Losing weight isn’t easy. With each passing year, your body’s metabolism naturally slows down. You eat small meals, stay away from junk food and even try to exercise regularly. Yet, after all that effort, your scale never budges. Fortunately, it doesn’t have to be this way any longer.
Researchers have just discovered an easy way to boost your metabolism and burn unwanted fat. It all starts with a simple morning habit. If you’re not already eating a big breakfast…you should consider changing that. According to this study, eating a high-calorie breakfast can help you burn twice the number of calories while also helping you keep your blood sugar balanced.
First Meal of The Day Burns More Calories
The researchers conducted a three-day laboratory study of 16 men who consumed either a low-calorie or a high-calorie breakfast and then had to do the opposite at night. Meaning if the participant ate very little in the morning, then they ate a lot at night and vice versa.
All participants had their metabolism tested by a process called Diet Induced Thermogenesis (DIT). This is the body’s way of heating up in order to help digestion and transfer blood to the stomach after eating.
The study found that those who ate a high-calorie breakfast increased DIT by 2.5 times…helping participants burn DOUBLE the calories. In addition, eating a high-calorie breakfast also improved blood sugar and insulin response for the whole day compared to a high-calorie dinner. On the other hand, eating very little for your first meal of the day increases your appetite, particularly for sweet treats.
“Our results show that a meal eaten for breakfast, regardless of the amount of calories it contains, creates twice as high diet-induced thermogenesis as the same meal consumed for dinner,” said study author Dr. Juliane Richter. “This finding is significant for all people as it underlines the value of eating enough at breakfast.
“We recommend that patients with obesity as well as healthy people eat a large breakfast rather than a large dinner to reduce body weight and prevent metabolic diseases.”
How to Add This to Your Lifestyle?
Start your day by eating a high-calorie breakfast. Better yet, try eating a low-carb, high calorie breakfast! Depending on how physically active you are or how much protein you eat throughout the day, here’s a few simple guidelines to follow:
- try to get 30+ grams of protein
- add a side of veggies
- if you need a source of carbs, stick to oatmeal
- if you want something sweet, eat berries
- if you’re going to use salad dressings (use homemade with minimal ingredients such as olive oil, avocado, lemon juice, balsamic vinegar)
Based on these guidelines, here are some foods to consider:
- homemade sauerkraut
- eggs
- firm tofu
- oats
- blueberries
- bell peppers
- avocado
- smoked salmon
- any raw greens you can eat in a salad
Sample menu:
- 125g of tofu (that’s 15-17g of protein depending on the brand, 4g fat, 2g carbs)
- 2 large eggs (10-12g of protein, 10g fat)
- bell peppers (high dose of vitamin C)
- 45g oats (7g protein, 3g fat, 25g carbs)
- handful of blueberries (12g carbs)
Total: ~497-521 calories
- ~32-36g of protein (188-212 calories)
- ~17g of fat (153 calories)
- ~39g of carbs (156 calories)
This meal would be suitable for a 5’7″ adult male who works a sedentary job with minimal physical activity. Eating a breakfast like the one shown above will:
- Boost your metabolism
- Reduce your appetite
- Balance your blood sugar and your insulin
- And shrink your waistline.
If for whatever reason you still experience hunger pangs before lunch, you can double the serving of tofu or add some avocado to make your breakfast even bigger.