How to Lose Weight: #21: Eat Eggs for Breakfast

Eggs have gotten a bad rap over the years. What was once considered a wholesome, high-protein food, became a nutritional pariah. Yes, eggs contain cholesterol, but experts aren't even sure that cholesterol from foods has an effect on blood cholesterol, or that blood cholesterol is even correlated with heart attacks! Personally, I eat 2 eggs for breakfast every morning, and my cholesterol levels are perfect. Of course, my one example doesn't prove or disprove anything about the relationship of eggs and cholesterol, but I do enjoy my daily eggs, and haven't experienced any problems on account of them.

I may be onto something actually. A new study suggests that eating eggs for breakfast may help you lose weight.

In a study of dieters, those who ate two scrambled eggs and unbuttered toast (with jelly) for breakfast lost 65 percent more weight than those that had a bagel and cream cheese for breakfast. I am sure that a lot of people would assume that the bagel and cream cheese would have been healthier, but this study shows that those who had eggs and toast lost significantly more weight than the bagel group. Apparently, the protein in the egg helps people feel more full, and this feeling lasts for quite a while after eating the eggs themselves. However, we must remember that every participant in this study restricted their calories. Sadly, this means that we can't fry up a big sausage, bacon, and cheese omelet every morning and expect to lose weight. Eggs for breakfast may be part of a weight-loss plan, but they aren't magical diet pills!

There is a financial benefit to eggs too: they are cheap. I got 15 dozen at Kroger for 99 cents a dozen just last week. That means each egg costs less than 10 cents, so my two eggs I eat each morning cost me a grand total of 16 cents. And eggs keep for quite awhile after their expiration date, which is why I buy so many when the price is low.