Go big on breakfast for easy weight loss

Research has found that the secret of easy weight loss could be as simple as starting your day with a big breakfast!

According to the study by the Tel Aviv University (TAU), eating more in the morning than in the evening could dramatically improve your weight loss results.

Researchers found that a big breakfast may not only trim your waistline, it could even help protect you from diabetes, high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease. 

Timing is everything 

Metabolism is impacted by the body's circadian rhythm - the biological process that the body follows over a 24-hour cycle. So the time of day that we eat can have a big impact on the way our bodies process food, says Prof. Daniela Jakubowicz of TAU's Sackler Faculty of Medicine and the Diabetes Unit at Wolfson Medical Center.

Eat breakfast like a king

In a recent study, she discovered that those who eat their largest daily meal at breakfast are far more likely to lose weight and waistline circumference, than those who eat a large dinner.

Let them eat cake! 

And the benefits went far beyond weight loss. Participants who ate a larger breakfast, including a dessert item such as a piece of chocolate cake or a cookie, also had significantly lower levels of insulin, glucose, and triglycerides throughout the day. This translates into a lower risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, hypertension, and high cholesterol. 

The big breakfast experiment 

To determine the impact of meal timing on weight loss and health, Prof. Jakubowicz and her fellow researchers conducted a study in which 93 obese women were randomly assigned to one of two isocaloric groups. 

Each consumed a moderate-carbohydrate, moderate-fat diet totalling 1 400 calories daily, for a period of 12 weeks. The first group consumed 700 calories at breakfast, 500 at lunch and 200 at dinner. The second group ate a 200 calorie breakfast, 500 calorie lunch and 700 calorie dinner. The 700 calorie breakfast and dinner included the same foods.

Big breakfast eaters lost eight kilograms, while big dinner eaters lost only three kilograms! 

By the end of the study, participants in the "big breakfast" group had lost an average of just over eight kilograms each and seven-and-a-half centimetres off their waistline, compared to a three kilogram and three-and-a-half centimetre loss for participants in the "big dinner" group. 

According to Prof. Jakubowicz, those in the big breakfast group were found to have significantly lower levels of the hunger-regulating hormone ghrelin, an indication that they were more satiated and had less desire for snacking later in the day, than their counterparts in the big dinner group.

The big breakfast group also showed a more significant decrease in insulin, glucose, and triglyceride levels than those in the big dinner group. More importantly, they did not experience the high spikes in blood glucose levels that typically occur after a meal. Peaks in blood sugar levels are considered even more harmful than sustained high blood glucose levels, leading to high blood pressure and greater strain on the heart.

How to make it work for you

1. Be mindful about meal times 

Adopt a well thought-out meal schedule, in addition to proper nutrition and exercise, to optimise weight loss and general health.

Eating the right foods at the wrong times can not only slow down weight loss, it can also be harmful. In their study, the researchers found that those in the big dinner group actually increased their levels of triglycerides - a type of fat found in the body - despite their weight loss, reports Prof. Jakubowicz.

2. Close the kitchen at night 

Mindless eating in front of the computer or television, especially in the late evening hours, is a huge contributor to the obesity epidemic, Prof. Jakubowicz believes. 

The study, published in the journal Obesity, was done in collaboration with Dr. Julio Wainstein of TAU and the Wolfson Medical Center and Dr. Maayan Barnea and Prof. Oren Froy at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

Recommended reading: Eating breakfast reduces risk of heart disease 

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