The Meal That Can Help you Lose Weight

Breakfast is often touted to be the most important meal of the day. Your mother may have told you that, but if you're like many people, you skip it anyway. Recent research now backs up your mother's advice. The conclusion of researchers at the University of Missouri who studied the topic is that people who eat a balanced breakfast, especially one high in protein, experience less hunger throughout the day.

The dieters in our cognitive behavioral program for weight loss and maintenance often come in skipping breakfast. They say they don't have time; they aren't hungry in the morning; they would rather save their calories for later in the day. First we provide them with psychoeducation about the importance of eating breakfast. Second, we do problem-solving to help them find the time. Third, we help them respond to sabotaging thoughts that are likely to get in the way of their adopting this new habit.

When dieters say they don't have enough time in the morning, we discuss which a.m. tasks they can omit, postpone, do the night before, delegate to other people or spend less time on (at least temporarily, until breakfast becomes an easy routine). Sabotaging thoughts often get in the way:

• I don't want to get up earlier.
  


• I can't leave dishes (even rinsed ones) in the sink.
  


• My (adolescent) kids won't like it if I ask them to make their own lunches.
  


• I'd rather pick out my clothes in the morning.
  


• I can't ask my husband to help out with the kids.

We help them create written responses to these kinds of thoughts that remind them that it's unrealistic to believe that continuing to skip breakfast will lead to success -- after all, it hasn't in the past. There may, in fact, be a physiological reason why people who struggle to lose weight tend to eat too much later on in the day. And the changes they make to free up time for breakfast will soon become second nature.

When dieters say they aren't hungry in the morning, we try to find out what times during the day they are hungry, and what their eating patterns are like. They often have the sabotaging thought:

• I'm not hungry in the morning and I'd rather save my calories for later in the day.

Upon questioning, we invariably find that these dieters consume most of their calories in the evening, often eating right up until they go to bed. No wonder they're not hungry in the morning. But according to research (and our own clinical experience) skipping breakfast may indeed lead to less control over eating later on. We ask them to do an experiment for at least a couple of weeks: eat a protein-rich breakfast and then monitor their day and evening eating. Almost everyone ends up with the same conclusion: eating (a balanced) breakfast really helps them eat more reasonably for the rest of the day. It turns out Mom was right after all.

Leidy, H. J., Lepping, R. J., Savage, C. R., & Harris, C. T. (5 May 2011). Neural Responses to Visual
Food Stimuli After a Normal vs. Higher Protein Breakfast in Breakfast-Skipping Teens: A Pilot fMRI Study. Obesity Journal, (1-7). doi:10.1038/oby.2011.108

 

 

 

Follow Judith S. Beck, Ph.D. on Twitter: www.twitter.com/beckinstitute

Comments

[Puffin16]

02:38 PM on 08/01/2011

After reading everyone's comments, I've come to the conclusion that this is a subject that most people can't agree on. I've always said that each person has to find the solution that works for them, and sometimes after doing a lot of research, you can pick and choose different suggestions that fit your lifestyle. When you get to know yourself and how/why you gained weight, you will be better equipped to lose the weight.

[hcif]

06:58 PM on 07/14/2011

It's not complicated. Doesn't matter what meal you skip or which ones you eat. Simply eat if you're hungry and don't when you aren't. http://www.holycrapimfat.com/

[w84it]

06:02 PM on 06/28/2011

I know a lot of people who don't eat breakfast. They tell me this as they sip on their 400+ calorie Starbucks bevie!

[KenLeebow]

10:15 AM on 06/28/2011

You must eat breakfast. For diet and health, it's one of those non-negotiable issues.

Don't have time in the AM to make it? Try making a fruit smoothie the evening before. Now, in 30 seconds, you have a healthy breakfast-on-the-run.

Ken Leebow
http://www.LifeWithoutLipitor.com

[SW84]

11:19 AM on 06/28/2011

que? what health benefits does one derive from eating breakfast vs skipping it?

[annpfnp]

10:53 PM on 06/27/2011

I always eat breakfast. Sometimes can't get lunch in, but not that hungry at lunch because I eat a healthy breakfast.

[Ganched]

10:38 PM on 06/26/2011

The University of Missouri research actually doesn't support the statement "people who eat a balanced breakfast, especially one high in protein, experience less hunger throughout the day." The experiment was conducted on 10 overweight adolescent girls, average age 15, with breakfast skipping behavior for one week. The author of the research study reported that "These data suggest that increased dietary protein at breakfast might be a beneficial strategy to reduce reward-driven eating behavior in overweight teen girls. Due to the small sample size, caution is warranted when interpreting these preliminary findings."

To suggest otherwise is misleading - and to build a dietary program on this is questionable.

Presently there is actually no real proof that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. The reality is much more complex. Simply stated, human evolution has predisposed people to gain weight, not lose weight. This is the consequence of adapting to periodic or episodic starvation. Our bodies metabolically respond in such a way as to gain whatever weight it can in preparation for periods of starvation. To argue that someone should eat when he or she is not hungry is absurd.

However, counselling people to choose foods more carefully - avoiding starches and sugars - and eat protein is backed by extensive nutritional research.

