Eating lots of carbs at breakfast is good

Just ran across a great bit of research over at Med Page Today that says that eating a high carb breakfast is helpful to a diet in the long term.

Loading up on protein and carbohydrates at breakfast may help obese patients with metabolic syndrome stick to a low-calorie, low-carbohydrate diet the rest of the day, researchers found.

Such a breakfast was associated with five-fold greater weight loss than was achieved on a low-carb, low-calorie diet alone, reported Daniela Jakubowicz, M.D., of the Hospital de Clinicas in Caracas, Venezuela, at the Endocrine Society meeting here.

These 32-week findings from a randomized clinical trial suggested that it’s not enough to simply reduce food intake and increase exercise for effective long-term weight loss, Dr. Jakubowicz said.
Although restrictive, low-carb diets are among the most effective for short-term weight loss, though maintenance is dismal with a success rate of only 5% after two years, she said.

This goes along with the idea that a good substantial breakfast is a a great way to start the day so that you do not feel the need to snack during the day.

Is this what you have found? Are you eating a good breakfast every day? I know that I take it seriously. I wake up, get a bit of cardio, shower and dress and then wait a few minutes until I eat a decent breakfast.

I do not know where I saw it but there was research years ago that said that you should wait 30 minutes after exercise before eating as this is the best time for your body to burn off fat and eating would be counterproductive to this.

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Tags: Caracas, Daniela Jakubowicz, Endocrine Society, food intake, metabolic syndrome, Venezuela

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3 Responses to “Eating lots of carbs at breakfast is good”

Supplements Canada says:

June 19, 2008 at 10:11 am

That is very interesting and how large of an impact having a substantial amount of calories in the morning can really get your metabolism going. I imagine a lot of people would have thought having so much in one meal might be counter productive to their health goals.
Curtis Penner says:

June 24, 2008 at 3:22 pm

I agree with eating a well-balanced breakfast. However, your title seems to be a little off the mark.

In the first sentence, the quote reads “Loading up on protein and carbohydrates…”. Eating a breakfast consisting of both protein and carbs will have a dramatically different effect on your blood sugar and insulin levels than eating lots of carbs at breakfast. As will the type of carbs. Eating a crappy cereal made of white rice and sugar (Special K) will be less beneficial than a high-fiber cereal such as All-Bran.

The protein helps shut down the body’s hunger mechanism by releasing glucagon – which also plays a part in metabolizing fat.

Eating nothing but a bunch of carbs will send your blood sugar through the roof, which in turn results in a large release of insulin, which shuts down your body’s ability to burn fat – at least until the insulin levels return to normal.

I would add that including fat in the meal would help a person feel fuller longer and minimize the blood sugar-insulin response.

Just my .02.
Bill Nad says:

June 25, 2008 at 10:36 am

I agree. I like the idea of having a bigger breakfast, not to big and with some protein as well. The trouble is that most people just have coffee and a donut. Some people as well are worried about getting a lot of food in the morning and then having no more calories left for dinner.

I just wanted to point out here that there is research that tells us that eating a good breakfast really does break the fast and gives you energy to start the day and get your metabolism going