Can Breakfast help you lose weight?

Skipping a meal always looks like an easy way to lose weight. However, losing weight relies more on eating right than eating less. Breakfast especially is called the most important meal of the day, and though not directly related to losing weight, it helps maintain your metabolism and contributes towards maintaining a healthy weight.

Breakfast and Weight Loss

A National Weight Control Registry kept a record of people who have maintained their weight loss regime having lost 30 pounds in a year. Their weight had been stable ever since. Their study data shows that the important habit of these people was, that they did not skip breakfast. 

The math is simple – when you skip breakfast, you tend to feel low on energy and the starvation causes you to eat more snacks, which are often high-fat or high sugar sweets during the day. Skipping Breakfast also results in eating increased portions during lunch or dinner. Your stomach can only process a certain amount of food at one time, and when you keep consuming extra  servings into your digestive tract, you end up gaining weight.

But when you eat a proper breakfast, you feel nourished and satisfied, and that prevents you from overeating the rest of the day. You can maintain your weight by eating the right amounts at the right time.

What’s the right breakfast for you?

- A breakfast of oatmeal with raisins and milk can be all you need to start the day.
- a fruit smoothie made with yoghurt
- Take a piece of fruit with whole-grain cereal.

Can Breakfast help you Lose Weight?

If you make good breakfast choices, it can also be an effective tool for losing weight. Whole grain breakfast cereals top the list of weight reduction breakfasts. 

- Breakfast cereal containing whole grain or bran and at least 2 grams of dietary fibre can be very effective in helping you reach your weight loss goal. 
- You could also incorporate fresh fruit and smoothies that only have high fibre and water content.
- It helps cut down your fat intake and also keeps you fuller for longer so that you don’t get cravings and eat extra during the middle of the day. 
- You should, however, be careful to not include excess fibre in your breakfast as that may lead to constipation, diarrhea or an upset stomach.

Benefits of Eating Breakfast

Breakfast boosts your metabolism which is an important part of a long-term weight loss strategy. Having a good breakfast helps you eat smaller lunches and dinners.
 
When you don’t eat breakfast, you are fasting for 15 - 20 hours straight, and your body won’t produce the enzymes that are required to metabolize fat and lose weight. Hence, eating breakfast directly contributes to losing weight and maintaining good health. 

When you eat smart, you can boost the capabilities of breakfast as a contributor to weight loss. An ideal breakfast would be one which has ingredients from all nutrient groups like protein, fibre, and just a few carbs.