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Con Poulos
By Rachel Rettner
MyHealthNewsDaily
Good news for the kid in you: Not only can you eat cake for breakfast, doing so may actually help you keep weight off, a new study suggests.
In the study, obese participants who ate a breakfast high in protein and carbohydrates that included a dessert were better able to stick to their diet and keep the pounds off longer than participants who ate a low-carb, low-calorie breakfast that did not include sweets.
The findings suggest that both meal timing and meal composition play a role in weight loss. Carbs and protein eaten at breakfast may keep us full throughout the day, plus allowing ourselves some sweets helps to stem cravings for these foods, said study researcher Dr. Daniela Jakubowicz, of Tel Aviv University in Israel.
Nutritionists said they have mixed feelings about the study. Some say dessert for breakfast is a diet no-no, and could actually increase your cravings for sweets.
"I would never, in a million years, recommend cookies or cake for breakfast," said Katherine Tallmadge, a registered dietitian and author of "Diet Simple" (LifeLine Press, 2011), who was not involved in the study.
Others said eating something sweet at breakfast is all right, as long as it's part of a healthy diet.
But the experts agreed, a large, balanced breakfast can help maintain weight loss. A substantial breakfast can suppress your hunger cravings and make you less likely to gorge the rest of the day.
"The last thing you want to do is get to an evening meal, and be starving," said Heather Mangieri, a nutrition consultant and spokeswoman for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. "That's the time that so many people overeat."
The study involved 193 obese adults, half of whom were randomly assigned to eat a large, 600-calorie breakfast that included a "dessert" item, such as a cookie, cake or donut. The other half ate a small, 300- calorie breakfast. Both groups consumed the same total daily calories — 1,600 calories for men and 1,400 for women. (The group with a big breakfast ate a smaller dinner, of 300 or 400 calories.)
After 16 weeks of strictly following this diet, both groups had lost about the same amount of weight. However, during a follow-up period in which participants were advised to stick to the diet, but could eat more if they were motivated by hunger cravings, the small breakfast group gained 24 pounds, while the big breakfast group lost 15 pounds, on average.
In addition, those who ate the big breakfast with the dessert had lower levels of the "hunger" hormone ghrelin, and fewer food cravings than those who ate the small breakfast, without dessert.
When we diet, we're hungrier, ghrelin levels rise and there's a decrease in our metabolism. A large breakfast that includes protein, carbs and sweets may counteract these changes, so people are able tomaintain weight loss over time, Jakubowicz told MyHealthNewsDaly.
While the study shows the benefits of a big breakfast, it cannot answer the question of whether eating cake in the morning is a good idea, Tallmadge said.
"It's completely unfair to compare a 600-calorie breakfast with 300-calorie breakfast," Tallmadge said.
In addition, Tallmadge said, in her experience, eating sugar can increase cravings for sweets. It's better to go with a balanced, healthy breakfast — such as oatmeal, skim milk and fruit — that contains about one- third of your daily calories, she said.
But the study demonstrated the importance of incorporating your favorite foods into your diet without over-indulging, Mangieri said. "We know that deprivation does not work," she said.
Keep in mind, however, that recent research shows "eating refined flour and sugar on a regular basis is one of the worse things you can do for your health," Tallmadge said. It's associated with an increased risk of heart disease, cancer and early death, she said.
The study is published in the March issue of the journal Steroids.
Do you like a little something sweet at breakfast? Discuss your preferences on Facebook.
More from MyHealthNewsDaily:
- 11 Surprising Things That Can Make Us Gain Weight
- 10 New Ways to Eat Well
- 6 Easy Ways to Eat More Fruits and Vegetables
Try these recipes from TODAY.com:
- Make cereal milk panna cotta for a sweet treat
- Chocolate bread pudding with two chocolate sauces, almond bark
- Yum! Creamy, quick cranberry trifles
- Try bagel profiteroles
Leave a Comment:
Well, gee, you can't show that photo of about 10 servings and let us think that size of a piece is okay.
They are taking small portions, calorie balanced. And, still, I say that if there is processed sugar in it, it only turns on the desire for more. A piece of luscious fruit is the best choice. Maybe an ounce of 85% dark chocolate.
