Page 1 of 2
1
2
LastLast
  1. #1
    Honorary PvM "Mod" Darsithis's Avatar
    10+ Year Old Account
    Join Date
    Jan 2011
    Location
    Chicago
    Posts
    51,235

    Possible Breakfast Choices for commuter

    So here is the deal: I'm 29, healthy (work out an hour a day, 6' 180lbs), but I have NASH (http://www.digestive.niddk.nih.gov/ddiseases/pubs/nash/) so I try to avoid lots of fat in my diet. This has presented a big problem when it comes to having something healthy AND fulfilling for breakfast due to my schedule and commute.

    Traditionally I would have McDonalds for breakfast pretty much every day. This means a meal of:

    - 960 calories
    - 34 grams of fat (12 saturated)
    - 1390mg of sodium
    - 15 grams of protein

    Why would I eat this? Well, it's hard to bring fresh food on an hour and half morning commute, I can't eat on the train (nor while driving), and I'm unable to eat when I first wake up. Even if I could eat when I first woke up I'd still have to eat a breakfast at work as I'd be starving again by 9am (I get up at 5:30am). That meal above keeps me full until noon or later.

    I'm unsure of what to replace it with. I tried replacing it with "bagelthins" and peanut butter. The gist is two thin bagels (they're about 1/3 the thickness of a full bagel (Link)) of whole-wheat + 2tbs of natural peanut butter per bagel. This means:

    - 600 calories
    - 34 grams of fat (7 saturated)
    - 100mg of sodium
    - 14 grams of protein
    - 10 grams of fiber from the bagels, 5g each

    I realize that the fats in peanut butter are far healthier than the deep-friend hashbrown and sausage McGriddle but it's not far off from the McDonalds breakfast I'm already eating. It keeps me as full, so I know I want to target that range of protein and fiber, but I can't find anything that contains nearly that much of both without the fat. Turkey bacon? No. Tofu breakfast sausages and such? Same (and saltier). Cereal? Doesn't fill me up and contains a crapload of sugar. Oatmeal? High on the fiber but so low on the protein that unless I eat 600+ calories of the stuff, which contains over 50g of sugar, it doesn't fill me up in the morning either.

    Anyone have any ideas? Or, do you think the PB & bagel is the right choice to make, especially with the rest of my diet being so low-fat?
    Last edited by Darsithis; 2012-10-30 at 09:23 PM.

  2. #2
    The Patient
    15+ Year Old Account
    Join Date
    Sep 2008
    Location
    Rochester, NY
    Posts
    264
    My favorite is greek yogurt with granola cereal, kind of like cereal and milk but with granola instead. The yogurt is full of protein (20g per cup and fat free), while the granola gets you your fiber. The yogurt can be a bit pricey though.
    Solaron of <Old Guard>, Tichondrius US

  3. #3
    The Patient Abominator's Avatar
    10+ Year Old Account
    Join Date
    Mar 2009
    Location
    Perth, Australia
    Posts
    265
    Having a look at your condition it appears that it simply requires you to maintain a relatively healthy diet. Fats aren't exactly bad, they won't make you fat, they're just more likely to cause you to gain weight as they are far more calorie dense than carbohydrates and proteins. Fat is actually quite essential, especially if you're a guy because some of the derivatives of fat are required to produce testosterone. If you're keeping track of how many grams of fat you consume a day I wouldn't go below 50 grams and I'd try and stay above 60 grams. You're not going to get sick if you drop below 50 grams, your diet just won't be as healthy as it could be.

    As for a meal the bagel idea sounds pretty good, you could also try making a milk shake. Just chuck some milk, yoghurt, some fruit of your choosing in a blender if you have one and that will give you plenty of fat, protein and carbohydrates, plus you'll have fast and slow acting carbohydrates so it should keep you chugging along until your next meal.

    Edit: Upon doing some further research fat isn't necessarily bad although it will increase your triglyceride and cholesterol levels as fats are broken down into both of those. However I believe that the only time fat becomes bad for you is if it's the unhealthy kind such as saturated fat or having too much fast in your diet with someone with your condition.

