Hold the skim latte and bring on the butter? High-fat breakfasts are enjoying a comeback in some circles, after a study published in the International Journal of Obesity found that rats who ate a high fat breakfast burned more fat throughout the day than rats who ate a high carbohydrate breakfast.
But the reality on the ground looks a little different. Multiple studies have found that people who eat high fat breakfasts end up eating more calories over the course of the day–almost certainly trumping any increase in the fat-burning metabolism observed in the mouse study.
That’s not to say that a breakfast high in refined carbohydrates (corn flakes, toast, jelly, juice, etc.) is the way to go. The ideal breakfast for appetite and weight control appears to be one that’s high in both protein and fiber. So bring on the eggs, tofu, cottage cheese, yogurt, oatmeal and other whole grain cereals.
As a bonus, research suggests that this type of low-glycemic breakfast may help you burn more fat during your lunch-time workout.
____________________________________________
Special Live Event!
Join me tomorrow night, March 8th, at 9pm Eastern for a forum on breakfast, fitness, and weight management. Joining me for this live webcast are Ben Greenfield of BenGreenfieldFitness.com, Darya Pino, PhD of SummerTomato.com, and Gloria Tsang, MS, RD of Healthcastle.com. Your questions and comments are welcome. The event will be broadcast right here on NutritionOverEasy.com. Click here to RSVP.
_________________________________________
The Studies:
“Lunch-time workout”? My guess is that if I were doing a lunch-time workout I’d be losing fat no matter WHAT I ate for breakfast! Maybe there is a lesson in there somewhere…