Bigger breakfast = bigger weight loss
Today, the last day of Better Breakfast Month, seems like a good time to reflect on the impact of breakfast on weight loss.
You probably already know that people who eat breakfast are less likely to be overweight. But a couple of newer studies, one from Venezuela, the other from Purdue University, may have upped the ante for dieters. Both studies had flaws, which I'll get into in a moment. But if you are following a low-calorie diet in order to lose weight, I think the findings are still provocative.
Here's the executive summary:
Eating a larger breakfast that includes more protein may make your diet easier and more effective.
Here are some of the nitty gritty details:
The Venezuelan study found that over-weight women who ate a large (very large), high-protein breakfast as part of a low-calorie diet lost more weight, kept it off longer, and were less hungry than women who ate an even lower-calorie, low-carb diet, featuring a small breakfast.
Just to give you an idea what we're talking about here: the big breakfast group ate fully half of the day's 1200 calories at breakfast time. Their 600-calorie breakfast typically included a cup of milk, turkey, cheese, two slices of bread, mayonnaise, 1 ounce of chocolate candy, and a protein shake.
The big problem with this study is that there are too many variables! In addition to a bigger breakfast, the big breakfast diet also contained more total calories and was much higher in carbohydrates than the so-called "control" diet. But even though we don't know precisely how MUCH of the success had to do with the big breakfast, they still demonstrated that the big breakfast diet was effective.
The Purdue study, on the other hand, involved overweight men following a low-calorie diet. They found that adding additional protein to breakfast (as opposed to adding additional protein to lunch or dinner) helped the dieter's feel less hungry throughout the day. Unfortunately, the study only involved nine guys so the results can hardly be considered conclusive.
What do most dieter's eat for breakfast?
Even with the flaws, I think we can learn something from these and similar studies. Here are some typical dieters' breakfasts:
1 cup special K and cup skim milk
-or-
1 high protein Slim-fast shake
-or-
Low carb: 2 eggs and 2 sausage links
All have around 200 calories and 10-15g protein.
Based on these recent studies, I'd like to suggest that dieters might be more successful if they ate about twice as many calories and protein at breakfast than these typical "diet breakfasts" provide.
Here are a few examples of Better Breakfasts. Each has between 400 and 500 calories and 30-40 g protein. (Clicking on the title takes you to a complete nutritional analysis which you can save to your own recipe list.)
Cereal Plus
1 cup of high protein cereal (such as Kashi Go Lean)
1 cup of skim milk
2 eggs
1 slice whole wheat bread
2 tsp butter
TOTAL: ~500 cals, 40g protein
English Muffin Plus
1 whole grain English muffin
2 tablespoons peanut butter or hummus
3/4 cup cottage cheese
1 peach or 1/4 canteloupe
TOTAL: ~500 cals, 36g protein
Spinach and Ricotta Omelet
2 eggs
2 cups spinach
1/3 cup part-skim ricotta
1/2 large egg bagel
2 T. whipped cream cheese
TOTAL: ~500 cales, 32 g protein
Powerhouse Smoothie Plus
1 cup low-fat yogurt
3/4 cup frozen strawberries
1/4 cup orange juice
2 scoops protein powder
1 small bran muffin
TOTAL: ~500 cals, 44g protein
Turkey Monte Cristo
2 slices whole grain bread
2 ounces turkey
1 ounce Swiss cheese
1 egg
1/4 cup skim milk
1 tsp butter
TOTAL: ~500 calories, 45 g protein
Note: Eating a big breakfast is not going to lead to weight loss unless you are restricting your total calorie intake! That means, you have to eat less later in the day! But the good news is that eating a greater percentage of your calories for breakfast, and adding significantly more protein to breakfast, may make your diet easier to stick with and more effective.
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Posted by: weightloss secrets | Nov 7, 2009 5:53:55 AM
I've always liked to eat fresh fruits, nuts and some eggs or a protein shake in the AM fruits are my best bet because liver glycogen is at a low at this time due to the nice 8-10hr fast we go through during sleep.Thanks for sharing this post you can meet me at http://www.livinglite.net
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Posted by: Debbie | Jan 31, 2009 8:09:20 PM
Hello to all. I am looking for recipe's and or ideas for making breakfast smoothies (something quick, and delicious that can go in the blender and into my travelling mug to enjoy as an alternative to the breakfast thingy which gets boring for me fast). Help, any suggestions out there?
Posted by: Lourdes | Jan 10, 2009 4:57:47 PM
I decided to try a diet that my hubby invented over a decade ago. It includes a large and tasty egg sandwich that is very low in fat and eliminates hunger for 4+ hours.
2 egg whites (Better Than Eggs)
1/2 slice american cheese
1 oz ham
tasty bread ie: english muffin, potato bread, butter bread, whole wheat, etc.