    Also an alternative, you could have a large meal before bed and a snack in the morning, meal timing really isn't that important, our bodies have many mechanisms that allow our bodies to receive the nutrients we require despite not having any food to extract said nutrients from. You could attempt a diet known as intermittent fasting (it's not one diet it's a type of diet). Essentially you fast or abstain from eating for extended periods of time, 16-20 hours depending on your schedule. It's not just to lose weight, you can gain or maintain weight on it easily and the major benefit of it is you can fit it into your busy schedule. For example you start your feeding phase on your lunch break at work and end it just before going to bed. You'll eventually adjust and it will give you the ability to eat healthier foods because you won't have annoying time constraints for breakfast.
    Last edited by Abominator; 2012-10-31 at 01:30 AM.

  4. #4
    If breakfast is inconvenient for you, then there is no real reason for why you should eat it, unless you are somewhat unable to eat all your calories later, for whatever reason.

    Was gonna write something about intermitten fasting aswell, but seems Abominator beat me to it
    Still gonna add some personal experience with IF to the thread..

    I myself started the IF (Leangains) because it all sounded logic when I read all about, and it was easier to fit into my daily rutine, instead of waking up, and the first thing I do is making breakfast that I really didn't want to eat, and then a few hours into my school day, having to take a lunch break.

    So it was much easier to gain controll over what I ate, and healthier even, once dinner became my breakfast, after school/work. Then a meal a few hours later, and the last meal before bedtime to finish up my daily calories and add some casein aswell

    It also gave me a little more productivity, not thinking about what/when to eat, since I already knew what I was having for dinner later on, no more snacking

    And about hunger, it doesn't become an issue once you stop eating wake-up-breakfast and start getting used to going a few hours without food

  5. #5
    Honorary PvM "Mod" Darsithis's Avatar
    10+ Year Old Account
    Join Date
    Jan 2011
    Location
    Chicago
    Posts
    51,235
    Quote Originally Posted by peacemaster View Post
    My favorite is greek yogurt with granola cereal, kind of like cereal and milk but with granola instead. The yogurt is full of protein (20g per cup and fat free), while the granola gets you your fiber. The yogurt can be a bit pricey though.
    I never thought about yogurt. We don't have anywhere I can store any at the office, but I'm sure it would survive the 1.5 hour trip, at least while it is winter time out. Come summer I might have to think of an alternate at-work breakfast.

    Quote Originally Posted by Abominator View Post
    Having a look at your condition it appears that it simply requires you to maintain a relatively healthy diet. Fats aren't exactly bad, they won't make you fat, they're just more likely to cause you to gain weight as they are far more calorie dense than carbohydrates and proteins. Fat is actually quite essential, especially if you're a guy because some of the derivatives of fat are required to produce testosterone. If you're keeping track of how many grams of fat you consume a day I wouldn't go below 50 grams and I'd try and stay above 60 grams. You're not going to get sick if you drop below 50 grams, your diet just won't be as healthy as it could be.

    As for a meal the bagel idea sounds pretty good, you could also try making a milk shake. Just chuck some milk, yoghurt, some fruit of your choosing in a blender if you have one and that will give you plenty of fat, protein and carbohydrates, plus you'll have fast and slow acting carbohydrates so it should keep you chugging along until your next meal.

    Edit: Upon doing some further research fat isn't necessarily bad although it will increase your triglyceride and cholesterol levels as fats are broken down into both of those. However I believe that the only time fat becomes bad for you is if it's the unhealthy kind such as saturated fat or having too much fast in your diet with someone with your condition.

    Also an alternative, you could have a large meal before bed and a snack in the morning, meal timing really isn't that important, our bodies have many mechanisms that allow our bodies to receive the nutrients we require despite not having any food to extract said nutrients from. You could attempt a diet known as intermittent fasting (it's not one diet it's a type of diet). Essentially you fast or abstain from eating for extended periods of time, 16-20 hours depending on your schedule. It's not just to lose weight, you can gain or maintain weight on it easily and the major benefit of it is you can fit it into your busy schedule. For example you start your feeding phase on your lunch break at work and end it just before going to bed. You'll eventually adjust and it will give you the ability to eat healthier foods because you won't have annoying time constraints for breakfast.
    I'd love the idea of fasting except I do have blood sugar issues if I go too long without food. The rest of it sounds great. So I don't really have to worry too much about the fat more than just having good fiber and sticking to unsaturated stuff? That would mean the bagels/PB breakfast is one of the right choices. Actually, now that I have a few hours to look back at the thread I can see how much better, by nearly 300 calories, lower saturated fat, and a pile of dietary fiber.

