A filling breakfast can help to give you energy and keep you focused throughout the morning. A morning meal with healthy fats, carbs, and protein will help you feel fuller and more energized throughout the day.
However, some people may try to eat fewer calories at breakfast in order to lose weight. If you want to cut calories at breakfast and still eat a nutritious meal, try these tips and suggestions.
Not everyone’s goal should be to lose weight, and shedding pounds does not guarantee improved health. Health is not just about being a certain weight or size. There are many different weight loss strategies, but some of them can be unhealthy for both your body and your mind. See a healthcare provider to see if you should aim to lose weight.
How Many Breakfast Calories Do You Need?
Some of the most popular breakfast foods, such as pancakes and waffles, are high in fat and calories. Foods like eggs cooked in butter, sausage, bacon, a peanut butter smoothie, and oatmeal with toppings can all increase your calorie intake and make it more difficult to lose weight.
If you don’t eat enough for breakfast, you’ll probably get hungry mid-morning. If you’re feeling hungry, you might be tempted to eat whatever is available, even if it’s not healthy for you and will hinder your weight loss efforts.
Determine Your Breakfast Calorie Count
There is no magical number of calories in the perfect breakfast for weight loss. Lists that focus on 300- or 500-calorie breakfasts don’t necessarily mean that that’s the right amount of calories to eat in the morning. Everyone’s number is different.
Determining your nutritional needs can be done by paying attention to your hunger and satiety cues. Choose foods that will make you feel satisfied and energized, and eat enough of them to feel full.
If you’re trying to lose weight, you’ll need to calculate how many calories you need to eat each day. Use the following tips to help you create a sustainable budget: To create a sustainable budget, divide the calories by the number of meals and snacks you consume during the day. This project is likely to take some experimentation. There is no right or wrong answer.
Breakfast Calorie Examples
Your healthy breakfast should have the correct number of calories depending on your lifestyle, activity schedule, weight-loss goal, and personal preferences. These sample meal plans take those factors into account.
More Calories in the Morning
Jennifer is looking to lose weight by consuming 1,200 calories per day. She prefers to exercise after work and go to bed early, so she has a light dinner. This means that she can consume more calories earlier in the day and afternoon.
- Breakfast: 400 calories
- Lunch: 400 calories
- Pre-workout snack: 200 calories
- Post-workout snack: 200 calories
Bigger Afternoon and Evening Meals
Bill’s goal is to consume fewer than 1800 calories per day to lose weight. He prefers to work out at lunchtime on an empty stomach. He feels hunger after his workout. So his diet is consistent in the morning but permits him to have a greater intake of calories in the afternoon and early evening.
- Breakfast smoothie: 400 calories
- Light pre-workout snack: 100 calories
- Post-workout lunch: 600 calories
- Dinner: 600 calories
- Snack before bed: 100 calories
Steady All-Day Energy
Mary is a stay-at-home mom who is active from 7 a.m. until 10 p.m. She will need a sustainable energy source throughout the day to lose weight effectively. She should aim to consume around 1400 calories each day.
- Breakfast: 300 calories
- Snack: 100 calories
- Lunch: 300 calories
- Snack: 100 calories
- Dinner: 500 calories
- After dinner snack: 100 calories
Breakfast Swaps
If you’re concerned about choosing quality calories, you don’t have to give up your favorite foods. You just have to make a few healthy adjustments.
Bagels
If you want to keep serving bagels, show your customers some love. Pick a whole-grain bagel, and top it with salmon and cream cheese. Adding some fresh greens, cucumber, or peppers will improve the nutrient profile. I hope you enjoy the bagel with some delicious raspberries. Raspberries are a great source of fiber, are low in calories, and have a natural sweetness to them.
Oatmeal
If you love oatmeal , keep eating it! But consider swapping out the single-serve flavored oatmeal packets. Portion control is important, but these often have added sugar. Instead of making your rolled oats or steel-cut oatmeal when you’re ready to eat it, make it ahead of time.
You can make a week’s worth of food and store it in the fridge. You can then microwave it in single-serve containers. Topping the grains with fresh blueberries, chopped almonds, sliced apple, and Greek yogurt provides fiber, nutrients, and protein.
Oatmeal is a versatile food that can be customized to your taste and nutritional needs. You can make your breakfast more filling and satisfying by adding protein powder, yogurt, cottage cheese, shredded zucchini, berries, nuts, seeds, nut butters, or high-protein milk. This will help to balance out the macronutrients in your breakfast and give you more energy throughout the day.
Bacon and Eggs
Do you eat bacon and eggs in the morning? You’re not alone. If you want to control the fat and calories in your diet, you may want to consider changing how you prepare your food.
Cook your egg(s) in a non-stick skillet with no added fat. Whole eggs can be blended with egg whites to reduce fat and calorie intake. Turkey bacon is healthier than pork bacon because it has less fat and calories. Choose to either have your eggs with a slice of ham or not.
Don’t worry if you don’t like any of the suggested options; you can still enjoy your bacon and eggs. Try adding some healthier options to your meal, such as fresh fruit, a green salad, or a smoothie with fruit and vegetables.
Cereal
Most cereals are healthy and provide a good amount of nutrients, especially those made with whole grains. Portion control is key.
Pour one cup of cereal into the measuring cup to get a single serving. Then add milk or a plant-based milk alternative . Top with berries for even more filling fiber. Adding a source of protein to a cereal-based breakfast can help increase its filling power. Good choices include yogurt or a protein shake.
Facts About Breakfast
Here are some interesting facts about how breakfast plays a role in nutritious eating habits.
