Remember hearing your parents tell you that breakfast was the most important meal of the day? Well it turns out that they’re were right on the dot with the benefits of eating a big breakfast. If you could only eat one meal a day then you gotta go with breakfast…
But not just any breakfast, most people (myself included in the past) scarf down their favorite sugar loaded cereal with some crazy cartoon on the box. I remember getting up and looking forward to grubbing down my favorite cereal, Lucky Charms…what the heck was I doing?
I remember loving to eat sugary cereal so much that I would look forward to coming home from kindergarden just so I can eat some cereal…I was nuts!
According to a recent study by the University of Kansas Medical Center, they found that eating a big breakfast wasn’t simply enough for fat loss. But what they did find was the group who ate a HIGHER protein breakfast saw significantly more fat loss than those who ate a breakfast with minimal protein.
But the worse of the groups was the one that skipped breakfast altogether. In fact they found that those who ate a big breakfast totaling HALF a days total calories lost FIVE TIMES as much fat as the groups who ate a calorie restrictive breakfast.
This is big proof that eating a piece of toast and coffee aren’t exactly healthy breakfast foods when it comes to fat loss.
You need to eat a low carb breakfast in the morning to maximize your fat loss throughout the day.
And the other BIG NEWS that the research study found was that those who drank a protein shake for breakfast didn’t lose nearly as much weight as the group who ate a whole foods big breakfast diet dispite calories and macronutrient count being equal.
So Does The Big Breakfast Diet Really Work?
If this study isn’t enough proof for you to start pounding down a big breakfast with healthy foods than I don’t know what is. Stop eating the Fruity Pebbles and starteating some whole foods. Shakes are okay but they’re nowhere near as good as eating real foods.
Make sure your healthy breakfast foods have a lot of protein and carbohydrates in them as well. An example of a big breakfast diet plan would be to eat 3 eggs, 3 strips of turkey bacon and 1 slice of Ezekiel toast.
As a personal trainer with real world clients one of the first BIG things I suggest for them to start doing is to eat a big breakfast. But unfortunately most people throw out the excuse, “I don’t like to eat breakfast.” And for some reason they think that they’re going to lose more weight by skipping a meal…FAIL.
So after a while they’ll eventually start eating breakfast but it’ll just be an English muffin with some jelly on it. It takes a while to drive home the fact that they need a BIG BREAKFAST with lots of protein and carbohydrates. It’s an uphill battle, but maybe this story will help the cause.
A few other reasons why the big breakfast diet works…
#1 You’ve been fasting for the past 8-12 hours.
Since you hopefully got a good night rest you’re body has been in a fasted state for the last 8-12 hours, depending on when you last ate dinner. This means your metabolism is going at the pace of a drunken turtle and you’re burning literally ZERO fat. Your blood sugar levels are also pretty low by now and this will leave you in an irritable mood and will also cause some weight gain problems.
#2 Eating a big breakfast cranks up your metabolism
Continuing on with the last point, we want to grab your metabolism by the shoulders and jolt it until it starts running like a mad man. This can only achieved by eating a big breakfast diet full of protein and carbohydrates.
#3 Breakfast is the absolute BEST time to eat carbohydrates.
Carbohydrate tolerance and insulin sensitivity are at the highest early in the morning and right after you workout. Making it the ideal time to eat a big breakfast full of protein and some filling carbohydrates (and get away with it).
#4 Need energy for the day? Pound down a big breakfast.
It’s obvious that you need calories to have energy and if you’re getting a lot of your calories from eating a big breakfast then you’ll have the rest of the day to burn them all off. Most people do the opposite and skip breakfast while eating a ginormous dinner. When you eat so much for dinner your body will just store all those calories and you won’t burn much off.
Looking for Healthy Breakfast Foods for Your Big Breakfast Diet?
Egg omelet with avocado, broccoli and some hot peppers. Don’t throw away the yolks since they’re half the protein, fill it with the natural fat burning avocado which is loaded with monounsaturated fats. Also get your greens and carbohydrates in with some broccoli or spinach. Finish it out with some hot peppers (if you like them) since they’ll also help get your metabolism going.
You can also throw in some healthy turkey bacon and some good ole’ fashioned Ezekiel toast if you like.
So when it’s all said and done your parents should take this one down as a win for eating a big breakfast. You’ll lose fat by eating healthy breakfast foods that are high in protein and carbohydrates.
One thing I can say too is, NEVER EVER SKIP YOUR BREAKFAST.
Even if you’re running late at least down a protein shake that has lots of protein and carbohydrates in it. With that said, get on the big breakfast diet! I would never miss my breakfast and at the very least I would have some protein powder such as the ones in my BioTrust Low Carb Protein Powder review.
Josh holds a Bachelor’s degree in Exercise Physiology and Nutrition Science. He’s a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) by the National Strength and Conditioning Association and he’s a Certified Personal Trainer (CPT) by American Council on Exercise. He’s worked as a Strength and Conditioning Coach at the high school and college levels. He has over 15 years of experience as a personal trainer and nutrition coach. He strives to bring inspiration and results for people to live healthier lives through smart diet and exercise.
