The big breakfast: Why women who feast first thing lose more weight - and keep it off

Breakfast has long been trumpeted as the most important meal of the day, particularly for those who want to lose weight. Now scientists have proved that it is - and say the bigger the bowl, the better. A study has shown that women who eat around half of their daily calories first thing lose more weight in the long term than those who start the day with a small breakfast. And they are also less likely to pile the pounds back on. It is thought that eating a meal packed with protein and carbohydrates helps cut cravings for sweet or starchy foods, as well as boosting the metabolism.
Researchers from the Hospital de Clinicas in Caracas, Venezuela, looked at how breakfasting habits affected the weight of almost 100 obese young women. All were put on a low-calorie, low-carbohydrate diet. However, half had a big breakfast, taking in almost half of their day's ration of 1,240 calories in a single high-protein, high-carbohydrate meal.