You may think having a bagel instead of a glazed donut with your morning coffee is a healthier option, but you might as well eat the donut, according to the USDA Nutrient Database. The bagel, however, contains much less fat if you skip the butter and cream cheese.
Calories
A medium plain bagel has 270 calories and 1.70 g of fat, notes USDA Nutrient Database. Add 1 tbsp. each of low-fat cream cheese and butter to your bagel, and you'll add an additional 97 calories and 9.91 g of fat, for a total of 367 calories and 11.61 g of fat.
Bagel Versus Donut
A medium glazed donut contains 239 calories and 11.46 g of fat. A medium bagel with butter and cream cheese contains 128 more calories and just 0.15 less grams of fat.
Nutrition
Bagels are a nice alternative to donuts, but one isn't much better than the other. You could save 123 to 160 calories by choosing a small bagel and skipping the cream cheese or butter, according to USDA Nutrient Database.