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?