- Breakfast is not the most important meal of the day . All meals contribute to your nutrition equally. It’s your total nutrition throughout the day that impacts your health and weight loss success .
- Eating breakfast may lead to better overall nutrition . While it’s likely a two-way street, research shows that those who eat breakfast tend to consume more nutrients, including fiber, folate, vitamins A, B, D, and E, potassium, calcium, iron, and magnesium.
- Consuming breakfast curbs cravings . Especially if your breakfast contains protein, research shows that morning meals abate cravings later in the day. This includes cravings for foods that may not contribute to a healthy, balanced diet.
- High protein breakfasts help balance blood sugar . Consuming a balanced breakfast that includes substantial protein can help balance blood sugar and stabilize your energy levels.
Healthy Breakfast For Weight Loss: Overnight Oats Recipe
Overnight oats are a great idea if you’re looking to lose weight in a healthy way. A meal that is easy to take with you and is the right size for busy weekday mornings.
You can make this recipe healthier by adding oats, fruit, and dairy while avoiding brown sugar, refined grains, and oil. This breakfast option is packed with nutrients, compared to a lot of other breakfast muffins or pastries. This food will make you feel fuller than muffins and pastries while consuming fewer calories.
And that’s a major key to weight loss – you need to create a calorie deficit with (hopefully!) filling and nutritious meals. Some people follow low carb and keto diets to lose weight. Some people find ways to make grain foods like oatmeal low calorie and filling.
Ingredients
Here’s what you need to make overnight oats for weight loss :
- Dry oatmeal
- Plain Greek yogurt (nonfat)
- Milk (2% milk, 1% milk, or skim milk)
- Sugar-free maple syrup
- Lemon zest
- Poppy seeds
- Fresh blueberries
Find the quantities of each ingredient in the recipe card below!
Make sure to use either old fashioned rolled oats or quick oats for this recipe. If you want to make overnight oatmeal, it is best to use old-fashioned oats. Instant oats may make the oatmeal too mushy and steel cut oats may not soften enough.
Instead of using syrup with sugar, use sugar-free syrup to lower the calorie content. This means that each serving with real maple syrup has 40-50 more calories than without.
If you are not a fan of the blueberry lemon poppy seed flavor, don’t worry. The section below has lots of options for how to flavor your oats.
To make vegan overnight oats that are good for weight loss, use soymilk and soy yogurt. These two ingredients are high in protein, which will help you feel fuller longer and lose weight. The best kind of oats to use for overnight oats if you’re trying to lose weight are ones that are certified to be gluten free. This recipe can be easily adapted to suit a range of different dietary requirements.
Equipment
You need a container for overnight oats if you want to make weight loss overnight oatmeal. We prefer to use a small wide-mouth mason jar with lid. The lid on the jar helps to keep it clean by keeping dust and food crumbs out of it while it sits in the fridge.
Although a glass jar is not necessary, any food-safe container can be used for overnight oats. You’ll need a container to put your mix in. Any Tupperware, other plastic container, bowl, or large mug will work. Place a piece of plastic wrap over the container if it does not have a lid.
How to Make Healthy Overnight Oats for Weight Loss
Let’s make low cal overnight oats! This is so super easy.
In a medium-sized bowl, mix the oats, yogurt, milk, syrup, lemon zest, and poppy seeds. Put half the mixture into your pint jar. Layer half the fresh blueberries on top.
Now add the rest of the oat mixture to the jar in an even layer. Finish with the rest of the fresh blueberries. Cover the jar (or use plastic wrap) and refrigerate overnight.
After at least 8 hours, you can enjoy this breakfast straight from the fridge. You don’t have to cook overnight oats. You also may kill the beneficial bacteria in the yogurt by microwaving it.
Leftovers
Overnight oatmeal is made for storage! This recipe yields 2-3 servings and can be kept in the fridge for up to 2-3 days. We usually make a few jars at a time for an easy weekday breakfast option.
You should not freeze this particular overnight oats recipe. Fresh blueberries will become mushy and lose their shape if you thaw and refreeze them.
Low Calorie Oatmeal Toppings and Mix-Ins
There are many different ways to make low calorie overnight oats! Mix and match the ideas below to make something that sounds good to you.
Some of my favorite low calorie mix-ins for overnight oats are fresh fruit and frozen fruit. Here are some ideas to get you started:
- Raspberries
- Strawberries
- Blackberries
- Bananas
- Apples
- Pears
- Cherries
- Peaches
- Plums
- Apricots
- Persimmons
- Pineapple
- Mango
- Mandarin oranges
- Papaya
- Kiwi
- Pomegranate
- Canned pumpkin (which is botanically a fruit!)
Dried fruits contain more calories than fresh fruits because the water has been removed. I would not recommend these as the best option for low calorie overnight oatmeal.
To make overnight oats low calorie, you should use small portions of low-fat foods. Each gram of fat contains 9 calories. If you’re trying to watch your calorie intake, be careful with adding fats to your breakfast – they can cause the calorie count to skyrocket.
It’s important to include healthy fats in your diet. This recipe contains dairy and poppy seeds, both of which are sources of fat.
Other examples of high fat foods include but are not limited to: peanut butter, almond butter, nuts, sunflower seeds, full-fat coconut milk, cream, granola, and shredded coconut. Other good options for omega-3s (ALA) include flax seeds, chia seeds, and hemp seeds.
You can add a lot of flavor to your overnight oats by adding spices and extracts, without adding many extra calories. Vanilla extract, cinnamon, and pumpkin spice are some options. Cacao nibs or cocoa powder can give you a chocolate flavor without all the calories that come with chocolate chips.
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