[William Anderson LMHC]

09:56 AM on 06/26/2011

My clients are very successful at permanent weight loss with my behavioral program that allows them to structure their eating plan any way they want, as long as the caloric targets are met. Often, they find they are most successful by not having breakfast at first. However, almost all gradually begin to incorporate a light high protein breakfast. When they have to curb their late eating to achieve the caloric targets, they start experiencing morning hunger, so I think your interpretations are correct. Research by the NWCR, where I am one of the research subjects, the largest and oldest longitudinal study of successful weight loss in the world, supports the finding that most people who are successful with long term weight loss eat breakfast.

William Anderson, LMHC
Author of 'The Anderson Method - Secrets of Permanent Weight Loss'
Website: www.TheAndersonMethod.com
Blog: http://theandersonmethodblog.wordpress.com/

[FunctionOfTheCrisp]

09:50 AM on 06/26/2011

This is a poor piece, sparse on facts. It dispenses advice that appears to be applicable to most, but is actually oriented toward a much smaller population. I'll save you the trouble of reading it. It is true that the most general advice for the average person is that breakfast is important and beneficial. However, many people do just fine skipping breakfast. We've heard from some of them below, and I am one as well. I don't eat until midday; that is, I eat lunch, not breakfast. The reason for this is that I work out in the morning, go to work, and eat at lunchtime. I don't feel hungry immediately after working out, and by the time I do get hungry, time has elapsed and I'm working by then. I eat a medium-sized lunch and a small dinner, and it all works out quite easily.
It would be nice if the quality standard for articles on HPAOL were raised.
Exception: For Sunday morning hangovers, I eat as soon as I can get out of bed ;)

[slvrfox857]

07:34 AM on 06/26/2011

It truly concerns me when I read articles that seem to be applied to everyone. I am truly NOT hungry in the morning-though I usually try to eat something around 8, three or more hours after I get up. Everyone is different, and general rules of thumb need to be called that.

[propitiousmoment]

12:13 AM on 06/26/2011

Another secret to getting and staying thin, which I left off of my list below: get lots of sleep! When you are sleep-deprived your body asks for food to compensate, and also your metabolism slows down so that what you put in it does not get used properly. You need sufficient sleep to keep your metabolism in balance.

[Phoebe917]

02:09 AM on 06/26/2011

true. and when i wake up i am ravenous. sometimes, i cannot wait and i tear out the fruit and start on that before i prepare breakfast. i have always been slender and at the age of 55 i still am. if you wake up hungry that means your metabolism has been working overnight.

[Todd Ian Stark]

04:35 PM on 06/25/2011

I'm strongly in agreement with a problem solving approach and with the use of cognitive-behavioral tools in support of that approach. I apply them a little differently than in this article though. I have found that "education" in supposedly universal rules of eating and activity often end up counterproductive in the long run because they don't take the larger and often shifting context of the person's life circumstances into account. Rather, I think the education should be in problem solving processes themselves, to be applied in an ongoing manner. Metabolism, habits, and motivation are not expressed in a static and universal way in all of us and typically resist universal solutions, even (many or most) empirically based research oriented solutions. Although the breakfast rule is good to know, there are notable exceptions as well because sometimes it is more useful to cultivate impulse control rather than avoid all sensations of wanting to eat. Also, as others have mentioned, there are health benefits for many of us to strategies like intermittent fasting that outweight the challenges of retraining our behavioral responses to hunger.

[garystartswithg]

11:27 PM on 06/25/2011

while you obviously argue the most intelligent view we prefer one size fits all models, and those have been thrust on us in ways that are destructive across the board. if you take the time to watch what is being marketed at children you realize bad habits start early, and they are universal bad habits -- nobody needs psuedo-foods mostly comprised of heavily processed carbs.
i have found two very different camps that read these articles -- those of us that want everything better, healthier, etc., and those that usually have given up before they tried. i don't think the advice is for us as much as them.
its great to guinea pig yourself and do your own research, but most people aren't on that level, they think all things are for everyone and that is bad -- the whole center of the grocery store is full of things really bad for everyone. i limit wheat and soy because i get bloated and nasty feeling after i consume it -- so why do something your body is telling you not to. a big problem is people ignore the alarms. when something gives you migraines for gods sake stop eating it, not everything is tolerable for everyone. if you eat (or drink) something that makes you want to lay on the couch thats obviously a problem unless you think elastic waist pants make you sexy.

[Todd Ian Stark]

12:25 AM on 06/26/2011

Thanks for your reply, Gary, and the shift in perspective. You make some good points.

[kittygogogo]

04:33 PM on 06/25/2011

I am so tired of this one-diet-works-for-everyone mentality. I have given up breakfast as I am adhering to intermittent fasting. I am not, nor ever have been, hungry upon waking. Breakfast used to be forced for me because I fell into the "breakfast is the most important meal of the day" bs. I doubt that paleo person woke up to a huge carb-loaded breakfast. I have somewhat permanently adopted this lifestyle change and have lost about 2-3 lbs in 2 weeks and continuing. And I am fairly skinny as it is - just about 7 lbs to ideal (120 lbs). If you eat smart and lean you will lose. Breakfast doesn't do it for me.

