The Best Breakfast Foods for Weight Loss

Mix up your morning meal and try one—or a few—of these 4 healthy breakfast foods that help you lose weight.

Peanut Butter

Nuts were also among the top 5 foods that promote weight loss according to Harvard. That’s probably because peanut butter and all nuts and nut butters deliver a good dose of healthy fats, fiber and protein—all satisfying nutrients. Nuts used to get a “bad” reputation for being high in calories and fat. And while nuts and nut butters are calorie dense—2 tablespoons of peanut butter has just under 200 calories, 7 grams of protein and 2 grams of fiber—they’re also nutrient dense and help you build a satisfying breakfast.

Try spreading tablespoon or two of peanut butter onto whole-wheat toast (another “slow-release” carbohydrate) or adding nuts or nut butter to your oatmeal (another “slow-release” carb) for a balanced meal.

Raspberries

A cup of raspberries delivers a whopping 8 grams of fiber (that’s more than double what’s in a cup of strawberries and about the same amount in a cup of some types of beans). What’s so great about all that fiber? Recent research in the Journal of Nutrition suggests eating more fiber as a way to prevent weight gain or even encourage weight loss. Over the course of the two-year study, the researchers found that boosting fiber by 8 grams for every 1,000 calories resulted in about 4 ½ pounds of weight lost.

Eggs

One large egg has 6 grams of protein and 70 calories. Compared to carbohydrates and fat, protein keeps you satisfied longer. Plus, in one study, people who ate eggs for breakfast felt fuller longer and lost more than twice as much weight as those who got the same amount of calories from a bagel for breakfast.

And while just eating egg whites will help you save calories, you’ll also lose half the protein (about 3 grams is in the yolk), which helps make eggs a powerhouse choice for breakfast. Plus, the yolk is rich in healthy nutrients, like calcium and eye-protecting antioxidants—lutein and zeaxanthin.

Yolks are a significant source of dietary cholesterol. But dietary cholesterol isn’t such a heart-health villain anymore and researchers think that for most people eating one whole egg daily is fine.

Oatmeal

Oatmeal can help you lose weight in two ways. First, it’s packed with fiber and it keeps you feeling fuller longer. Second, a recent study in the reported that eating a breakfast made with “slow-release” carbohydrates—such as oatmeal or bran cereal—3 hours before you exercise may help you burn more fat. How? Eating “slow-release” carbohydrates doesn’t spike blood sugar as high as eating refined carbohydrates (think: white toast). In turn, insulin levels don’t spike as high. Because insulin plays a role in signaling your body to store fat, having lower blood sugar levels may help you burn fat.