I'm someone who struggles with weight, and you are right; eating sweets with processed sugar only increases the desire for more. I would rather cut down and have a sweet as a treat to curve my cravings for it. You know now that I don't have sweets as often, I don't miss it. So cutting down on sweets and replacing it with something more nutritious has help me to lessen my cravings for them. I've made changes, like substituting carrot sticks for potato chips. So, even though I might still have a sandwich for lunch, replacing the potato chips with carrots has lowered carbs, calories and sodium. I have a long way to go, but, hopefully, I'm on the right track. I hate reports like this one because it gives people with weight problems, like myself, to go back to our bad eating habits.
I would never recommend eating "cake". Cake can be a ginormous size of sugar laden fat as shown in the photo.
I would recommend eating a "cake" with a high protein content. For example, Homemade whole wheat "pancakes" are about 50 percent protein. That's how you get that gummy, yummy gooey-ness! Add to that some Agave syrup (lower glycemic impact than real maple syrup or high fructose cornsyrup) add another protein or fiber rich fruit and you're won't feel hungry for a loooong time. :)
What makes y'all think that piece of cake is very large? If the plate is a normal sized dessert plate then the serving size looks to be no bigger than 2"x2"x1.5". Perfectly normal serving size. I'm no dietician but I can safely say that that size serving is not going to be a detriment to anyone's diet, unless you want to make a habit of eating nothing else. Sugar, refined or otherwise, is not the devil, but like anything, too much is not good. The vast majority of weight issues stem primarily from eating too much processed food and leading a sedentary lifestyle. Obesity is a problem mainly because we as a society are no longer active. I don't mean we don't do anything, I mean we don't do anything that involves constant physical exercise. 100 years ago there were relatively few obese people because they actually physically worked to get through the day. They got regular sleep hours, ate non-processed foods, walked most of the time, chopped wood, washed clothing by hand, tilled the soil without machinery, etc. etc. etc. While I hold no expectations nor desires to go back to the days before all the technology, it is what is making us fat. A diet only works if you eat healthy and stay active.
Yeah. And 100 years ago they were not eating cake for breakfast.
Eat more of this: complex carbohydrates (whole grains, nuts and beans).
Eat less of this: simple carbohydrates (sugar, corn syrup, processed foods).
myfitnesspal.com -> best website to stay fit/healthy/control eating. End of story.
Plus it's free. Such a gem.
You're right, ever since I cut processed sugar out of my diet, I don't crave it at all, I'm actually turned off by sweet food.
I agree in that a satisfying breakfast goes a long way and can help ward off snacking, but it needs to be done in the right way. Eating protein, whole grains and healthy carbs will help you feel fuller longer. Plus not all calories are created equal. Sometimes people get so fixated on calorie counts that they don't pay attention to nutrition. John had mentioned swapping potato chips for carrot sticks instead. Not only has he reduced calories and fat grams in his diet, he has added in vitamins that his body needs to be healthy. He could probably have gone with a 100 calorie pack of chips, but in the end that has not contributed anything more to his body than adding fat to his blood stream and raising his blood sugar from the starch. Fruits and vegetables are the way to go!
People have been eating cake for Breakfast for Mega Years.
They are called PANCAKES,loaded with Butter and syrup.Flapjacks any one
Oh and of course there is French Toast.
What's Cake? Milk, butter & eggs - breakfast!
I love your response,Robin! Finally! There are others who may eat cake for breakfast. I keep my weight down for sure, but do allow myself cake and coffee for breakfast on Saturdays! It's a wonderful treat for the weekend!
@Robin Steel: There's white flour too, can't forget that...that ingredient (plus the sugar) is what is bad for you about cake.
Interesting.
They are not necessarily saying that cake is healthy. They're saying that anything that helps you stick to your diet is, in the end, a good thing.
The problem with most diets isn't whether or not they work. Most of them will work great, if you stick with them. The biggest problem people have isn't that the diet isn't working, it's that they're not able to stick with it.
If you stick with it, it's not a diet. It's a lifestyle change. Which is really what overweight people (like me) need to accomplish -- changing their daily habits regarding food and physical activity. One habit at a time if necessary.
And if you can manage to maintain a healthy lifestyle change for lunch and dinner better if you allow yourself a slice of cake at breakfast time, then they're saying that it is a net improvement.
