on weight to the lack of HIIT during Hockey matches/practise.

Your issue is the loss of exercise, don't panic and restrict your diet to stupid proportions, wait for the exercise to return and it'll start falling.

Chop an apple up small and stir into yr muesli!?

two weight loss breakfasts that have worked for me:

1. Bacon and poached or scrambled egg.  No bread or added oils.

2.  Porridge made with oats, boiling water and chopped apple.  Mix and let stand.  Srir in a half-pinch of salt for taste.  Apple provides the sweetness.

Since cutting out factory/intensively-farmed meat from diet I tend now to opt now for the apple porridge option 9/10. Filling and tasty. Experiment with varieties of apple.  Noted OP is poncensical re porridge, but as stated maybe replicate with muesli taken with no/low fat drink/yoghurt

these are good, keeps you going til lunch time. I’ve dropped the Oats out not just have 0 fat yougourt and an apple + banana chopped in it.

https://www.slimmingworld.co.uk/recipes/overnight-oats.aspx

Porridge Porridge Porridge.   With some sultanas and Chia seeds (Or another seed), half a spoon of of honey or agave syrup if you like it sweeter. I make mine with semi-skimmed milk.

If porridge in summer seems too weird, then same as above, but do the "overnight oats " thing instead.

My Achilles heel is chocolate, so adding some chocolate chips or chocolate powder to overnight oats seems to keep me "chocolate happy " for the remainder of the day.

12lbs in six months is nothing, if that genuinely is the extent of your weight gain.

To be honest, 8lb is my weight gain since my injury, but this is me running slightly heavy.  12lb would put me back in my more sensible range.  I have been 10lb lighter than that, about 7 years ago; but I think since I have hit 30+ that isnt going to happen (plus some womenly drugs I am on!) so I am thinking 12lb loss puts me back where I should be.  At 5'9" and with broad shoulders and hips I am never going to be the smallest woman, but that puts me back into my healthy range (I am about 1lb into overweight based on BMI!).

Your issue is the loss of exercise, don’t panic and restrict your diet to stupid proportions, wait for the exercise to return and it’ll start falling.

Kryton you are totally right - and as the exercise is slowly returning I am finding I am needing to keep portion sizes up as I am burning through the energy.  Just learning to walk properly again takes it out of me.  I am just trying to eat well and avoid the rubbish and too many carbs.  I think the 6-week sick leave kitkats didnt help - that said I only put a couple of lbs on whilst I was off work, which I am pleased with.  Most of this is slow accumulation over the last year and bordum drinking (not much, just too regularly) - which I have cut back on - too much time spent doing physio now anyway.

Thanks all - some good ideas here which have just given me the push I need.  I am going to try my hardest to cut the OJ right down and go on an expedition to Waitrose to find the better lactose free yogurts (Morrisons isn't that exciting on its range).

Porridge Porridge Porridge.

^this. Plus an egg now and again.

I would also echo the 'do NOT skip breakfast' - for me this leads to more snacking and feeling like crap...

I would also echo the ‘do NOT skip breakfast’

It is absolutely not an option for me - I can not function without something in me - I wouldn't make the walk to the train and that really isn't an exaggeration.  Its a family thing - my Mum is exactly the same.

Porridge is great. You say you don't like the consistency of porridge...but you can make it in different consistencies. Make it with less milk/water for a thicker consistency, larger oats to make it more substantial, or thin it out with smaller oats and more liquid, always cook on the hob.much nicer than microwaving and not much slower, milk for a creamier and tastier consistency, water for less flavour.

Similarly with eggs. you say you don't like eggs...well which eggs? fried? scrambled, poached? tey are all different dishes with very different consistencies and easy to modify flavour. Wet (or dry if you prefer) scrambled egg with smoked Paprika or dried chilli flakes for example. Delicious.

But just best to skip it. I tend to skip it and have an early lunch about 11am and that gets me through to tea time. If you need a sugar hit first thing then put a spoonful of sugar in your tea, or have a gel/cereal bar/ slice of toast. Or sometimes a milky Cappuchino is enough to sustain me ini lieu of  breakfast.

Sometimes you need to just look upon food as fuel and sustenance and just have something even though it might not be the tastiest thing you've ever eaten. If you've been less mobile than usual then you shouldn't need to consume as many calories.

Greek Yougurt with dark chocolate chips & various sized almonds, and water.

That's how my partner starts the day & they've lost a load a weight recently.

