Big Breakfast Diet

If you've been cutting calories calories and carbs, with little or no sustained weight loss, when you eat and how filling your food is may to blame. In a redemption of carbohydrates, a recent weight loss study of 94 obese and physically inactive women found that a modified low-carbohydrate diet which consists of a high-protein high-carbohydrate breakfast won out over a strict low-carb diet. Intially, the women on the strict low-carb diet lost an average of five more pounds than the big-breakfast group, however, at the end of the eight-month study those who followed the modified low-carb diet, or "big-breakfast diet," lost an average of 21 percent of their body weight, compared 4.5 percent. The researches also found that the women who ate the larger breakfast reported feeling less hungry, especially before lunch. They also had fewer cravings for carbs than the other women did.

"Most weight loss studies have determined that a very low carbohydrate diet is not a good method to reduce weight," said lead author Daniela Jakubowicz, MD, of the Hospital de Clinicas, Caracas, Venzezuela, in a press release from The Endocrine Society. "It exacerbates the craving for carbohydrates and slows metabolism. As a result, after a short period of weight loss, there is a quick return to obesity."

The big-breakfast diet is effective because it controls appetite and cravings for sweets and starches, according to Jakubowicz, who has used this diet with patients for the past 15 years. Jakubowicz also praised the big-breakfast diet because it provides enough fiber and vitamins unlike extremely low-carbohydrate diets.

The Eating Plan: Those who followed the "Big-Breakfast Diet" were allowed to eat 1,240 calories, 46 grams of fat, 97 grams of carbs and 93 grams of protein.

Breakfast consists of 610 calories, or about half of your daily allowance (along with 58, 47 and 22 grams of carbs, protein and fat). A typical meal includes milk, 3 ounces of lean meat, two slices of cheese, two whole grain servings, one fat serving and one ounce of milk chocolate or candy, according to reporting from HealthDay. Lunch consists of 395 calories (along with 34, 28 and 13 grams of carbs, protein and fat, respectively). Dinner consists of 235 calories (along with 5, 18 and 26 grams, respectively).

Chocolate for Breakfast? Having a bit of chocolate in the morning, when your serotonin levels are highest, and therefore your cravings are at the lowest, may help cut down on cravings, reports HealthDay. Serotonin levels drop throughout the day, which can trigger cravings for chocolate or cookies. But if you eat these foods when serotonin is low, your body can begin to associate good feelings with them, creating an addictive cycle, Jakubowicz said, as reported by HealthDay. If you eat a small piece of chocolate or candy early on in the day when serotonin levels are high, your treat won't have as great an impact on serotonin, which will eventually help cut down on cravings, according to Jakubowicz.