With Thomas' lite wheat bread this is a 200 calorie meal that really satisfies and tastes more like a desert than a diet.
Enjoy!
Posted by: Maha | Dec 1, 2008 3:12:57 PM
Here's a breakfast I just put together yesterday, and I find it quite tasty and filling:
1/2 c. Fiber One
1/4 c. dry oatmeal
1/4 c. fresh or frozen unsweetened blueberries
1/2 banana sliced
1/2 c. skim milk
I was adding sweetener, but I don't think I will the next time. The cereal and fruit have enough sugar for my taste.
Posted by: Debbie | Nov 30, 2008 11:38:31 PM
I find that a hot bowl of oatmeal with skim milk in the morning is very filling, I have a fruit snack mid-morning and I'm good until lunch.
Posted by: Dr.C | Nov 28, 2008 11:08:57 PM
I've always liked to eat fresh fruits, nuts and some eggs or a protein shake in the AM fruits are my best bet because liver glycogen is at a low at this time due to the nice 8-10hr fast we go through during sleep
Posted by: Amy | Nov 19, 2008 8:13:53 AM
Dave,
Is it whole grains you consider toxic, or just bread?
I'm talking about raw grains...like unprocessed and uncooked oatmeal.
Posted by: Roni-Sydney:Aust | Oct 20, 2008 11:25:18 PM
Error! I have replaced grains with nuts and feel great. I am 5'7" and 133 pounds. Any comments?
Posted by: Roni-Sydney:Aust | Oct 20, 2008 11:16:07 PM
I plan to eat fresh fruit, raw vegetables, seeds and grains. Also 3-4 eggs and < 50 g meat daily. Any comments?
Posted by: plant | Oct 19, 2008 8:11:03 PM
Dave, people have been eating grains for a long time - tens (?) of thousands of years.
What someone misses by eating only meat and vegetables is adequate amounts of complex carbohydrates. Most vegetables, except starchy ones like corn ( a grain), potatoes, and sweet potatoes, are far too low in complex carbs. People who advocate such extremes as "no grains" are really not worth paying any further attention to.
I'll have a nice big fruit and juice smoothie, plus two cups of oat bran with walnuts and soymilk for breakfast any day. Yum:) Or a cup of oat bran with soymilk, plus two slices of toast with butter or peanut butter.
Posted by: Lauren | Oct 6, 2008 4:39:24 PM
I agree, eating a protein rich breakfast can help you lose weight. As a matter of fact, recent weight loss studies suggest that each meal should contain lean protein. Protein makes you feel full longer thus eliminating the need to snack in-between meals.
Posted by: Dave | Oct 6, 2008 10:23:06 AM
If God had intended for people to eat grains, I suspect He would not have made them toxic.
Posted by: Bruce | Oct 4, 2008 7:53:17 PM
Why not eat foods the way GOD intended them to be eaten when He created people in the first place. In other words, avoid highly processed food and foods with an ingredient list that you need a dictionary to understand. Avoiding the Super Sugar Bombs in the morning and having foods that fill you up without filling you out like fruits, veggies, whole grains and lean meats are the real key.
Posted by: Bruce | Oct 4, 2008 7:51:58 PM
Why not eat foods the way GOD intended them to be eaten when He created people in the first place. In other words, avoid highly processed food and foods with an ingredient list that you need a dictionary to understand. Avoiding the Super Sugar Bombs in the morning and having foods that fill you up without filling you out like fruits, veggies, whole grains and lean meats are the real key.
Posted by: Dave | Oct 4, 2008 9:00:19 AM
Why can't you eat something besides bread and cereal for breakfast? Why are they so important? What will you be missing by replacing those with fruits, eggs, etc?
Talking about weight regulation from a purely biological standpoint is the only sensible perspective, because it provides a rationally-based psychological motivation to make a lifestyle change.
Posted by: Jessica | Oct 4, 2008 12:51:05 AM
I think that the point is that not everyone can just follow a whole food diet and stick with it and exercise regulary and naturally intake the right number of calories. I for one know that bread and cereals are an important part of my diet. What else could I eat for breakfast? People need motivation, focus and control in order to change their eating habits and talking about weight regulation from a purely biological standpoint may be interesting, but it is not going to help the average person lose weight and become more healthy.
Posted by: Dave | Oct 2, 2008 3:44:51 PM
I think if you eat correctly, i.e. the diet humans evolved to eat, then eating less and exercising more will be the natural consequence. Again, free-living animals do not require such guidelines, even when food is plentiful. Animal experiments also indicate that this is the case. If you have to think about it too much, you're doing it wrong.