I lost a pile of weight recently and breakfast was a large part of this.  I picked up a diabetic index book, listing loads of foods that diabetics can and can't eat using atrafic light system and almost every breakfast thing was on the Don't Touch list.  The only exceptions were shredded wheat, Weetabix and porridge.  As pointed out, this isn't the weather for porridge but then I cam across Overnight Oats (or cold porridge for the non-hipsters).

The night before mix up some porridge and semi-skimmed milk the add in some other stuff.  Typically, I add

cinnamon because although I don't really like it, it goes really well with porridge

vanilla flavoured whey protein because with other changes to my diet I though i wasn't getting enough protein

rye flakes just to try them and they give a bit more texture

2 or 3 of strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, banana, cherries

Stick in the fridge and leave overnight.  Looks like sludge, is very tasty

I've found that porridge made with raw milk is extremely filling.  It seems that lactose-intolerant folk can be OK with raw, myself included.  I buy from a local farm and often see the pedigree Jerseys in the fields.

Hope your recovery is going well ahsat.

Make your own muesli then every batch is different,  nuts, seeds, oats, dried fruit etc.  Put apple sauce on, honey and more fruit.  I snack on it mid afternoon, costs much less than shop bought and v low in sugar.  Weight will fall off.

Very wrong.  Breakfast is exactly what is says and is also a primary fuel source for the day – you put fuel in the car before the journey don’t you?

I wouldn't put fuel in my car if I already had fuel in the tank. UNless you're very, very skinny, you have a reasonably full fuel tank

Skip breakfast and potentially – bearing in mind the 6-10hrs fasting beforehand – your body entered a famine state trigger and starts storing fat in response.

What's actually likely to happen after a short fast (and 6-10 hours is a short fast)  is that you'll have low insulin levels due to the lack of glucose in your bloodstream, which triggers your body to burn fat in response. Famine response comes with a dramatic, prolonged drop in calorie consumption, not the lack of a bowl of Frosties.

Oats = carbohydrates -> sugar.

Sugar = sugar.

Fruit (orange juice, raisins etc.) = sugar.

Omelette = slim, trim and dangerous to know.

I've been making a batch of this stuff up every couple of months. It's surprisingly good.

Sawdust???  ^^^

Greek Yougurt with dark chocolate chips & various sized almonds, and water.

Think I'll give this a try.

You won't ever want to eat a low sugar cereal for breakfast unless you cut the sweetness in the rest of your diet throughout the day, because your palate will expect something really sweet and your low sugar cereal will taste like sawdust.

Unfortunately this means giving up the orange juice, would be ok to swap it for a whole orange you actually have to chew.

Very wrong.  Breakfast is exactly what is says and is also a primary fuel source for the day – you put fuel in the car before the journey don’t you?

Skip breakfast and potentially – bearing in mind the 6-10hrs fasting beforehand – your body entered a famine state trigger and starts storing fat in response.   You’re far better have a big healthy breakfast and cutting out snacks and a large evening meal, having moderate high protein/low fat lunch & dinner’s.

IHN basically says what I would have replied to that.

I do admire your absolutism, tho, Kryton. Good to see you being assertive.

and almost no booze

No way I'm getting out of bed without one warm Frosty Jack.

Very wrong.  Breakfast is exactly what is says and is also a primary fuel source for the day – you put fuel in the car before the journey don’t you?

Skip breakfast and potentially – bearing in mind the 6-10hrs fasting beforehand – your body entered a famine state trigger and starts storing fat in response.

What a load of rubbish.

It might not be the case with you, OP, but I had to make a quite brutal look at what I was eating two years ago to explain why I was ~95Kg and rising. My biggest issue was snacking, both just after getting in from work and again just after dinner with desert. Peanuts; multiple "full rounds" of peanut butter/jam sandwiches; cereal; chocolate etc.

If you want to lose weight, you have to be very honest with yourself about what you are eating and make a change, ideally one you can stick to permanently and not just to get to a certain weight.

Was ~95Kg, got as low as ~73Kg last August, now ~78Kg (because I'm snacking more, I know it, but I'm not yet doing something about it because I've stabilised at this weight since around March)

Simplistic numbers mean you need to reduce calorie intake by around 200 calories per day to lose 12lb over 6 months

Using 3500 calories for 1 lb of fat

(3500 x 12) / 180 days = 233 calories per day

Half of your orange juice, one less biscuit, no packet of crypts etc,. and you will be there while keeping all other factors (food and exercise) same as now assuming your now is not putting weight on by the day

Whats wrong with just having toast? Is porridge better than toast for weight loss??