    Quote Originally Posted by MaAloey View Post
    And about hunger, it doesn't become an issue once you stop eating wake-up-breakfast and start getting used to going a few hours without food
    That's the point, really...I don't eat breakfast at wake-up. By the time I eat, I've been up for over 3 hours and am starving.

  6. #6
    When I have really busy mornings I'll make stuff the night before.

    Often I'll do Turkey, Feta, Lettuce, Red Pepper in a corn or potato tortilla. Eat them like a wrap. You can make one or two and put them in tupperware and throw them in your fridge the night before, just grab them when you take off. I'll add nuts on the side and eat them too.

  7. #7
    Eating a high protein diet is the way to go for breakfast. Do you absolutely need it? No, you can skip it and be just fine, but skipping it results in the tendency to over eat and binge on the wrong types of food later in the day and during lunch.

    But, if you can control it and actually eat healthy snacks and later on, then it's not really a problem.

  8. #8
    The Patient Abominator's Avatar
    10+ Year Old Account
    Join Date
    Mar 2009
    Location
    Perth, Australia
    Posts
    265
    Quote Originally Posted by Darsithis View Post
    I never thought about yogurt. We don't have anywhere I can store any at the office, but I'm sure it would survive the 1.5 hour trip, at least while it is winter time out. Come summer I might have to think of an alternate at-work breakfast.



    I'd love the idea of fasting except I do have blood sugar issues if I go too long without food. The rest of it sounds great. So I don't really have to worry too much about the fat more than just having good fiber and sticking to unsaturated stuff? That would mean the bagels/PB breakfast is one of the right choices. Actually, now that I have a few hours to look back at the thread I can see how much better, by nearly 300 calories, lower saturated fat, and a pile of dietary fiber.



    That's the point, really...I don't eat breakfast at wake-up. By the time I eat, I've been up for over 3 hours and am starving.
    Yeah pretty much, I'm no dietician but from what I gather you shouldn't be too concerned with numbers (specifically grams of fat, still kind of important to stay on top of how many calories you're getting) you should simply being looking at your food sources. As long as they are natural and healthy you should be great. For example you can buy natural peanut butter with your bagel, or if you like celery you could fill some celery sticks with peanut butter and have them as snack in the morning. If you have a google around I'm sure you could find plenty of easy to prepare healthy breakfasts that are suited to your tastes.

  9. #9
    Quote Originally Posted by peacemaster View Post
    My favorite is greek yogurt with granola cereal, kind of like cereal and milk but with granola instead. The yogurt is full of protein (20g per cup and fat free), while the granola gets you your fiber. The yogurt can be a bit pricey though.
    I hit up the nonsweetned greek yogurt with granola, but I also toss in some fruit. Typically it's a combination of blueberries, strawberries and a kiwi, but I'll use other fruit too. I'll have that at around 6:30 am before I leave for school and I won't be even slightly hungry until at least noon. I'm unsure of the total calorie count, but I'm positive it's better than something from McDonalds. And honestly, getting a meal like that into the "dangerous" calorie level would take a pretty obscene amount of food.

    If hunger is an issue during the commute, there's nothing wrong with drinking quite a bit of water and eating some almonds in small handfuls. I know it's not scientific by any means, but I suppose I've tricked my body into thinking a lot of fruit and grains not being the primary food source in the mornings makes me more full, because if I diverge and pick up a breakfast burrito from a local coffee shop I'm hungry again in 2-3 hours, even though it's got more calories and overall food.

  10. #10
    I've been in the same boat a number of times over the last few years. I got around it happily by just having a protein shake before I leave the house - it fills me up if I'm hungry, and if I'm not hungry yet (then I will be in an hour or two) I can still just drink it down without problem. Just skimmed milk, the protein powder of your choice and maybe some greek yoghurt, fruit, whatever you want (adding cinnamon to a choc shake's pretty good!)

