on Jun 21st, 2008The big breakfast diet
There’s an old saying: Eat like a king at breakfast, a prince at lunch and a pauper at dinner. New research finds that can be a good way to lose weight and keep it off.
A small study divided 96 obese women into two groups. Those who had big breakfasts, with lots of carbs and proteins, and progressively smaller meals during the day — low in carbs and calories — not only lost weight but continued to lose it after the strictly low-carb group was already regaining the weight they lost.
When all was said and done, those on the big breakfast diet lost more than 21% of their body weight, compared with just 4.5% for the low-carb group.
The lead researcher, Dr. Daniela Jakubowicz, says the diet works because it controls the appetite and cravings for sweets and starches. She says it’s also healthier, because dieters are allowed to eat more fruit, getting fiber and vitamins.
The dieters were allowed 1,240 calories per day and consumed nearly half of them at breakfast.
So dig in! You’ll find all the details at Science Daily.
June 30 update: I am trying this diet, feeling my way as best I can. To read about my first week, go here or click on the ‘big breakfast diet’ tag at the bottom of this post for more.
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Great post. Thanks.
I will share the link with many friends.
Blue Smoke of Paradise’s last blog post..For My Father
You’re welcome! I’ve taken this to heart too. And it’s good to know my Share This thingy came in handy.
This is quite interesting, and intuitively feels right. I clicked on the article, and while the calorie distribution looks fine, it seems challenging to only eat 235 calories for dinner! Especially if we make some of your yummy recipes! Perhaps I can alter my habits and have Coconut roasted shrimp for breakfast. Actually, I’m quite capable of that, and maybe a hunk of cheese for dinner some days…hmm…
Hi, Muse. It does feel right intuitively; perfect description. I’ve eaten the king-prince-pauper way, but never for long. Having time for making and eating a big breakfast during the week could be a challenge.
It did occur to me that carbs, protein and calories = pizza for breakfast!
Little omelette for dinner.
Just a note to anyone who is thinking of trying this diet — I started with a “practice” day today and I can say it’s going to take some more practice to get it down pat.
It was difficult to have a breakfast that large and time was certainly a factor. I almost consumed the 600 or so calories, but not quite, and it took several hours. Hardly practical for a normal workday.
Lunch was easy, a little chicken and fruit. Dinner was easier - a green salad with baby bella mushrooms and a bit of ham.
I’m not starving, but not really satisfied either.
Unless or until I get the hang of this, I think the biggest challenge will be that of most diets - culinary boredom. Luckily, a lot of my recipes here will work, but maybe for different meals than intended.
[…] I wrote about this diet, I mentioned in comments that I suspected finding the time to both prepare and eat such a big […]