Unless you top the toast with something more filling, you'll be hungry a lot sooner after eating it than you would be with porridge. At least in my experience anyway.

What about topping the toast with Porridge??

Nah, better making croutons for the porridge if you want to combine the two.

Plain Greek yogurt 3 table spoons of oatmeal, drop of honey and fruit if you want. Keeps you full for ages and ideal in the hot weather

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2016/nov/28/breakfast-health-america-kellog-food-lifestyle

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/health-fitness/body/reset-midlife-body-burn-fat-six-easy-steps/

https://www.esquire.com/lifestyle/health/a52720/intermittent-fasting/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q8zEuGUVWGw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nz64yofwIu8

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2010/nov/23/food-book-extract-felicity-lawrence

IHN basically says what I would have replied to that.

I do admire your absolutism, tho, Kryton. Good to see you being assertive

I say this with a grin, I’m not sure if your taking the piss with your last sentence? 😀

IHN isn’t wrong as even a lean person carries about 60000 cells of fat around thier body.  But this is glycogen based science.  With very little glycogen, there will be elements of the OP’s function which are affected until he tops them up.  Depending on metabolism and daily requirement some people will function with this, some won’t so well.

I couldn't for example, interval train properly for MTB racing at lunch time with a zero glycogen store.  I can survive quite adequately and lose weight with a smaller breakfast on non training days, but with no breakfast would spend the latter half of the day “topping up” for tomorrow’s workout - why starve and binge?  Just even it out. I think its been proven many times though that entering starvation through lack of breakfast is not the healthiest way to be and is in general fatiguing.

The other thing to bear in mine is that the OP will return to exercise.  He may to well to get into a pattern of healthy eating for metabolic adaptation before that, to avoid shocking his body too much especially considering his op - he needs to be healthy and strong to continue with the recovery process.

The other thing to bear in mine is that the OP will return to exercise.  He....

The OP is also that rare thing on singletrack...a woman 😉

I couldn’t for example, interval train properly for MTB racing at lunch time with a zero glycogen store.

Well, no, but we're (probably) talking about spending the morning sat at a desk at work, not interval training.

FWIW, I quite happily gently cycled 20 miles to work on no breakfast.

 I think its been proven many times though that entering starvation through lack of breakfast is not the healthiest way to be and is in general fatiguing.

I don't think you really understand what starvation/starvation mode is, skipping breakfast is not going to put you in starvation mode.

The OP is also that rare thing on singletrack…a woman

I humbly apologise for my assumption!

FWIW, I quite happily gently cycled 20 miles to work on no breakfast.

I think we are agreeing...

I don’t think you really understand what starvation/starvation mode is, skipping breakfast is not going to put you in starvation mode.

Perhaps not, or perhaps I used the incorrect words.  I'm talking of entering a state where the body recognises it isn't being fed and starts to actively store fat.

I think we are agreeing…

Let's just say I'm right, and leave it at that 🙂

Perhaps not, or perhaps I used the incorrect words.  I’m talking of entering a state where the body recognises it isn’t being fed and starts to actively store fat.

Its not going to happen because you did not eat breakfast. You are just spouting mum science.

So the update is I've last half a stone in the last 6 weeks. I swapped to the 50% less sugar OJ, weighed my breakfast to make sure I don't eat too much carb. I've been using My Fitness Pal and have started using some vegan (due to the lactose intolerance) protein shakes to help build the muscle back up in my leg. Otherwise eaten sensibly, a little alcohol 2-3 times per week, but critically I have entered a new phase of my ACL recovery and my exercise has increased (10 miles on the turbo etc) which as some people pointed out would be the critical factor. Would like to loose another 6lb by the end of the year so that hill climbs will be a little easier.

2 hard boiled eggs and a slice of cold meat works for me. Not many calories but fills you up for the morning

strong coffee and a fag?

Italian breakfast

I reckon eat whatever you like to avoid morning snacking. Same for lunch to avoid the afternoon snacks. I put on weight if I have small breakfasts and snack. If I have a reasonable breakfast of a couple of eggs, toast, yogurt, coffee then i'll probably be good until lunch.

Good work OP on the 1/2 stone loss.

Oat n fruit muffins, 2 of them every morning, a minute in the microwave, keeps me full til lunch. That's 3 days breakfast, 5 mins prep, 30 mins cook time.

2 eggs

3 mashed bananas

200g frozen summer berries

180g porridge oats

1 Tbs honey

Mix all together, spoon into 6 silicon muffin tray, 30 mins at 200 degC, awesomeness awaits.

