Conventional nutritional wisdom has suggested that having a big breakfast jump starts your metabolism and helps you eat less the rest of the day — and stay slim. But a study published Monday in Nutrition Journal turned that notion on its ear. So now that big breakfasts are out, Healthland has five suggestions for downsizing your lumberjack special into something a little more waistline friendly.
Big Breakfasts Are Out. 5 Better-For-You Morning Meals
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As Healthland's Maia Szalavitz reported yesterday, big breakfasts are no boon to your belt size. A new study in Nutrition Journal found that people who ate big breakfasts consumed more calories overall — not fewer — compared with people who ate smaller morning meals or skipped them altogether. Researchers from the University of Munich followed 380 people, 280 who were obese and an additional 100 who were of normal weight, who were asked to keep a daily food diary for 10 to 14 days. Researchers found that the average big breakfast reported by the participants contained 400 calories more than small ones. And, surprise — they also found that people who ate big breakfasts ended up eating 400 more calories a day than people who ate a smaller breakfast or skipped it. The findings contradict the theory that by indulging in the morning, you stave off hunger and eat less throughout the rest of the day. "[P]eople ate the same at lunch and dinner, regardless of what they had for breakfast," said Dr. Volker Schusdziarra, the study's lead author and a researcher with the Else-Kroner-Fresenius Center of Nutritional Medicine in Munich, in a statement. On the other hand, as other studies have shown, people who eat breakfast do tend to have more balanced diets and are less likely to be overweight than people who skip their morning meal. Why that's so isn't clear — it could be that, as Szalavitz put it, "people who are healthier and thinner to start are more likely to follow advice about diet, which has been to have breakfast." It leads us at Healthland to wonder, however, if cutting breakfast isn't the answer, maybe it would still help some of you big breakfast-eaters out there to trim a few calories from your morning repast. We know it's hard to say no to a plateful of greasy-salty-sugary deliciousness, but you can still have a satisfying and energizing meal, without breaking the calorie bank. Here are our suggestions for healthy, hearty big-breakfast substitutes. Next: Instead of Breakfast Cereal... More on Time.com 5 Ways to Improve Your Diet on the Cheap