Of course, some dummy is going to say "gosh, I'll just have cake for breakfast now" thinking this article is telling them it's healthy, while making no other changes. Kind of like the people who read about cocoa having antioxidants and use that information to justify eating a tub of chocolate ice cream.
The real point is that if you allow yourself to cheat on your healthy diet occasionally you will be better able to stick with it in the long term. Being a strict health nazi means you lose a lot of weight fast, but have trouble sticking with the changes. It's better to lose one pound every other week for a year than to go nuts and lose 10 pounds in a week, but then return to your unhealthy habits.
I agree that being a food Nazi will spoil your diet. The problem with cake is that the white flour and sugar in it will greatly increase cravings. Go for organic dark chocolate or look up the recipes for raw deserts or health conscious deserts that contain low glycemic sweetners and no white flour. Of course let yourself have a piece of cake once in awhile if you want it. Dont eat a piece for breakfast everyday.
I agree with you. I recently lost 31 lbs within three months!! I exercised regularly, and increased my fruit and veggie intake, while lowering carbs. I am not a lover of processed foods, but what really helped me was allowing myself to have sweets. I made it a priority to choose healthy snacks and stick to the recommended servings per person- I switched out milk chocolate with fillings and all the sweet stuff for plain dark chocolate. I bought single cups of low fat ice cream instead of the tub; in this way I didn't allow myself to keep going back to the container for extra helpings- when I ran out, that was it!! I also took the time to use the measuring cup to measure my portions of rice and beans. I am not going to say it was easy, because it takes a lot of self discipline, but having a healthy body is so worth it. After I got into the groove of things, I am much more comfortable with how much I need to eat to fuel my body. But deprivation does not work- eating a little of everything, and leading a healthy lifestyle are key elements!!
My favorite thing to do at breakfast time to add in something sweet (while sticking away from donuts or, God forbid, an actual slice of cake) is to cut up a whole apple and dip each slice into just a little caramel (not nearly as much as would be on a caramel apple, just a little scraping along the edge to get the caramel taste and sweetness on there). I get fruit with my breakfast, which is important, and I still get something indulgently sweet, too.
The only thing going through my mind as I read this article was:
WHAT'S IN CHOCOLATE CAKE????? EGGS, and MILK ARE IN CHOCOLATE CAKE!!! DAD IS GREAT, HE GIVES US CHOCOLATE CAKE
I love a good dessert. Life is too short to use margarine.
Exactly!
Well cited! My first thought was of the Bill Cosby sketch "Chocolate Cake fror Breakfest" also.
Bill Cosby's routine was the first thing to go through my mind too!
I too went straight to Bill Cosby's Cake for Breakfast routine! Too funny!
One of Cosby's best: "Daddy's great, he feeds us Chocolate Cake."
But really...is a piece of cake worst then say....french toast or waffles or pancakes with syrup? If you want the damn cake EAT it! But then you can't have any for dessert! Simple!
How about a big bowl full of cocoa puffs? I'm sure they're not chock-full of processed sugars, starch, etc.
Haha, we're stupid.
One of my adult son's favorite breakfasts includes a nice piece of chocolate cake and a glass of milk He also treats the three kids to this. Nobody in his family has a weight issue and it is just an occasional treat. My personal favorite breakfast is a nice cold piece of cheese pizza and a hot cup of Earl Grey.
Cold pizza is the Greatest. Breakfast. Ever.
I always knew that chocolate cake was good for you, at least this week and in this study!
What studies? Get real. Was the study done by a manufactor of sugars or corn syrup? I am so tired of this idea the goverment suggest for a healthy heart, Low-fat and high Sugar. It doesn't work. Does anyone care that Americans have more diabetics than anywhere else in the world? If you want cake that fine. But save the cake for something special. No wonder people are dropping dead in this country.
If we ate more fish diabetes would not be that much of a problem. DHA has been shown to balance out glucose levels among other things like being good for eye and brain health.
Besides sugar is not the reason, no exercise is. When you consume large amounts of calories and sugar with no exercise it just builds up in your system and is stored for later use as fat. This is why we need to stop pushing the 2000 calorie diet, that is what is making plenty of American's fat because they do not burn that many calories.
You should only ingest the number of calories you burn, within reason; that is to keep the weight off. To get it off you just have to exercise and burn more calories then you consume on a daily basis.