Current daily breakfast is -

1 slice of toast

Handful of  chopped spinach

2 eggs beaten with salt and pepper

5g grated parmesan cheese

Chopped red chilli

Wilt the spinach in a frying pan wiped with oil olive, throw in the eggs and and melt parmesan until it resembles custard, plonk on top of the toast and scatter over the chilli.

Last me until lunchtime, even after an early morning gym session.

That sounds lovely jimster.

I’ve been trying to lose weight recently and it’s having some effect.

the main constituent parts have been no breakfast during the working week (if I do have any I’m usually starving by 10.30-11, if I don’t I can even make it to mid pm if I’m stuck in meetings...), cutting out pretty much all the smachery (definitely NO ice cream or chocolate ) and yarking back the (albeit modest) alcohol intake.

its worked enough to lose a full trouser waist size in 3-4 months.

just a pity there the guts (sic) of 20kg still to go... 😭

You could try diluting the OJ 50/50 with water, it's still nice and refreshing but less sugary and the OJ lasts longer 🙂

Two poached eggs on toast.

2 mins in the microwave. Lovely.

the main constituent parts have been no breakfast during the working week (if I do have any I’m usually starving by 10.30-11, if I don’t I can even make it to mid pm if I’m stuck in meetings…)

I've noticed this; I generally don't eat breakfast, but on the odd days when I do, cos, you know, toast is lovely, I'm hungrier by mid-morning than on the days when I don't.

Another way of masking eggs (WARNING MARMITE CONTENT!!)

1 slice of toast

handful of mushrooms chopped up

1 teaspoon of marmite

2 eggs beaten with black pepper

cayene pepper

Wipe frying pan with olive oil and heat, throw in the mushrooms and cook for a couple of minutes, add marmite and a splash of hot water and continue to cook  the mushrooms, when done add the eggs and fold into the mushrooms until the eggs set - 10/20 seconds.  Pile onto the toast and give a dusting of cayene pepper.

Nice work ahsat, now it's time to step it up a notch.

"I’ve noticed this; I generally don’t eat breakfast, but on the odd days when I do, cos, you know, toast is lovely, I’m hungrier by mid-morning than on the days when I don’t."

There is a reason for that - infact there are many peer reviewed studies and papers written on the subject -about just why this is about the number 1 reason to eat breakfast.

Skip your evening meal if you want to simply cut meals rather than use proper portion control.

(Also on a weight loss regime ATM)

Breakfast for me was 2 poached eggs and some steamed spinach and mushrooms with black pepper

My breakfast consists of:

Water - 400ml
Oats - 100g
Spinach - 60g
Kale - 40g
Ginger - 15g
Coffee - 3g
Cacoa Powder - 5g
Sunflower Seeds - 12g
Pumpkin Seeds - 6g
Hemp Seeds - 6g
Lindseed - 6g
Sesame Seeds - 6g
Chia Seeds - 7g
Buckwheat Flakes - 10g
Raisins - 25g

All blended up together. Around about 660 calories in that but I'm still well under 9 stone with a BMI under 20. Rest of my diet is vegetables, a lot of vegetables, pulses and nuts and fruit. I also eat bread rice and pasta but not in huge quantities and not everyday.

Nobeer.

Just fired up a batch of your "muffins" out of the stuff we had In the cupboards

Awesomeness indeed .I added some chia seeds as well just because I was raiding the cupboards.

I see these being made more often.

I have shredded wheat for breakfast (with almond milk as I don't dairy) which seems to be pretty low in sugar, salt and saturated fat. Also high in fibre. It's not exciting but does the job.

Would like to loose another 6lb by the end of the year so that hill climbs will be a little easier.

Less horrible I'm afraid. Having had a few long injuries, including acl I'm sorry to report getting back out on the bike can be awful until the fitness starts coming back. Struggling up a small climb you used to be able to sprint up is depressing but take it steady, enjoy the view and you'll get there, good luck.

My breakfast consists of:

Water – 400ml
Oats – 100g
Spinach – 60g
Kale – 40g
Ginger – 15g
Coffee – 3g
Cacoa Powder – 5g
Sunflower Seeds – 12g
Pumpkin Seeds – 6g
Hemp Seeds – 6g
Lindseed – 6g
Sesame Seeds – 6g
Chia Seeds – 7g
Buckwheat Flakes – 10g
Raisins – 25g

Breakfast time would be over by the time I'd measured it out!