[Fred Butters]

05:09 PM on 06/25/2011

Agreed. Intermittent fasting, especially in the morning when combined with exercise, is a great way to lose weight. From what I understand it's a lot tougher for people who eat a standard American diet, which is usually pretty high carb. Raised insulin levels lead to cravings, and cravings lead to donuts for breakfast.

[libwingoflibwing]

02:39 PM on 06/26/2011

I want to support you on this, but I also want to point out the advice here was a protein rich breakfast not a carb-load one.

I have never really been hungry when I wake up. But I have found that when I don't eat a small, protein rich and complex carb (fruit/veggies) breakfast that I get weak mid morning and am ravenous throughout the day. I don't want to purport my situation is like everyone, after all I am diabetic and intermittent fasting is not wise for me, grazing is better.

I guess I just want people to not reject the advice in the article just because they're not hungry in the morning. They need to take a more global evaluation of their needs, like you did and others who say a breakfast doesn't work from them have done.

[Chuck Bluestein]

03:02 PM on 06/25/2011

Going to bed with a full stomach is not good for staying thin. It is better to eat several hours before going to bed so your food gets a chance to digest while you are awake. There are also strategies of what to eat first during a meal to help you to get or stay thin. http://bit.ly/f0BKow

[Ganched]

10:49 PM on 06/26/2011

My experience is the exact opposite - I eat my main meal an hour or so before bed - skip breakfast and eat a light lunch ... and I feel great. I've lost over 60 pounds, and have all sorts of energy, and rarely get hungry. Goes to show that the idea that "one diet fits all" does not take into account each individual's unique metabolic condition - one diet fits all will never be the solution to obesity and weight control. As an aside - check out fallacy number 1 (Breakfast is the most important meal of the day) and fallacy number 3 (Eating Late will make you fat) in this link below - http://www.warriordiet.com/content/view/25/36/ ... Cheers,

[Chuck Bluestein]

06:16 PM on 06/27/2011

I do not agree that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Like Buddha, I only eat one meal a day and have done that for many years. There are alwlays exceptions to what applies to most people. Now I can eat whenever I want, eat whatever I want and do everything possible to get fat and I will not get overweight. If I wnt to gain weight, I just do bodybuilding and then I gain muscle.

I have little bodyfat so I do not do well in cold weather but do well in hot weather. So even though the above applies to me, I will not suggest it for anyone else. I can also fast and only consume water for over 3 weeks and be fine.

[Hcg Plan]

02:51 PM on 06/25/2011

Breakfast is no necessarily the most important meal of the day in my opinion. I did the Hcg Diet about a year ago and lost 0ver 25 lbs in 30 days. Because you don't just go from dieting straight back to eating normal again. I feel that because you have to go through another Phase after you lose the weigh you desire, it make the results you acquire permanent rather then gaining everything back like with other fad diets. It is in that phase that you reset your metabolism and your body learns to maintain its new weight. In doing that Phase I realized that skipping meals is not the thing to do. It is important for your body to be constantly burning like a fire! So you need to constantly be feeding it in small amounts throughout the day. A person should eat every 2 hours, this helps with eating smaller healthier portions. When you skip meals your body builds up its hunger and craving so bad that when dinner arrives your cravings are so bad that it is hard from restrained your from eating calorie packed overfilling foods to satisfy the beast you have created in you stomach. That is the time when pizza and burgers always sound the best! For more incite or to hear about my diet journey visit www.hcgplan.net

[Fred Butters]

05:24 PM on 06/25/2011

8 studies done regarding HCG, the only one to show any benefit from injecting yourself with HCG was performed and administered by a proponent of HCG

http://supplement-geek.com/hcg-diet-evidence-based-revie/

[babybelle]

12:30 PM on 06/26/2011

It is important for your body to be constantly burning like a fire! So you need to constantly be feeding it in small amounts throughout the day. A person should eat every 2 hours, this helps with eating smaller healthier portions. When you skip meals your body builds up its hunger and craving so bad
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
There is NO scientific proof to what you write.
Ask anyone who does intermittent fasting if the times they are fasting have lead to terrible cravings and a beast in their stomach.
The longest fast I go on is about 15 hours. I never crave pizza or burgers or junk food..
My weight stays at 102 pounds. I know I'm doing something right! .

[TXfemmom]

11:31 AM on 06/25/2011

I was a Nurse Anesthetist for almost 30 years and because of a long commute and the need to be in the OR, sometimes as early as 5:30 in the morning, I almost always skipped breakfast during that time and then wouldn't get lunch due to the schedule, either.  It really screwed up my metabolism.  Now, I always eat something with protein, such as a hard-boiled egg, or a fruit and yogurt smoothie for breakfast and it does the trick.

[camelias and sweet tea]

01:22 PM on 06/25/2011

totally agree..it does screw up your metabolism. It is like not putting a log on the fire and expecting it to still keep burning (those calories)..fanned

[yogajan]

07:19 PM on 06/25/2011

Fanned for being a nurse anesthetist.