High protein breakfast – Dieters Key to Staying Full Through The Day

A breakfast high on proteins is what might prove to be the dieters key to loose weight without struggling to ignore the rumblings in the stomach, as, a recent study indicates the role of food timings and protein content on the feeling of fullness one experiences throughout the day.

Published in the British Journal of Nutrition, the study emphasises on the timings of dietary protein intake, stressing that when foods high in proteins are taken for breakfast, they give the person a feeling of fullness that lasts throughout the day, in comparison to other foods consumed.

It is to be noted that the study does not talk exclusively about the high protein foods, it also talks, giving equal importance about the timing of the protein rich intake. The study has concluded that high protein foods when consumed at lunch or dinner do not give as much a sense of fullness as they do when taken in breakfast.

This is therefore, the key point to remember for those into dieting and weight loss, as they often feel hunger pangs through the day which disturb the eating timetable and often lead them to binge forbidden food, quite making the diet go awry.

Various sources of high–quality, protein rich, foods have been identified; one of the favourite combinations being, eggs and bacon. Some other sources of high proteins are – whey, soy, casein, milk, tofu, yoghurt, fish, cheese, roasted beef, roasted chicken etc.

The research conducted by researchers at the University of Foods and Nutrition at Purdue, included overweight or obese men. They were already on a reduced calorie diet, which consisted of two variations of protein intakes.

One of the variations was a high on protein intake, with 18-25% of calories, while the other one was a normal protein intake, with 11-14% of calories. Both the protein variations were within the federal recommendations of nutrition.

The researchers specifically tested the effect of consuming the additional protein at all the three mealtimes - breakfast, lunch and dinner and also when the intake was evenly spaced out throughout the day.

It was found that, when the high protein intake was given at breakfast it sustained the feeling of fullness throughout the day, as compared to when it was given at lunch or dinner. Also the feeling of fullness was greater for the additional protein intake as compared to the normal protein intake.

It has long been known that eating some amount of protein foods at mealtimes reduces appetite in general and also helps the body to use energy to convert proteins to carbohydrates, the process being called Gloconeogenesis.

Wayne W. Campbell, PhD, study author and professor of Foods and Nutrition at Purdue University, states that although there are a large number of researches going on to support the fact that eating high-quality proteins maintains fullness through the day, this study is unique in a way, that it looks at the timing of protein consumption as a “critical piece of the equation."