Many Americans completely skip breakfast and the majority of those don’t eat whatever’s convenient. But if you need to lose weight or have trouble controlling your hunger then you should consider taking a little extra time in the morning to fix a high-protein breakfast.

Why You Should be Eating Eggs for Breakfast

Forget the pancakes. Forget your grainy cereals. Forget the granola bar. The answer may come straight from the farm: eggs. Recent studies clearly indicate that eating eggs can help you eat less and curb your hunter – and not just for a few hours, but for more than a full day.

Study 1

In a study released by The Obesity Society (reported by the University of Missouri-Columbia) at their annual meeting in Atlanta last year, women ages 18 to 55 who ate high-protein (30-39g) breakfasts were not as hungry that morning as those who ate something like pancakes (or skipped breakfast altogether). Study release date: November 14, 2013

Study 2

A previous study that was published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition that included 20 women ages 18 to 20 who were either obese or overweight. Some had a breakfast of cereal and some had a high-protein breakfast (35g) of lean beef and eggs. Both breakfasts had the same amount of calories (350), same amount of fiber, sugar, fat and energy density.

There were many controls in place during this study. Periodically throughout the day, blood samples were taken. Also, a brain scan was performed before dinner using functional magnetic resonance imaging. They were looking for brain signals that directly affect food motivation and eating behaviors that are reward-seeking. Of course, participants were required to complete questionnaires.

The findings showed women who ate the high-protein breakfast were more satisfied and less hungry. The brain activity found during the scans showed a very low volume of activity in areas of the brain that are known to affect cravings.

More interesting is that this persisted into the evening hours. They didn’t snack on sugary, high-fat foods as much as the other group.

Study 3

Yet another study was published on National Center for Biotechnology Information. 30 obese or overweight women participants were given either eggs for breakfast or bagels, both of which had the same number of calories.

The women who had eggs for breakfast ate less calories. Not just for the morning or for lunch, but for an amazing 36 hours.

Study 4

Yes, there’s still more! This study by the International Journal for Obesity included both men and women who were obese or overweight, but otherwise healthy. This study was also larger, using 152 participants.

They ate either bagels or eggs for breakfast. They were split into four groups:

• Egg group
• Egg diet group (lower calorie diet overall)
• Bagel group
• Bagel diet group (lower calorie diet overall)

Those in the egg diet group lost a significantly more weight than the bagel diet group. They also reduced their BMI by over 60% more, reduced waist circumference by nearly 35% more and reduced body fat by over 15% more.

Add More Protein – Period

If you’ve been shying away from meat, don’t. Simply be eating more protein, you can fire up your fat burning, build more muscle and reduce your appetite. There have been numerous studies that clearly indicate protein can help you effortlessly eat less and lose weight. One of the many can be found here.

One of the most interesting studies, though, showed that if you include protein as 30% of your daily calories, you could drop over 400 calories per day without even realizing it. That’s because you feel full and satisfied, thus not eating as much. You can find full details on this particular study here.