Have you ever had steak and eggs for breakfast? If you have, it was probably in a restaurant because most of us aren’t ready to fire-up the barbecue early in the morning.
And that’s too bad because, using lean meats and the correct portions, a high protein breakfast has been shown in studies to promote weight loss. Steak (remember, lean and in the right portions) and eggs are great sources of protein.
Does this sound too good to be true? Yes it does, but the evidence is there.
First, unlike fats and simple carbs, protein is broken down by your body. So there’s less chance of eating too much protein and it’s not a major contributor to weight gain.
How Protein in the Morning Can Help You Lose Weight
Before we begin, there’s nothing more important for healthy weight loss than a balanced diet that gives your body all the nutrition it needs to help you shed the pounds. While a high protein breakfast can help you lose weight, that doesn’t mean you should “unbalance” your diet with too much protein.
You should get between 25% and 35% of your daily caloric intake from protein. That’s between 375 and 525 calories of protein per day.
A 2013 study of 35 women, aged 18 to 55, conducted by the University of Missouri’s Department of Exercise Physiology and Nutrition, found that when the participants in the study ate most of their recommended daily allowance of protein, up to two-thirds, at breakfast they lost more weight than those who ate only a small amount of protein.
The participants who consumed the higher-protein breakfasts reported feeling less hungry and had less desire to eat even late into the afternoon. And they ate 175 fewer calories at lunch.
While your body rids itself of the protein you eat, it takes a long time to do so. That makes you feel full for longer after a high-protein meal. It also stimulates the production of hormones that reduce your appetite.
In another study reported in Nutrition & Metabolism, dieters who ate 30% of their RDA for protein at breakfast consumed 450 fewer calories per day and lost approximately 11 pounds in 12 weeks.
Will a high-protein breakfast help you to lose weight? While we all have different nutritional requirements, and what works for one person may not work for another, the studies mentioned here are not the only ones showing a link between high-protein breakfasts and weight loss.
But you need to know what works best for you and your weight loss goals. The nutrition consultants at your local Herbal One Centre can help design a weight loss and nutrition program customized to your personal requirements and preferences.
Source:
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-11/uom-pbh111413.php
http://www.hindawi.com/journals/jnme/