To hell with all of you diet monitors. I will die happy with my cake. I will also take a study done by scientists with PhDs over some rabid nutritionist any day of the week. I have yet to meet a nutritionist that didn't think everything including air was too fattening.
While not disagreeing that there is an increase in the number of people with diabetes, you are aware that they keep lowering the numbers for what is considered "normal" with blood sugar amounts? About 10 years ago, "normal" fasting was anything under 120. About 5 years ago or so, "normal" was reduced to anything under 110. Now, "normal" fasting blood sugar is under 100. That 20 point difference encompasses a large number of people.
I am not suggesting that we have a slice of cake every morning, but on occasion, a small slice might be nice.
I'll second that one.@Katherine
If I want chocolate cake for breakfast, guess what I'm having? I do eat cake for breakfast, a couple times a week sometimes. In fact, I probably eat the equal of an entire 2-layer, heavily iced cake every week(it's not just for breakfast anymore). Been doing it for years. I eat what tastes good, when I want to, and I eat sizable portions. I have never dieted in my life. The one time I did gain more weight than I wanted, I increased my activity level and lost it right away. I don't need you to tell me what to eat or when to eat it, save your advice for your kids, family and those who ask for it.
BTW, I am near 50, 6'3", 185# and in excellent health. My cholesterol levels are good and my heart has checked out several times just fine. This may not work for you, but it works just fine for me. Don't judge what you don't know.
Just remember, just because you don't want cake for breakfast is no reason for you to try and tell me to "save it for something special". I enjoy life, maybe you should try it.
@ Mercury... they did the same thing with blood pressure. They lowered the high guideline from 160 to 140, then suddenly declared a huge spike in high blood pressure!
Talk about manipulating the results! Sleazy actions like this leave me with little faith in any of this. Doctors still "practice" medicine. I'll wait until they are done practicing and get it right.
I still leave room for Woody Allen's sleeper, where everything we think is bad for us is actually good.
I agree. For 40 years I have ate what I want, when I want and if you ask my friends I am one of those that can eat anything and not gain weight....or so they think. I also will up my activity level if I notice my handles filling out and soon they're gone. Life is too short to not be happy.
LB, they also just lowered the number that they consider "normal" for thyroid function. My last blood work, the number was considered a little high. I went back to check my numbers, and my thyroid number would have been good three months earlier. I bet big pharma has a big say in what is "normal".
Btw, I loved that part in "Sleeper" where Woody Allen's character finds out all of the health things he had been doing were considered unhealthy and vice versa. (It goes along with Bill Cosby's "Chocolate Cake for Breakfast" routine mentioned previously.)
If you exercise, you have a LOT more leeway to eat what you want.
Most people just ignore the exercise part and dive right in.
Chocolate cake would be a lot better than a sausage/egg biscuit and hash browns from your local fast food joint.
Especially if the chocolate cake was homemade!
I thought this was about chocolate cake ? not sure what's on your mind ? kind of suspect if you ask me
sometimes a piece of chocolate cake is just a piece of chocolate cake.
All these people or so called Researchers are doing is following the old add edge. I don't remember exactly what it is, but it goes something like " Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a pauper" which translates into eating most of your food and calories especially carbs early in the day so that you can burn them during the day. Wow! And I went to a comunity colleage.
@Ralph....we'll have none of that common sense now. Disturbs the elites.
@navyveteran2 I think your aluminum hat is a little too tight...
Years ago I 'accidently' discovered that a big piece of chocolate cake and REAL coke is the best breakfast in the world. It fills you up, and gives you energy to burn off those caloris throughout the day. Don't knock it untill you've tried it. incase you are wondering I'm 6'2" and weigh 180lbs.
And the fat keep getting fatter. Heart disease, diabetes...
OK, I looked up some nutrition info, instead of just guessing. The site I used listed a chocolate cake serving as 64 grams, 1/8 of an 18 oz. frosted cake. This is pretty small, so I doubled the serving, which would be nearer what most of us consider a serving. This would give 470 calories, 20 grams of fat and 6 grams of protein, not exactly healthy.
I looked up a medium blueberry muffin (not one of those big ones for sale at the coffee shop). This sounds like a much healthier breakfast. However, the medium muffing contains 440 calories, 22 grams fat and 6 grams of protein, not much different. BTW, the blueberries are probably artificial and DO NOT count as a serving of fruit!
Muffins are basically just cake in a different shape.
Interesting that the group who ate more lost weight during the maintenance period and the group who ate less gained during the maintenance period. Just more evidence that EVERYTHING the diet industry wants us to believe about diet is untrue and designed to keep us fat, keep us gaining and keep us coming back to give them money in exchange for their pills and shakes and tricks and tips. $66 billion dollars worth of lies and failure.
Actually, if you read the article, both groups ate the same amount of calories each day at first. Eating a bigger breakfast of something the participants craved made them eat smaller portions later in the day.
It makes sense. If I eat an apple and yogurt for breakfast, I'm still going to crave something more substantial later. If I eat a wheat bagel and cream cheese (my personal weakness) in the morning, I'm less likely to indulge in something fattening later because I've already beaten my craving for the day.
While eating chocolate cake for breakfast may help weight loss because you would be eating more calories earlier in the day (when you have time to burn them off), I can't imagine that it's a good choice for a healthy body.
I have a tendency to gain weight easily. But for the last year I've been on a sort of Atkins but not quite way of eating. High protien, low carb, no sweets for breakfast, lots of green vegetables, fish, poultry, and brown rice the rest of the day. What I don't eat is empty carbs like potatos, sugar, pasta, bread and the like. I've dropped to my ideal weight, my cholesterol which was once very high has dropped to normal and I'm never hungry. It took me awhile to get over the desire for the empty carbs because they're addictive, but after a couple of weeks the craving goes away. Plus there's an abundance of sugar free, carb free deserts out there now which helps alot. The only drawback...it's kind of expensive.
Eat vegetables and exercise; die anyway.
Ball s.,....they are confusing us every day more and more...what it was white yesterday is gray or black today, and tomorrow will be yellow,....go all to the hell, I eat whatever I want when I want, I do not care anymore.
I didn't read the whole thing but just who paid for the study? Eat whatever you want for breakfast. Just eat reg and exercise reg both in sensible proportions and the weight will go and stay off.
Not necessarily for everyone. The trick is to eat in a way to speed up your metabolism. Some people naturally have a high rate of metabolism, others naturally slow. Certain foods speed it up and certain foods slow it down. Empty carbs slow it down, protein speeds it up. Eating often also keeps the fire burning. That's why "don't eat between meals" is bad advice and will actually make it harder to lose weight. That's also why starvation diets are counterproductive because they make your body "think" it's starving so it will store fat instead of burning it. Regular moderate exercise will help to keep the metabolic fire burning too.
Bill Cosby was right. It should be listed as health food
B Hall----- " Dad is great, he feeds us chocolate cake in the morning" !
Doesn't Jim Gaffigan the commedian do a bit about cake for breakfast?
This country is obsessed with diets. Get over it. Granted, I look around and see many more overweight people then when I was a kid 50 years ago. BUt I can tell you that it isn't the type of food we eat, it's the portions. We as a society have forgotten the word "moderation". You want to eat a peice of cake in the morning? Go ahead, eat a small piece but don't go back for seconds. Eat with your brain instead of your stomach. Anyway, just wait until next week and someone else with "credentials" will have done another study that says apples will kill you. (no wait, that one has already been done.)
Also, when we were growing up our parents tossed out of the house and we got on our bikes, played ball, and other stuff that kept us moving. We had 3 channels on TV so that got boring quick. Now kids sit in front of the TV, computer, video games, smart phones, playing, tweeting, making friends on facebook... They get lazy and fat. Once you get past 16 in that condition, it's almost impossible to reverse later in life.
So, Bill Cosby was right after all!
Tiramisu w/ breakfast. Puts a smile on our face the whole day through.
Over about 30 years, I probably tried every diet out there, fad or healthy. I gained over a hundred pounds -- lose five, gain ten -- during that time. I finally decided the heck with diets. If I want to eat something, I'll eat it. Well, guess what? Since then, I've lost nearly 40 pounds. Thinking back, I'm just not constantly craving something and I eat when I'm hungry -- period. My doctor still shakes his head when I tell him I don't diet and won't diet.
why not top it with two scoops of double chocolate ice cream while youre at it