Posted by: Dave | Oct 1, 2008 9:29:06 AM
Jeremy,
Any species which, on average, lives in "starvation mode" is going to go extinct. Average food availability must be above sustenance level in order for a species survive, considerably so in order to flourish and spread as humans have. Food availability does fluctuate, and organisms have evolved mechanisms to deal with both deficit and excess. In times of deficit, there is the "starvation mode" you mentioned. In times of excess, we have appetite regulation, and probably up-regulation of metabolic output (increased activity, heat output, definitely occurs in rats and mice).
Modern examples of hunter gatherers show populations living with more than enough food, yet they do not become obese. They don't count calories, buy diet books or pills, or require "mental achievement and commitment" to stay healthy. They just eat from whole food sources, rather than industrially produced foods like cereal.
The "mental achievement and commitment" required for fat loss is one of shifting your lifestyle away from refined foods towards a whole food diet. Skip the drive-through and take the time to cook yourself a nice grass-fed steak, topped with grass-fed butter and a side of greens. If you do hit the drive-through, eat the foods that have a recognizable natural source, e.g. the insides of your hamburger (meat and veggies). Skip those that needed a factory to be produced: bread, vegetable oil (for fries), etc.
Posted by: Jeremy S | Oct 1, 2008 4:35:23 AM
Dave,
The modern American does eat a lot of the wrong foods. You made a reference to humans over the past two million years during evolution. Those humans couldn't go to the drive through!! However, their lifestyle actually makes it harder for a modern person to lose weight. Because food was not always available to them, their bodies evolved a starvation mode which allows the body to slow the metobolic rate and conserve energy and store excess fat whenever possible. This was a survival technique that is still with us today. This is why some nutritionists believe in the "Set Theory" WHich is the uncanny fact that our bodies pick a weight while we our young and work against dieting to stay at that weight. Now, it can be overcome, and I am not saying it is necessary to count calories, but it does help to keep a closer eye on what you are eating. Counting calories is a way for a person to force themselves into doing that, and it provides a sense of mental achievement when they can see success on paper. I believe that mental achievement and commitment are what really causes the weightlose and keeps a person working toward their goal.
Posted by: Dave | Sep 30, 2008 4:10:28 PM
I have a hard time believing that proper eating requires this much conscious effort. There isn't another animal on Earth that consciously regulates their food intake in this manner, and presumably humans had no necessity for such during most of the 2 million years of human evolution. The hormonal and nervous systems regulating energy intake, storage, and expenditure are intimately linked. For healthy organisms in a natural setting, appetite must be robustly regulated as a function of available energy in the body, otherwise the organism would be unstable, tending towards obesity or starvation.
Given this, obesity can only occur as the result of some portion of the regulatory system being broken. Some examples would be in the case of Cushing's disease or pancreatic cancer, where hormonal balance is thrown out of whack by tumors. Considerable current evidence points toward the bulk of modern obesity being caused by something in the food we eat. Some common aspect of the modern diet causes metabolic hormonal dysfunction, the most apparent effect of which is obesity. Identifying and removing these foods should allow us to eat without having to count calories etc. just as humans and every other animal has done for millions of years.
The moral: if what you're eating forces you to count calories to avoid fat gain, then you're eating the wrong stuff.
Posted by: Just Smart Living | Sep 30, 2008 3:29:13 PM
I knew there was a reason why I LOVE breakfast! Although I would have a hard time eating two eggs and two sausage links. I would recommend oatmeal and a protein shake.
Posted by: Marion | Sep 30, 2008 3:17:25 PM
I think that last statement..."Why not consume the calories when you're active?" Is the BIG Key ! Every lifestyle is different. Some folks ARE busier in the evening. Some folks walk or work out early morning and some have extended or flexable lunches. Farm hands and construction workers used to have "dinner" in the midmorning. So its all very relative to the activity variable.
Posted by: Monica Reinagel | Sep 30, 2008 2:14:58 PM
Yuri,
I'm not sure that 500 calories is a HUGE amount of food to eat at one sitting. We would eat 500 calories for dinner without thinking twice. These studies are just suggesting that we reverse the typical order and eat our biggest meal first instead of last. When you think about it, it doesn't make much sense to eat your biggest meal right before an extended period of inactivity. Why not consume the calories when you're active?
Posted by: Yuri | EatingforEnergy.ca | Sep 30, 2008 10:50:08 AM
I don't know about these studies that promote eating huge amounts of food at any one sitting, especially first thing in the morning.
Ok, yes it's true that we're less likely to eat more later in the day but it's important to remember that the body is still in cleansing and elimination mode in the morning.
Furthermore, by inundating your body with copious amounts of food (and probably the wrong foods) in the morning most people will fall asleep within an hour as their body is draining all its energy on digestion.
How about eating in moderation when you're hungry and getting some more exercise?