  11. #11
    The Patient Abominator's Avatar
    10+ Year Old Account
    Join Date
    Mar 2009
    Location
    Perth, Australia
    Posts
    265
    Quote Originally Posted by Badpaladin View Post
    I hit up the nonsweetned greek yogurt with granola, but I also toss in some fruit. Typically it's a combination of blueberries, strawberries and a kiwi, but I'll use other fruit too. I'll have that at around 6:30 am before I leave for school and I won't be even slightly hungry until at least noon. I'm unsure of the total calorie count, but I'm positive it's better than something from McDonalds. And honestly, getting a meal like that into the "dangerous" calorie level would take a pretty obscene amount of food.

    If hunger is an issue during the commute, there's nothing wrong with drinking quite a bit of water and eating some almonds in small handfuls. I know it's not scientific by any means, but I suppose I've tricked my body into thinking a lot of fruit and grains not being the primary food source in the mornings makes me more full, because if I diverge and pick up a breakfast burrito from a local coffee shop I'm hungry again in 2-3 hours, even though it's got more calories and overall food.
    More scientific than you think haha. Almonds are high in fat, but it's good fat. It should also be known that fat is responsible for satiety, that is fat fills you up and makes you feel full faster. Also almonds have tonnes of energy so even a small amount can keep you going for a long time. So in essence 3 birds with 1 stone, quick fast meal that takes no time to eat, provides plenty of energy to keep your brain going until your next meal and it's going to stop you from getting hungry.

  12. #12
    oatmeal - maybe some fruit or nuts in it.
    Oatmeal is one hell of a food - I know it's plain and boring, but it really delivers.

  13. #13
    When I did eat breakfast, I would eat fat free mozzarella cheese in a wrap. Should last 6 hours un-refrigerated. Doesn't taste like much but frankly I dont care about taste that much unless I am at a restaurant or cooking for other people. You could also do chicken wraps which is just as healthy. Or make some hard boil eggs and eat those. It really isn't hard to pack a breakfast, is it? Your mother made you lunch every day when growing up!

  14. #14
    Honorary PvM "Mod" Darsithis's Avatar
    10+ Year Old Account
    Join Date
    Jan 2011
    Location
    Chicago
    Posts
    51,235
    Almonds seems like a good one, too.

    Two days so far and I've been eating the PB & bagels. Next week I'll try the yogurt & granola and see how that works out.

  15. #15
    LOAD"*",8,1 Fuzzzie's Avatar
    15+ Year Old Account
    Join Date
    Nov 2008
    Location
    Legion of Doom Headquarters
    Posts
    20,245
    Quote Originally Posted by Darsithis View Post
    Two days so far and I've been eating the PB & bagels. Next week I'll try the yogurt & granola and see how that works out.
    I love PB and Bagles but it always melts the PB and makes a huge mess.

  16. #16
    Quote Originally Posted by Fuzzzie View Post
    I love PB and Bagles but it always melts the PB and makes a huge mess.
    You could, I dont know, not toast the bagel... or toast it and let it cool down. Just a suggestion.

  17. #17
    LOAD"*",8,1 Fuzzzie's Avatar
    15+ Year Old Account
    Join Date
    Nov 2008
    Location
    Legion of Doom Headquarters
    Posts
    20,245
    Quote Originally Posted by jbhasban View Post
    You could, I dont know, not toast the bagel... or toast it and let it cool down. Just a suggestion.
    Who wants to eat a cold bagel? I might as well chew on my shoe for a bit.

  18. #18
    Quote Originally Posted by Fuzzzie View Post
    Who wants to eat a cold bagel? I might as well chew on my shoe for a bit.
    I eat frozen bagels 0.o

  19. #19
    there should be plenty of alternate fast places to eat except mc.donalds..have you ever tried a smoothie? you can make them at home..drink them while driving and on the train there very portable very healthy very fast and basically a drinkable meal. dont add sugar..if you do..agave or splenda.
    my friend code...

    5241-1925-7760 name toasty

    up for battles ...after 10/18/2013

  20. #20
    When I was lazy and had no time (somehow this goes together) i would just make bacon and eggs and mix it into a bowl of oatmeal, i didnt realize how weird this was til i lived with other people.

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •