Breakfast matters. Dozens of research studies have confirmed what health professionals have been teaching for decades. From having a higher intake of essential vitamins and minerals, to feeling better both physically and mentally, and possibly living longer, breakfast eaters seem to have an edge over those who skip. That’s good news but there’s more. Did you know that breakfast eaters tend to weigh less? Or that choosing certain healthy breakfast foods over others could make weight loss or maintenance easier?

Ideally a healthy breakfast includes a variety of foods, fruits and/or vegetables, whole grains, low fat dairy, and a good source of low calorie protein. However, meeting nutrient needs for the whole day is a challenge when on a low calorie diet (This is one of the reasons nutritionists advise women to not go below 1200 calories when dieting. Read 1200 Calorie Diet: Getting Started to learn more.) It is much more difficult and often not possible to achieve nutritional balance for a single meal, especially breakfast.

So what are your best choices for breakfast? Let’s take a look at how to meet your nutritional needs while at the same time increase your chances for weight loss success. In addition, let’s keep in mind the need for breakfast to be quick, easy, and appealing!

To begin, breakfast may be very important but it is only one meal. Try to spread out your meals and snacks over the day to keep your metabolism running smoothly and help you feel your best. To do this, breakfast will provide about 1/4 to 1/3 of your total daily calories. That’s only 300 to 350 calories on a 1200 calorie diet (or 375 to 450 calories on a 1500 calorie diet).

Lots of low calorie eat and run healthy breakfasts are high in carbohydrates. (Think breakfast cereals, toast, muffins, and fruit whether fresh or dried, and fruit juice.) That can be good if you pick carbs with plenty of fiber and other nutrients.

Eating high-fiber foods can fill you up and keep you satisfied longer than many other foods. (See Dietary Fiber: Can it Help You with Weight Loss) But you can improve on this choice by understanding the value of having enough protein with your breakfast. Protein can blunt your hunger for longer than any other nutrient. Avoiding hunger and the desire to eat any food in sight can be a struggle on a low calorie diet! Give this tip a try for nourishment and to see if it helps you feel less hungry.

Image via WikipediaHow much protein is enough and what foods can you pick to keep the calorie count down? The daily recommendation for protein in a healthy diet ranges from 10 to 35 percent. This assumes you are eating ENOUGH calories for YOU. If you haven’t done so already, please read 1200 Calorie Diet: Getting Started. This article will help you assess your minimum safe calorie intake.

Ten percent may not be enough protein to meet your needs on a 1200 calorie diet. Your protein needs are independent of your calorie intake. You have a need for a certain amount of protein whether you are on a reduced calorie diet or not (To calculate YOUR precise protein needs read How Much Protein Do You Need?)

Thirty-five percent protein is probably more than what is needed by the average woman. (People who need very high levels of protein are athletes and those recovering from surgery and certain illnesses.) Approximately, 15 to 25% protein will hopefully meet your daily protein needs and will not be too difficult to obtain with a healthy diet. So let’s go with 20% as an average. Twenty percent of 1200 calories would be 240 calories or 60 grams of protein for the day.

[An easy way to determine how much 20% of 1200 calories would be is to start with 10%. Ten percent is 120 calories so twice that would be 240 calories or 20% of 1200. Each gram of protein has an energy equivalent of about 4 calories per gram. So 240 divided by 4 equals 60 grams. You can use this same sequence of calculations to figure your suggested protein needs on a 1500 calorie diet.]

O.K., I’ve walked you through more details then you probably wanted to know! What I would like for you to remember is the number 60 grams of protein. (Approximately what you need on a 1200 calorie diet). Knowing this number, you now have an idea of how to determine the suggested amount of protein you need for breakfast. Ideally this would be about 15 to 20 grams of protein (60 to 80 calories) because a healthy breakfast will provide about 1/4 to 1/3 of what you need for the day. But that gets tricky when you are eating only 300-350 calories and you’re striving for nutritional balance.

In part 2 of this article, I will give you some breakfast sample menus to show you what kind of choices you might make to meet both your fiber and protein needs for breakfast as well as other nutrients as best you can. This will give you a better idea of what you can do to fill up and stay satisfied for longer on a low calorie diet. Feeling satisfied and not hungry is half the battle with weight loss. Don’t you think?

It’s all too easy to get tired. A stressful busy life, poor diet, lack of exercise, hormonal imbalance, and more can contribute to the problem. Throw dieting into the mix and it’s even easier to get run down. So what can you do to keep your energy levels up on a low calorie diet?

1. Eat enough food! Eating enough to meet your basal energy needs (basal metabolic rate or BMR) PLUS the energy cost of exercise matters. It is possible to reduce your calorie intake to lose weight without going overboard. Reducing caloric intake too much gets many dieters in trouble.

Take the time to assess your calorie needs. You are unique and your needs will not be exactly the same as anyone else. (Whatever your target calorie intake might be, read 1200 Calorie Diet: Getting Started! to determine whether or not you are on track.)

Image via Wikipedia

2. Make Time to Eat Meals. Your metabolism and energy levels will be at their best when you give yourself nourishment throughout the day. Eat something for breakfast (lunch and supper also). Yes, you can. (Read 50 Ways to Succeed with Weight Loss Starting Today! for a tip on how you might renew your interest in breakfast if you claim you aren’t hungry in the morning.)

3. Eat something healthy every 3 hours or so for a total of 5-6 times a day. If you have the time and desire to figure it out, mini-meals each time you eat might be the best choice for you.

On a 1200 Calorie Diet you might have 3 main meals (breakfast, lunch, supper) of 300-350 calories or so plus two snacks of about 100 calories each (see my 1200 calorie sample menus for ideas). On a 1500 calorie diet you might choose to have 3 meals of 350-400 calories plus two to three 100-150 calorie snacks. Or you might have 5 300-calorie mini-meals spread throughout the day.

4. Eat bigger meals earlier in the day rather than later. This concept may be easier said than done for many Americans who all too often are pressed for time in the morning. If it is a problem for you, some advance planning can help you out. In the coming months I will be sharing tips on how to prepare easy healthy low calorie meals in minutes. Be sure to check back!

5. Drink plenty of water. You can meet your fluid needs in a variety of ways on a low calorie diet. However, your best bets to keep calorie counts down are to choose unsweetened tea, coffee, or water. Your body needs water to keep your metabolism and physiological processes running smoothly. Dehydration can result in low energy or even fatigue.

6. Eat balanced meals. In addition to water, your body needs a variety of nutrients in a well-orchestrated balance to keep your energy levels up.This happens in part because a proper balance of nutrients are needed to keep your hormones in balance. Your hormones in turn influence your metabolism. For the greatest success, you will want to get your nutrients from whole, healthy foods NOT supplements or highly processed foods.

Nature holds the secret to a healthy balance.Keep in mind that there are nutrients we may need that scientists do not yet not know anything about. This is especially true for antioxidants and other compounds sometimes called phytochemicals that have yet to be officially designated as nutrients.

7. Exercise or engage in some kind of daily physical activity. Making time for exercise can give you energy AND time rather than take time away. How? By keeping your energy levels up and helping you to be fully awake and efficient for more hours each day. (For quick, easy ways to be physically active and burn calories when there is no time for exercise, read 25 Quick, Easy, and Fun Ways to Burn 100 Calories)

A little bit of exercise is good but a lot is not necessarily better! Also, as I pointed out in the first tip, not eating enough food to cover the energy cost of exercise can leave you feeling very tired.

An added bonus for exercise, especially when it is earlier in the day, is that it might help you sleep better at night. That leads to tip 8.

8. Get enough rest. I know an overly demanding schedule can make it hard to carve out enough time for sleep. If that’s true for you, maybe you need to re-examine your priorities. Sleep matters. Not getting enough sleep will not only rob you of energy but it can set you up to overeat.

No one I know can successfully put all of these tips into practice all the time. But just knowing what may be contributing to your lack of energy will hopefully give you a chance to turn things around as you are able. Low calorie diet or not, it possible to feel less tired more of the time.