Looking for that Magic Bullet to Lose Weight?

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You’ve tried them all…the cheater’s diet, the cigarette diet, the cabbage soup diet, the drinking man’s diet and still you can’t lose weight. A recent article in the Atlanta Business Chronicle reported that the US work force is unpleasantly plump and getting fatter. No doubt you’ve heard the stat that two thirds of Americans are overweight or obese. A national health screening analysis conducted by Kronos Optimal Health Company of almost 10,000 employees found that 70% of men and 65% of women age 40 or older are overweight or obese. If you think weight issues only affect you once you hit the big 4-0, the analysis also found that of the employees who are younger than 40, 68% of men and 52% of women fall into the overweight or obese categories.

Switching to teenagers, a recent study in the journal Pediatrics tracked the eating habits, weight and other lifestyle parameters of over 2000 teenagers in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area for five years. Here comes the magic bullet. Guess what the study found? Teenagers who regularly ate breakfast tend to weigh less, exercise more and eat a more healthful diet including more fiber and less fat than their peers who skip breakfast. The teens who regularly ate breakfast had a lower body mass index also known as BMI which is a measure of body weight relative to height. The teenagers who skipped breakfast weighed about five pounds more than their peers who ate breakfast every day.

You might think it doesn’t make sense that if you skip breakfast, you gain weight. After all, you skipped a meal so shouldn’t that mean you eat less during the day? Research suggests just the opposite. This study found that breakfast eaters may control their appetite better throughout the day and avoid food binges at lunch or dinner. You know what I’m talking about. You skip breakfast or lunch and feel like you could eat the door off the diner or refrigerator.

Back to the magic bullet. Breakfast eaters are successful losers. The National Weight Control Registry tracks people who have lost weight and kept it off. Guess what they have found? Breakfast is one of the keys to being a successful loser. In other words, adults and children who eat breakfast tend to keep their weight off over time and dare less likely to gain it back.

Does it matter what you eat for breakfast? You bet. Remember, choose a smart carbohydrate which is one that is high in fiber and include some lean protein to keep you feeling full and satisfied throughout the morning. Besides cereal try almond butter or peanut butter on a whole grain English muffin or a whole grain bagel with a hard boiled egg. Breakfast choices can also be sandwiches, a small to-go bottle of milk and a resealable bag of easy-to-munch cereal or a cheese stick and banana as well as low-fat granola bars. How about left over meatballs and sauce or a slice of veggie pizza? Have more time on the weekends? Try whole grain blueberry pancakes with soy sausage or an egg burrito with scrambled eggs, fat free refried beans and salsa. It doesn’t matter what the items are as long as you keep the high fiber and lean protein duo in mind.